Roland has finally released the direct descendant of the RC50, the historic loopstation, which was in need of an update. As usual, what I tell is the direct experience of a user, not the technical descriptions of the manuals or the smoke in the eyes of the producers.
Let's start by saying that RC300 does not upset the market, it is not so innovative in a very popular panorama of looper, loops, a loostations, but it has some interesting features that can give the musician an edge.
- 3 independent stereo channels that allow you to record up to 3 hours of digital audio
- separate volumes
- 16 professional digital effects (this is the real news)
- 1 programmable control pedal
- main and sub audio outputs
- headphone output
- MIDI in-out and thru
- line input in stereo / mono (2 mono LR inputs)
- XLR microphone input with phantom power
- 4 inputs for external pedals (2 stereo inputs)
- dozens of drum loops
- aux input
- USB to download files in 44khz 16bit
- USB to use the loopstation as a 2-channel sound card (interesting this possibility !!!)
The first approach - reflections of the first use
It's simple to use, intuitive, easier than any other loopstation I've tried. The pedals are all visible. Each with its stop, its undo, its volume, in short, it's all there, nothing hidden!
It's accurate, I didn't hear any recording gap like in the RC50. Effects are simple to activate but cumbersome to change. Synchronization works fine, in real time.
There is a convenience start stop general also this on sight.
Even the small controls can be operated with your feet, I say this for someone like me who loves playing barefoot.
Every now and then it crashes, there are bugs that will surely fix, just know where they are though, because if it crashes it just goes haywire and live can be a problem (!). It happened to me only once but reading on the forums there are many who complain.
I was unable to reproduce the error or make a statistic of it, but I realized that if I stop everything with the general stop instead of turning off each channel, the probability of blocking is drastically reduced.
The first usual question: will it fit into the bag? 53,6cm ... the RC50 was 47,2cm and weighed one kg less (it entered!)
Switching between patches has approximately one second of latency.
Digital Effects
The pedal board has 16 digital effects. I think Roland could have dared a little more. Effects range from distortion (mediocre), to transpose (I immediately thought it was useful for making some variations but will I ever use it?), delay (I like this), a kind of vocoder (# * ?!), phaser, modulator, flangers, to some filter a little more imaginative.
Personally I don't use them much in live because they are uncomfortable to vary. If you use an external pedal then things are better. The fact is that every effect has variations (eg distortion has various types of drives) and they are not easily accessible, especially if we want to follow an idea "on the fly", better than nothing anyway, at least when I need an effect that is not I have to turn on a pc or other pedal boards (obviously it depends on the effect…).
The reverb is a parameter of the patch, so it is as if it were an additional effect that can be selected from the menu with values 0-100.
All the effects except the reverb can be set as general, on all tracks at the same time real-time or in input, then recorded on the tracks. This possibility is very useful if you want to use multiple effects in a song.
RC300 vs. RC50 (even for those who don't know what the RC50 is)
Being a RC50 user now almost converted to the Rc300 I can do a practical analysis.
I bought the RC300 because I wanted a product that also integrated the effects to avoid having to carry around multiple pedalboards. The thing was 50% successful because the effects leave something to be desired both for quality and for imagination and for maneuverability. So I solved the problem not for all live situations.
+ It is more intuitive and with fewer hidden features. The manual has shrunk dramatically.
It is about 5cm longer and wider, 1cm taller, 1kg heavier (536mm, 231mm, 76mm 3,9kg).
+ The memory is considerably higher, but let's face it, that of the RC50 was sufficient.
They removed the FADE IN of the tracks, why ?!
+ The possibility of using it as a usb sound card is interesting. The drivers must be downloaded from the site.
+ The undo is separated by channel and not related to the last recording made as in the RC50.
+ There is MIDI Thru.
+ Midi sync finally works and it is possible to use the pedal board as a slave!
= The reverse keys have been removed, you have to go to the menus (tragic for those who used them ... but who used them ?!)
The D / A conversion went from 24bit to 16bit.
+ The pedal - for those who use the pedals - can be a plus.
= The tap tempo has shrunk but it is still possible to do it with the first stop pedal.
+ The power supply is very small, like that of cell phones.
For those who have an RC50 - and know how to use it - is it worth changing?
I would say no, but there are only 3 reasons to change the pedal that in my opinion can tip the answer towards yes:
1) I need 3 hours of recording (certainly not live ...)
2) I need effects and I am satisfied with standard effects that are not too complex (my case)
3) they offered me a lot for the RC50 and with little money I can exchange it so I am up to date!
For the rest we are there, it will not change anyone's life, especially the good user of the RC50 who has already automated routine operations.
PRO
Easy to use.
Effects and pedal on board.
Precise and - if they remove some small bugs - also reliable.
AGAINST
It is large, but if we really want to see the glass half full we say it is spacious.
The effects are few, difficult to program in a live and quite obvious.
Why did Roland remove the fade in of tracks?
the price is not really for all budgets.
What it is not
It is not an RC30 with an extra pedal, mind you!
The opinion
Not yet the ideal product, but the best loopstation on the market today.
Producer: roland.com
price: around 470,00 euro
Creative use of 2 Roland RC 300 loopstations on the cover "Hit The Road Jack"
More articles by Fabio Pesce
BioRoland has finally released the direct descendant of RC50, a historic loopstation which needed an upgrade. As usual, I'm talking about an absolutely personal experience with a product as a user, and not the manual descriptions or the producers' smokescreen.
Letís start by saying that the RC300 doesnít overtake the market, itís not so innovative considering the very sought-after panorama of loopers, loops and loopstations, but still it shows some interesting characteristics which can give the musician a higher gear.
– Three stereo tracks which allow up to 3 hours of digital recording
– dedicated volume faders
– 16 professional digital effects (that's something completely new!)
– 1 pedal for effects control in real time
– main and sub audio outputs
– headphone output
– Midi in-out and thru
– Stereo/mono inputs (2 LR mono inputs)
– XLR Microphone input with phantom power
– 4 inputs for external pedals (2 stereo inputs)
– Tens of drum loops
– Aux line in
– USB connection to export files at 44khz and 16bit
– USB connection to use the loopstation as a two channel sound-card (that's interesting!!!)
The first approach, considerations about the first use.
It's very easy to use, intuitive, easier than any other loopstation I ever tried. The pedals are all in full view. Each featuring its stop, its undo, its volume, in a word, it's all there, nothing is hidden!
It's precise, I didn't hear any gap in recording as it happened with the RC50. The effects are easy to enable but uncomfortable to switch. The synchronization works good, in real time. There is a convenient master start-stop footswitch for anything, in full view too. Also the smallest controls can be enabled by feet, which is something good for those who, like me, like to play with bare feet.
Now and then it crashes, there are bugs which indeed will be corrected, anyway it's all about knowing where it happens because, if it crashes, it really jams, and it can be a real problem when performing live (!). It only happened once to me but, as far as I know by reading forums, there is a lot of complaining about that aspect.
I wasn't able to reproduce the error nor draw up any statistics, but I understood that chances in crushing reduce dramatically when using the general stop to close everything instead of disabling each channel individually. The first main question: will it fit in my bag? 53,6 cm ÖThe RC50 was 47,2 cm and weighted one kg less (it actually did fit!). Switching from a patch to another shows about a second in latency.
Digital Effects
The pedalboard has 16 digital effects. I think Roland could have given a bit more. The effects go from distortion (week) to transpose (I immediately thought it could have been useful for some variations, but would I ever use it?), delay (I like this one), some sort of vocoder (#*?!), phaser, modulator, flanger and some other filters which are just a little bit more creative.
I personally do not make too much use of them when performing live for they are uncomfortable to switch. Things get better if you use an external pedal. The thing is that each effect has a variation (for example: the distortion has many types of drives) and they are not so easy to access, especially when driven by an idea ìon the flyî, but itís better than nothing, at least when I need an effect, I donít have to turn on a computer or other pedalboards (depending on the effect indeedÖ).
The reverb is a parameter of the patch, so it is like an additional effect and it can be selected from the menu within a 0-100 value.
All the effects, except for the reverb, can be programmed as master, for every track in real time or as input, therefore recorded on the tracks. This is a very useful feature if we want to use several effects on a song.
RC300 vs RC50 (even for those who donít know what the RC50 is)
Being an RC50 user, by now almost converted to the RC300, I feel I can do a functional analysis about it. I bought the RC300 because I needed a product which would feature effects as well so to avoid carrying additional pedalboards around. It was a 50% success for the effects leave a bit to be desired, both for quality, creativity and ease of use reasons. So I didn't work it out for any live occasion.
+ It is more intuitive with less hidden functions. The manual have been dramatically shortened.
– It is 5 cm longer and larger, 1 cm taller, 1 kg heavier (536 mm, 231 mm, 76 mm 3,9kg).
+ The memory is amazingly higher, but, to be honest with you, the one on the RC50 was good enough.
– The FADE IN for the tracks has been removed, why?!
+ Interesting use as a USB soundcard. The drivers must be downloaded from the website.
+ The Undo controls are separate per channel and not depending on the latest recording as in the RC50.
+ Midi Thru is there.
+ At least the Midi sync does work and it is possible to use the pedalboard as slave!
= Reverse button have been removed, we must run the menu (tragic one for those who used it, but who did it anyway?!)
– The D/A conversion has gone from 24 to 16 bit
+ The pedal - for those who use pedals - can be an additional positive thing.
= The tap tempo has been shortened but it is possible to work it with the first stop pedal.
+ The power supply is very small, just like the one for cell phones.
For those who already have an RC50 ñ and know how to work it ñ is it worth changing it?
1) I need 3 hours of recording session (of course not liveÖ)
2) I need effects and I can be satisfied with standard ones (which is my case)
3) Theyíve been offering me a lot for the RC50 and I can change it by spending a little money, so I can keep up!
For everything else, it's pretty much the same old story that won't change anyone's life, especially the good old RC50 user who already customized routine stuff.
PROS
Easy to use.
Effects and pedal on board.
Precise and - if some little bugs get removed - reliable as well.
CONS
It's pretty big but, if we want to look at the bright side, let's say that there is plenty of room. The effects are few, hard to program during a live performance and pretty much standard ones.
Why did Roland remove the fade in function for the tracks? Its price is not for everyone's pockets at all.
What it is not
It's not a RC30 equipped with an additional pedal, let's get this clear!
Opinion
Not yet the ideal product, but the best loopstation around to this date.
Producer: roland.com
price: about 470,00 Euros
Other Fabio Pesce's reviews
Bio
Italian to English translation: Umberto del Giudice ( delgiudiceu@yahoo.it )
