How to control the Boss RC-600 (or RC-505) with a midi keyboard

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[@robertgreen9675]

Always enjoy your videos, Steve. Thanks so much. BTW - Just received my new Boss RC-600. I'll have to try mapping midi commands to it.

[@SteveGuitar]

Awesome, thanks! You’ll love it. Seems like my dream set up. See you around 😎🎸

[@Channel-io1di]

Thanks for the video. Do you know of a keyboard that has its own sounds, so it doesn't have to use an ipad or laptop for its keyboard sounds, but still has a midi controller/pads? I want to have a keyboard, and use a midi pad thing to play the built in drum sounds on the rc600, and also use it to control midi functions on the rc600. And I don't want a computer or ipad.

[@dancinganimals712]

Oscillate Wildly. Well done!

[@robertclarkguitar]

Coming back to finish this one again tomorrow. While babysitting grand daughter. She's precious to my heart. Anyway I sent email earlier so you already know. Hahah Peace my friend. See you soon!!!!

[@martyc4906]

Welcome back! 😊

[@SteveGuitar]

Thank you sir! I just replied to your other comment. See you around 😎

[@CarlGoldmam]

Not that I totally understand but what you did is pretty cool. I like it🎸🎸🎸

[@SteveGuitar]

🤣🤣👍👍

[@dancassidy7471]

Thank you

[@beenay18]

Can you merge tracks in rc 600? So that multiple tracks become overdubs in one track.

[@beenay18]

How do i record midi drum input in rc 600? Rc 600 only records unusable faint sounds.

[@Channel-io1di]

How do you power this? Is there away to have the ipad plugged into wall power and the keyboard at the same time?

[@matstokesmusic]

Good Morning Steve (from Australia) .After watching this video a few months ago, I went out and purchased this same keyboard. I love your set up and want to do exactly what you have done. But I’m not as tech savvy as you. I’m a full time musician first (lead vocals and guitar) then a looper. Can you show me how you set all this up (in details) please? I will pay you for it. You are gifted from God my friend! Cheers 🙏🏽👍🏽✝️❤️

[@SteveGuitar]

Hey, thanks so much Mat! Appreciate the nice words, and glad you like it. Have you checked out my “behind the scenes“ videos? I have three of them that show all the gear and wires and connections. You can find them here on my channel over the past couple months. Let me know if you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to answer… For free!

[@SteveGuitar]

And you may be talking about the software and midi cc stuff. I don’t cover that in the behind the scenes videos, so let me know if that’s what you’re after

[@matstokesmusic]

@@SteveGuitar thanks. I want to know how to plug it all in and get it going. I have the RC600 (I’m new to looping to) the same midi keyboard as you. I want to be able to do loops using the midi keyboard for drums, piano, synth sounds etc (with my MacBook pro) and trigger the drums from the keyboard (not the looper). It’s to hard to get perfect timing to start drum loops on RC600. I like what you did with the intro count in from keyboard. Does all that make sense??🙏🏽😃

[@matstokesmusic]

And control all volume levels and reverb/delay just like you did from keyboard.

[@SteveGuitar]

@@matstokesmusic gotcha, I’m thinking we should probably do a zoom so you can share your Mac screen and also show your 600. Or I could leave you some voice recordings to talk through what to do. There’s Mac software (Novation’s) to set up the buttons the right way on the launchkey, and then there’s Mac or iPad stuff for the virtual instruments, and then there’s the 600 midi cc. Maybe DM me on Instagram? @thesteveguitar

[@phillippestradaysantiago724]

I wonder: when your VST's are hooked up to the MIDI control pads, how do you get the sounds to the looper? Via the Midi controller or via the I pad? Thanks

[@SelectingFrequencies]

nice vid, thanks man! A really convenient and impressive setup you got there! I just don't understand the blank track thingy, because you can use auto recording right. I assume you use blank track to create better loops. Do you use loop sync? Sometimes loop sync is just off , and overdubbing is not affected by loop sync so maybe recording a blank track will fix that problem. I am gonna try, thanks anyways :)

[@SteveGuitar]

Thanks for the nice words! I actually don’t remember where in the video I talked about a blank track. You can definitely use auto recording, but I think sometimes I use a blank track just so that I can start playing the first song part without thinking about the device, solely focusing on the instrument and notes. Anyway, I think loop sync is turned on almost all the time for me. I’ve got some other videos where I go through different needs or possibilities, but for the most part, it’s on all the time. Hope that helps!

[@PaytonPierce]

So this is what I’m looking to try to do, but I’m a little stuck on which keyboard to get.. I’ve got a couple but neither has both the faders and drum pads, but I also want it weighted with sensitive trigger pads.. How’s the feel of the novation?

[@becomeabeast9353]

Is it possible to connect keyboard ( with midi connections. No usb ) to RC 505, without a additional sound card. I wish to use vst ( By FL Studio ) and create loop with my keyboard. Thanks 🙂 Keep it UP 👍

[@HerbertJYoung]

Steve were you able to assign a pan on the input? I found a pan track playing but not pan input. How did you set up the pan on the input?

[@SteveGuitar]

Yes! I’m not exactly sure how I did it, but when you go to create an assign, one of the options is choosing input effect A, B, C, etc. so first go set up one of your input effects as pan (let’s say Input A), and then go back an assign for A, Inhabit control the level, I think. That may be it. One of the options just goes from 0 to 100 or 120 or whatever

[@dannymcmanus9171]

Steve what are you using to switch camera angles on the ipad?

[@SteveGuitar]

Sorry, just saw this … stitcher studio. Amazing but a bit pricey per month. Hope that helps!

[@yoyoyuyu234476]

I don't understand the pan. My rc600 has pan, but it's per track. What is your target for the midi knob?

[@yoyoyuyu234476]

Found it. Pan currently selected track 😊

[@TjorbenOfficial]

Hey, does the midi out of the launchkey transfer the sound that is picked on the tablet to the loopstation? is it just connected to the ipad with the midi usb thingy?

[@SteveGuitar]

Actually, the headphone output of the iPad goes into the 600. So the keyboard controls the iPad and the sounds go out of the iPad into the 600. Meanwhile the keyboard also controls the 600 because of the midi cable. The keyboard Controls two things because of the midi and USB cables. Check out my behind-the-scenes videos from the summer that could be helpful! I show all the wiring’s and connections

[@bombeijo]

Hey Steve! Very nice and informative video. Im interessted in doing a similar Setup where i control the looper with midi but my plan was to use quite alot of midi mappings. Do i understand it correctly that the boss rc 606 only lets you do 16 mappings? Say for example i wanna have 6 faders + 6 rec/dub/stop buttons + 4 input fx + 4 output fx + etc etc. Then that wouldn't be possible? Was also wondering if you know if its possible to map 1 Midi button to do start/stop and clear with different tap and tap + hold function? Hope that last question wasnt confusing. Thanks!

[@SteveGuitar]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the nice words. Yes, the 600 only has 16 “assigns”. Everybody wishes there were tons more and doesn’t know why boss doesn’t add more. As to your second question, it makes sense, I think the answer is no. The keyboard buttons either do instant or toggle. Instant means it turns something on whether you hold or not (think of it like a power button on a tv remote). Toggle is like a light switch on a wall. You flip it on and it stays on. But I don’t believe you can make a button do one of those functions AND do a press-and-hold feature. Hope that helps 😎

[@bombeijo]

@@SteveGuitar Aa okey! That was actually the dealbreaker for me in terms of my setup. Thank you for reply!

[@SteveGuitar]

@@bombeijo My pleasure, and before you quit on it, maybe drop by the Facebook RC 600 group and ask how many assigns. It was 16 forever. I’m pretty sure that’s what it still is, but maybe I missed a firmware update recently that expanded it to 32 or whatever. I hope!

[@finemusician4770]

Steve, do you connect your MIDI keyboard directly to the RC-600? Or use an interface like an iPad?

[@SteveGuitar]

Hey, thanks for asking. I use an iPad with various virtual apps. So I plug my keyboard into a powered USB hub ($20 US) that can accommodate up to four USB devices. That just adds external power. Then I run a USB cable out of that powered USB hub into the Apple USB adapter that’s plugged into my iPad. I can’t remember if I could have plugged the keyboard straight into the Apple adapter or not. Then I run the 8th inch headphone output from the iPad into stereo inputs on the boss looper (the red and black left right inputs shown in this video). Then, I run a midi cable from the keyboard straight into the boss midi input. So the midi out of the keyboard Controls the boss, while the USB outfit from the keyboard controls the iPad. Maybe I will do a video this week where I show my set up and explain where all the wires go. I’m doing another one where I demo a bunch of fun virtual instruments on the iPad. Hope that helps!

[@finemusician4770]

@@SteveGuitar Thanks for the detailed explanation!

[@SteveGuitar]

@@finemusician4770 my pleasure! I’ve learned a ton from other channels and want to help people with their setups when I can. I posted the first behind the scenes video today, and the cables/connections one is coming this week. 👍

[@finemusician4770]

Steve, With my Arturia Keylab Essential, I was finally able to get everything connected similar to your arrangement (Arturia and laptop to MIDI hub via USB, laptop 1/8" mic out to 1/4" input on RC-600). I first tried connecting my iPad/Garageband like I think I saw in your other video, but was unable to get sound or loops into the RC-600 - perhaps it's an IOS issue? So instead I'm using Analog Lab software on the laptop with the Arturia and I get all the sounds and can record keyboard loops. The only issue is the volume level, I'm not able to get it very loud no matter how I change sound settings on the laptop. Seems like your setup with Garageband was louder/better...open to further suggestions!

[@SteveGuitar]

Interesting… So can you clarify, are you hearing sounds out of your iPad, but it’s just not very loud, or nothing is coming from the iPad into the 600? If you plug headphones or earbuds into the iPad, do you hear your keyboard sounds? I.e., ignore the 600 for a moment. Are you hearing everything great and loud? For me, as long is I’m hearing something out of the iPad headphone jack, then I just unplugged the headphones and run 1/8 inch cable into the 600 (using a little Y adapter with 1/8 inch to two 1/4 inch). And I used midi to program one of the dials on my keyboard to control the volume of that input. I.e., I can really crank up the volume of my keyboard using a dial on the keyboard, but it’s actually controlling the input volume on the 600. Make sense?

[@finemusician4770]

​@@SteveGuitar You inspired me to take a look at the iPad setup again, and now it works! What seemed to make a difference was running USB from both the iPad and Keylab through the lightning adaptor first, then to the USB hub (before I think I connected the Keylab to the hub independently). The loudness issue was really not an issue after all - I had turned down the amp since my guitar had a preamp in the chain, which was drowning out the keyboard. Now the only hiccups are some noise/interference issues probably due to grounding, with all the cables back there🙂. Very cool to be able to connect a MIDI keyboard to the RC. Invaluable advice, again much appreciated!

[@SteveGuitar]

@@finemusician4770 awesome! There’s always odds and ends to keep figuring out but so glad it worked out overall! 👍👍👍

[@greendrinkguy1882]

Do the 16 MIDI assigns have to be system wide or can they be assigned differently "per-memory" ?

[@SteveGuitar]

I’m 99% sure they can be per memory, but I’m not at my 600 right now. If you ask this question on the Facebook RC 600 group, you will get complete expert answers for sure. Hope that helps a little.

[@jamesfullalove6337]

Steve. I have a midi keyboard, GarageBand, Rc-600 and iPad. How do I play midi keyboard and output to RC-600 via GarageBand? Input and output leads?

[@SteveGuitar]

Hey, glad to help, but I’m not sure I understand your question. I don’t know what you mean by “leads.“ I have another video series on my channel from summer 2022 that shows my “behind the scenes“ explanations of all the cables and wiring. I fully explain where everything goes. Maybe watch that and see if it helps?

[@jamesfullalove6337]

@@SteveGuitar will take a look thanks. Basically, just bought a midi keyboard. Want to know how to get sounds into the RC-500 via an iPad ideally as I have no pc

[@ccjmusic]

Did you screw up your channel 1 level when you were showing the assign stuff on the looper? You said start/stop when you reassigned it. It is great seeing how you are working now.

[@SteveGuitar]

Yes! Good catch. I added a little card that appeared at that moment on the video saying I made a mistake, but it’s hard to see… But yes, I got mixed up while recording. I should have returned cc 71 to track one volume, not track one record/play. Good catch!

[@ccjmusic]

@@SteveGuitar I didn’t see the card. Was it a part of the video or an overlay in YT? I don’t ever see cards on my iPad when people put links to other uploads etc. At least you know I was paying attention. 🧐

[@SteveGuitar]

@@ccjmusic hahaha, yes, you were! Thanks. And yes, it was an overlay card in YT, not in the video itself. I’ll do better on that type stuff next time. Still learning. See you around 😎👍🎸

[@ccjmusic]

@@SteveGuitar Out of interest Steve, do you see the cards on your iPad in the YT app? I have never seen cards and also can't see Community posts. They keep saying Community is coming soon, but it never shows up.

[@SteveGuitar]

@@ccjmusic I just checked, and yes, I see the cards appear on my video, and I see the community tab. I think my iPad is a few years old but still feels pretty current

[@JadeZabric]

Thank you!! I'm looking to connect my rc 600 to a midi device and i'm searching for the right one. I'm wondering if it works thought usb too? cause some midi controllers only have that output, could I connect something that?

[@SteveGuitar]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. And I’m not sure if everything would work if I plugged the keyboard directly into the 600 via USB. I will say, the cheapest novation launchkey mk3 is a little over $100 US, and though it doesn’t have faders, it does have drum pads and knobs that are fully programmable using novation software (colorful lights, midi CC numbers, etc.) as well as a micro midi jack on the back that you can barely see, meaning… I think you could do the exact same thing as I do with the 49 key keyboard, and the cheapest keyboard is really tiny. Even if I didn’t play keyboard, I would probably get that as my midi controller. 👍

[@SteveGuitar]

@David Stadium Heights I’m happy to help, but can you explain more? (Cables from where to where?)

[@SteveGuitar]

@David Stadium Heights well, I don’t really follow everything you described and all the names and acronyms, but glad it worked! I literally just plugged my keyboard straight into my 600 using a midi cable and that was all. Everything else has nothing to do with the midi control part. I have a new video I published on Saturday that shows all the wires and connections close up with my camera. Anyway, glad you are set!

[@australiaray]

i got the rc600 and a fcb1010 and need help to set it up have you got any tips ,, plugged in default setup the 1010 changes memory banks on the rc 600 i want it to change input effects and track effects ,, HELP if you can

[@SteveGuitar]

Hi there, I’ll try to help, and you can also go to the RC600 Facebook group for tons of info and answers. But I suggest starting with just one button on the FCB and figuring out what midi cc number is associated with it. Let’s say it’s #1. Then go to the 600’s Assigns area and pick an empty Assign. Let’s say it’s #4. Follow the instructions in the manual (or play around till you get it) to get Assign #4 to do what you want (the “Target”) when you click the FCB’s button #1 (the “Source”).

[@australiaray]

@@SteveGuitar im dont use facebook mate sorry i mapped the cc on my fcb1010 with my pc and turned of program change as well ps love the brain freez you had in assign with changing track one Volume to play record. ... its all so much to set up the rc600 but worth it when you get it set how you need it

[@EricRipperOfficial]

What's the order of you plugging things in?

[@SteveGuitar]

It’s a long story, you should check out my “behind the scenes“ series where I show all the wiring.👍

[@SteveGuitar]

Basically, guitar into amplifier, amplifier into stereo inputs in the 600. Keyboard into iPad, iPad into stereo inputs in the 600. Keyboard midi out into the 600 midi in. 600 usb out into iPhone for making videos

[@EricRipperOfficial]

@@SteveGuitar So I have the RC600, a AKAI MPK mini and Logic. Right now I'm currently jamming with the loop directly plugged into my laptop and using the keyboard on the computer to make the sounds...so I can't loop anything from the computer. Do I need a iPad to get the sounds and plug in. What am I missing?

[@SteveGuitar]

@@EricRipperOfficial i’m not the best when it comes to laptops. But I think you should plug the Akai into your laptop via USB and then pull up some app that has virtual instruments (I’ve never used logic so I’m not sure), and then run the headphone output from the laptop into the input of the 600. In other words, the keyboard needs to plug into something that has virtual instruments that are controlled by the keyboard. And then you run that output into the 600. Does that help? Play

[@seanwalsh999]

So essentially you have effectively eliminated the computers DAW from the equation, ie: no mouse, no keyboard. Normally you could do all of this with a midi foot controller and Ableton's computer DAW, but then you would have to fire up a computer any time you wanted to get down an idea. Good call. Plus you don't have to learn Ableton, where they call a plugin a "device" instead of a Plugin, like the rest of the DAW's do, then again they are know as the live loopers DAW of choice, so there is that.

[@SteveGuitar]

That’s exactly right, my goal the whole time was to never have a laptop. I’ve got a MacBook, I just didn’t feel like using it. An iPad is so much more fun to me when making live music.👍👍👍