How to Loop - Boss RC-300

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In this video I show you how I think about and perform live looping generally.
Live looping is when you record music and play it back live, on the spot. This is a very difficult skill to develop, specifically because it's very easy to get your timing and performance wrong when you're trying to record it live. You can learn more about looping here: en.wikipedia.o...
To learn about how my pedals and loop station are set up, see this video here: • How to set up pedalboa...
You can buy my music here: marcallred.com/store
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[@stevetaylor5815]

Fantastic video. You covered all the essentials extremely well- everyone should watch this!

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Thanks Steve!!🤙🏻

[@ourclarioncall]

Great demo ! One of , if not the, best I’ve seen Greetings from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@TheSplitWheel]

Really Inspirational Marc. Just getting into looping on a RC300 and started me on the right path .

[@MarcAllredVideos]

I'm so glad. Thanks for letting me know. Hope to see you do some great things.

[@drgordie]

Thanks for sharing and helping me get better ideas.

[@AntonisAggelidis]

i'm just using an A-B switch and set A for undo/redo last layer and B for muting mic input so i can avoid that naughty bleed and room sounds (helps in live looping) :) I'm Also using Audix mics helps ALOT, they r very low gain and almost cancel all unwanted surrounding sounds except the ones in frond of it.

[@MarcAllredVideos]

That's awesome! I'll look into all of that and see if there's a way to incorporate it to my workflow. Thanks!

[@AntonisAggelidis]

Marc Allred you can check my vids. Although U probably don’t understand a word :p but music is universal :D

[@BigBudde]

Cool man. thanks for sharing!

[@jlrounds2008]

Great vid thanks! Quick question...i have issues with line up...can you diagram how you cable? For example is looper always at end of chain? thanks

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Yes, everything that you want to capture or record needs to come before the looper or it won't be recorded.

[@fp4547]

Marc great tutorials thank you. A couple of questions pls. 1 - what are each settings on each track items , e.g. loop sync: on or off ? Tempo sync: on or off ? Measure: Auto or free? Stop mode: immediate or end of loop ? etc. 2- is the Rhythm button on or off ?

[@fp4547]

Hi Marc , I very much appreciate your answers to my questions above please if possible. Thank You

[@flopauls6490]

Hey Mark. I have a question regarding the pedals you are using. especially the Behringer octave pedal. The RC300 has a bass guitar function. Do you think it is not as effective, so you use a seperate one? And, the small pedal before the octave pedal.. is that a compression pedal? I do looping with an acoustic guitar and the RC 30 and also have a behringer octave pedal and a Behringer compression pedal. However, I can't get a decent bass sound. Any suggestions?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

This has been the bane of my live looping efforts. Finding the right bass tone is a combination of making sure your pedals are powered correctly, putting the pedal in the right place in the signal chain, how the pedal interacts with your guitar pickups, and what speakers you're playing through. All those factors can affect your bass tone and for me the bass line plays a major part in my live reggae vibe. In this specific setup, I use an EQ pedal to dial in the lows exactly how I need it to interact with all those other variables. On top of all of that, I like to double up my bass line loops with a boosted clean track that copies the bass line, to help it cut through all the other loops. Its a common ska/reggae thing to do and telecasters do thst really well too. All the best man. Let me know how it turns out.

[@axekhar911]

Guys please help! I'm having a problem with rc 300, it doesn't respond to pedal presses in time and loops with a delay. I've set the tracks to free mode, but I still can't play in my own tempo.

[@sheldondestpern2549]

Hey great demo thankyou tell me do you send all your pedals signals out then into the rc 300 or do you start by sending the signal out from rc300 first then out to the pedals ?in which way do you route vocals and instrument channels?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Gtr does through all the effects and then one signal into the RC300. That's how I do it at least :)

[@Maxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx98]

Hi! Thanks for sharing!! Please can you help me with a question - can I use Boss RC-300 and its features like Rhytm patterns, connected to a power supply (Strymon Zuma) and other pedals, with Fender blues junior as an output and a guitar amplifier? ( no mixer, monitor or external speaker)

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Yes you can!

[@flipmacyt]

Hi there ! Great review, I own already a rc-30, so do you recommend me to get rather the rc-300 instead ? I am an electric violin player that does also gigs with live djs, playing a mix of electro, classic, pop, rock, ambient, etc Also is it possible to use the rc-300 just as an effect pedal or are the effects only to be used on the loops themselves ? Thanks, Philippe

[@MarcAllredVideos]

A lot of great musicians use just the RC-30, Tash Sultana and even Ed Sheeran. So I think it ultimately depends on what you're comfortable with and want to do. I personally wouldn't go back to an RC-30 now that I've used the 300. As for effects, there are a few on the 300 that you can use that don't have to be exclusively used on a loop, but it's not the best pedal to use if you're just looking for effects. Hope that helps. Thanks for commenting!

[@MarcAllredVideos]

flipmacyt, In case you're looking for something a little more simple, I just released a looping for beginners course about the Boss RC-1 that you might like. marcallred.com/looping-for-beginners/

[@stevieross4415]

Hey Matt thanks for the demo great stuff. How do you create a seamless loop ? I have tried on other loopers and find it really difficult. Does the rc 300 have quantise ?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Great question. That's one of the important skills of looping. You just have to learn and get really good at when to hit the button on time. As far as I know, there's no quantize action on the Boss RC-300.

[@edwinoharrow2147]

Fantastic ! You've made it simple and easy . Thanks

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Hey Ed! I just released a beginners looping course you might be interested in using the Boss RC-1. marcallred.com/looping-for-beginners/

[@mattostrowski]

Hey, I'm a beginner (just bought it, so this is what's happening: in the beginning when I pressed the rhythm button, it would play the beat and I could tweak it the way I wanted to and then, suddenly, it stopped playing. I can see the light flashing but it's mute. I can hear the guitar and mic in my monitor but no rhythm. Do you know what's going on..?

[@IndigenousBeets]

Turn your loop sync off on that track...or set your other tracks the same measure as that track.

[@eyeceeyooh]

How many speakers are you using for all of this?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

I usually run it all into one channel in a PA system.

[@oldbladderhorn949]

Great news, I just won this looper on ebay for cheap an hour ago, what luck. just after my first post, can you believe it. mad just mad lol. going to try midi it to to my rc-50 some shape. with black spaghetti cable everywhere. (find some space... somehow) undoubtedly get some mega trip sonic loop scape's. loops evolving within loops running within loops fractal fun fun fun it'll be orchestral in the extreme. many hrs of fun. tasteless and bizarre noises' creeping into meditations and chants gongs whale song thunder and synth I know a lot of thinking' and planning is going to be needed, but to be able bring in wav files and such and live drum rips off the tube. Then bump/bounce it back into my cakewalk for further processing and mastering, burn to c.d. or wav to dongle with hours and hours of ever changing loop structures available and never really the same a seeming endless permutation to the ear.

[@IndigenousBeets]

How do you just start playing without the beat? I understand you can turn it off, but the rhythm is always set to a hidden tempo so my freestyling is never on time.

[@MarcAllredVideos]

My reggae guitar playing is most my consistent rhythm, so that works best for me. Other musicians like Dub FX or Reggie Watts like to only start with a beatbox beat. Tash Sultana also often starts with just some guitar playing.

[@IndigenousBeets]

@@MarcAllredVideos Thanks! Great playing!!

[@akustikian357]

What's better single track mode or loop synth?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

I gotta go with single track mode.👍🏻

[@abelgeovannygarcialopez3941]

Hello, it helps a problem with my microphone, it is recording very well and my guitar and piano, all very well, but when everything is already recorded and I want to sing, it does not sound, it sounds very low, far, it is supposed to be the level of microphone input works to make layers and tracks and then to sing over the tracks with an optimal volume, what is it to sing, what happens??... I do my loops very well and they sound good, but when I want to sing the microphone is heard at a very low 1%

[@MarcAllredVideos]

You need to have two different mic set ups. One that goes directly into your loop station for looping and then another directly into you PA system just for singing vocals. The problem is you're singing through your looper and not the PA.

[@abelgeovannygarcialopez3941]

@@MarcAllredVideos Thanks... Verificare

[@uke4free907]

... thanks for sharing! Very helpful 🙏

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Yeah! Glad I could help :)

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Hey uke4free! Here's my new looping course you might be interested in where I show how to use the Boss RC-1. marcallred.com/looping-for-beginners/

[@JohnnyHendrikus]

Hey man awesome tutorial! just wondering if you had an output to a speaker? is that why you got the bleed on the beatboxing? Also, when you're performing live, do you use headphones? and do they plug into the RC300? cheers

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Hey Johnny! Yeah, I personally only use headphones if I'm practicing and need to be quiet. I try to practice using my full PA system so I don't get any surprises for a live gig. For a live performance, I feel like there's always bleed over coming from a stage monitor or house speakers. You can plug headphones directly into the RC300.

[@JohnnyHendrikus]

Awesome mate cheers for the response ! Do you also know if you can plug it into a computer to record, while playing live at the same time through a speaker system / headphones ?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

@@JohnnyHendrikus The RC300 has a USB port and you can plug it into any audio interface with the line out etc.

[@joshbremner3071]

Do you use the FREE mode with each channel so you can start and stop as you please?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Nope. I keep them all synced.

[@LCRLive687]

Can this be used witout a time count? Im just playing ambient meditation swells without any dependence on any timing. I want to disable all the counts.

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Timing is everything when it comes to live looping. You need to be able to know when you started and stopped the loop so all the other parts can line up. I've seen it done with ambient sounds, but you still have to feel the timing.

[@LCRLive687]

@@MarcAllredVideos sure, but can the entire time based alignment be removed if one wanted to go completely random? Im trying to find this in the manual and I think you can?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

@@LCRLive687 ah, I get what you're saying now. That's way beyond me. There is so much functionality in the RC300 that I have deliberately avoided because it doesn't apply to the way I perform. I haven't spent much time digging into your questionspecifically. Sorry I don't have a better answer! Let me know what you find out.

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Arsenal Pro, you might be already on your looping journey, but I just released a looping for beginners course focusing on the Boss RC-1 you might be interested in. marcallred.com/looping-for-beginners/

[@oldbladderhorn949]

looping = having a great time all the time

[@michaelreynolds3941]

Marc, this is awesome!!! How did you START with looping? Was it something you saw and gave it a shot?

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Michael Reynolds basically I tried to figure out how to entertain without a band behind me. After playing for over ten years with my band Upstanding Youth in Hawaii, I didn’t want to go through the effort of putting a band together again. So, I came across artists like DUB FX, Bernhoft, Reggie Watts, and even Ed Sheeran does it. I figured, if they can do it, i can🙌🏻

[@michaelreynolds3941]

Marc Allred and you KILL IT live! Thanks again for sharing! Hopefully this evolves into a ‘magic behind the music’ series!? 🇺🇸

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Michael Reynolds oh don’t worry buddy, I got plans. Stick around😉😎

[@michaelreynolds3941]

woot woot! @@MarcAllredVideos

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Mike!! I just released the first of 3 course I'm planning to do - Looping for Beginners. I break it all down and make it really easy to follow. See what you think. marcallred.com/looping-for-beginners/

[@therockbrigade]

wow your beard game is strong !

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Yes! No foolin' around here :)

[@MatONeill]

Hi Marc - great stuff! It's always nice to see how others are doing it... I had partucular fun trying to work out the cryptic code in the top left of your fx board. There's totally a swear in that second row...

[@MarcAllredVideos]

hahahahahahaha. Good eyes! Actually, that's my lyric cheat sheet that I've had forever for "Love Song" from the Cure. Their second verse goes, "Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am FUN again." Close buddy, but no cussing :)

[@MatONeill]

@@MarcAllredVideos Aaah, that's awesome. Yep, there are just some songs that won't stick. I've started drawing pictures that represent whole lines of lyrics: The time spent drawing the picture gives the phrasing a while to seep into my brain, and I can fit way more information onto a single page. I believe it's called mnemonics and it's supposed to all happen in your head, but if a client emails the night before with a song request, I can just put up the weird pictogram on my ipad. CHEATERS UNITE!!

[@MarcAllredVideos]

@@MatONeill I just use a music stand and a folder of over a truck load of songs and just keep adding to it. Since I'm usually playing bars and restaurants, I have no shame of the stand. If I'm playing more of a singersongwriter gig, I lose the stand. But otherwise, not afraid of the book and stand :)

[@MatONeill]

@@MarcAllredVideos Nice. I'm enjoying trawling through your vids - there's a smile that appears on your face whenever you kick on your wah pedal that I completely understand :) Hey, thanks for the sub by the way - hope you enjoy our looping stuff

[@Dlogreen]

too funny@@MarcAllredVideos cuz I swear I've done this song a million times and still forget the order hahahaha

[@icebob8555]

Subscribed

[@MarcAllredVideos]

YasS!!

[@RyanBurchfieldMusic]

You play just like me

[@KrisnaSanggit]

Heloo

[@MarcAllredVideos]

Wassup guys!! Dig your looped version of "Love Song." I'll be dropping my looped version of that soon :)