Ok gang. I’ve spent a little bit of time with this. I can’t really read the manual so well because the fonts are so small. But I’ve figured out enough quickly to not need it. (For now). On the back is a mini jack output. I plugged in my Volca Kick, and with in no time I recorded a basic 4/4 kick pattern on channel 1. Then on channel 2 I used a vocal sample from my SP404. It runs a bit shorter than the original sample, so I didn’t get to squeeze the whole sample into channel 2, but that was good to go. Used a internal drum pattern on channel 3, and kinda just farted around & made 3 loops into 1.
The fun is the FX, because you can adjust different settings internally, and go as subtle or extreme as you want. Wish it was easier to control like the knobs of the SPs, but I guess they figured people who do vocal loops on stage don’t want to look dumb fiddling knobs to the crowd. Would have been handy if they were there, but as long as you don’t mind sinking down the FX rabbit hole and doing a tad bit of menu diving, you won’t regret it.
I don’t play guitar or bass, so I can’t say that this is for them, but most guitarists worth their salt can use this to quickly record riffs, chords, jams, and make it into a song.
I can definitely see myself doing some finger drumming and making my own patterns. Just got to practice that. I don’t like my voice recorded through a microphone, but it’s not like I need to worry about it that much. If it sounds alright, then the RC505 will make a loop out of whatever. Beat boxing, a joke, sound effects recorded through it, etc.
Was it worth the $400+tax I spent months making payments on? Absolutely. Toss in a SP & you have a great studio to pack in a backpack.
Downsides: Ummm, it’s plastic. No metal parts. So go easy on this thing. The knobs are as smooth as most sliders on a DJ Mixer, but I think they could break if you’re using this roughly.
Also, you’ve got to remember to save your loops, or it’s gone when you turn it on. There’s no memory card/hard drive, so nothing more to buy, but they claim you have 3 hours of recording time. So I assume you back up your loops to your PC/Mac. (I use a iPhone & haven’t owned a computer in awhile, so I can’t comment much about it)
If you’re ok with a bit of menu diving, and think this might be what you need to record your ideas, then it’s a worthy investment. If you’re a singer or rapper, you really can’t live without this.
Peace.
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