The BEST WAY to set up the Boss RC-500 Loop Station

[@matthawk04]

Awesome setup, exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@woodyardmusic]

Love it! You’re welcome!

[@garycrouse1918]

ill definetly be bookmarking this for future use when my pedal arrives. Thanks very informative

[@woodyardmusic]

Feel free to watch as many times as you need haha. Glad it was helpful and I hope you enjoy your new pedal!

[@chuckmottmusic1915]

Probably the most useful video on the RC500 on youtube, very practical.

[@woodyardmusic]

Thank you!

[@HubertMurrayMusic]

This way of setting it up has been my favourite so far. I'm also using the FS-5 for an all Start/Stop. Thanks!

[@woodyardmusic]

Nice! Glad you liked it!

[@JohnPaulMusicUK]

Nice setup! love that. Nice use of the Intro feature. To make it even quicker, change the settings from Rec/Play to Rec/Dub to go straight into Overdub mode, saving you an entire revolution of the loop. Hope that helps.

[@woodyardmusic]

Awesome tip! Thanks!

[@abjakm]

Really great! And you mentioned the idea of templates, that you save one memory to others. I had never heard/thought of that, and though you don't show here how to do it, I believe when you use the WRITE command, one may choose to write to any memory slot. Wonderful tip. Thanks!

[@woodyardmusic]

Oh, yeah didn’t get into saving the template. Just dial in the setup that you like, then save that across you presets with the write command. Cheers!

[@marctestarossa]

@@woodyardmusic Is there any option to save the settings you have for the momentary patch as a default setting? Or is there any way to "save to all"? Because at the moment I'm using the BOSS RC 50 and it can't do that and that's a pita. Because it takes forever to clear all the tracks individually, so it would be great to just move to the next patch when I want to start the next song.

[@woodyardmusic]

@@marctestarossaI looked and I didn’t see anything like that unfortunately. The best I could come up with was getting it all set and then saving it to other banks manually

[@marctestarossa]

@@woodyardmusic ok, same here. I'm frequently running into problems, but fortunately if you get creative you can find workarounds for most of them. And you just need to spend a lot of time with your equipment. I think I need another 2 - 3 weeks with my RC 50 until I'm comfortable enough to take it gigging.

[@jimbojones3013]

Thanks so much. Super clear and concise, and some deeper stuff there that would take a lot to find out. Thanks for sharing that. Cheers!!!!!

[@woodyardmusic]

Happy to help! Cheers!

[@lagoonschool]

Your excited you figured this out ! WOW, this is exactly what I was looking for as well. Just Brilliant, thank-you :-)

[@woodyardmusic]

Oh yeah, I was at this for hours haha. Was really excited when I got it working! Happy to help!

[@d.h.8835]

Holy crap, thank you sooo much you just saved me a bunch of time and a huge headache.

[@woodyardmusic]

Awesome! You’re welcome

[@andreaskarlsson9539]

Great setup! Can you also shift between the memory banks with that pedal? To change song without using hands on stage? I have songs that requires three different loops. Is that possible on this pedal? Tanks

[@AManning77]

Very helpful video! Ordering the FS-6 switch today⭐️👍🏻

[@woodyardmusic]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it

[@trioloopersessions]

Super useful video :) Big thanks!

[@woodyardmusic]

Happy to help!

[@StephenWEwart]

This is great , thankyou. Been a bit slack in not commenting, keep up the great work.

[@woodyardmusic]

Great! I’m glad you liked it and thanks for commenting 😃

[@lgovantes1]

Great video...to the point and very good workflow. I might add another MIDI pedal to control other rhythm functions... changing kits, variations, etc... for me, having a great beat is essential, and also having variations so the looping does not seem redundant.

[@woodyardmusic]

MIDI would be really fun to mess with, I bet that opens a whole world of options!

[@nickbullock9779]

It didn't stop JJ Cale.

[@marcroberts9002]

By George, I think I’ve got it! Many Thanks!

[@woodyardmusic]

Excellent! Glad it made sense

[@TheOrigamiPeople]

Well ,glad you put so much into it but I was hoping for one pedal at a time as I only got two lines

[@woodyardmusic]

You can always customize the RC-500 and just skip the external footswitch!

[@scottbecker3485]

Thanks! 😊 Very interesting variant for me, too. Will definitely give it some thought now, and probably try it out.

[@woodyardmusic]

Once you dive into all the programming and customization there's so many creative ways to set up this pedal! Have fun!

[@RonnieSandifer]

Ohh I like this. Just purchaced a fs-7 so when I get it I think ill do this.

[@woodyardmusic]

Yes! It’s such a fun way to arrange the song as you go instead of being stuck with a single loop

[@dwstoeckel4740]

Hi Wilson, thx for this.. I’m a beginner/intermediate player& looper.. I’m learning to use the 500.. and I’m using the drums that are in the 500.. but they’re kinda not that great.. I like what you’ve done here, I’m gonna try and do same thing w the controls on my drums.. also I just found your channel and read the description, sounds like maybe you can help me with my mix as well.. so you got a new subscriber here.. thanks again

[@woodyardmusic]

Turning off parts of the drum kit goes a long way in helping them sound better for sure! Glad the mixing content is applicable to you too! Welcome aboard!

[@Firstinversion899]

Super useful-thx🙌🙌🙌

[@woodyardmusic]

You got it!

[@sassein001]

Excellent vidéo thanks!

[@hannes8953]

Very helpful indeed!

[@woodyardmusic]

Happy to help!

[@dangravelle9452]

Great tutorial! Thank you. Is there a way to mute the output when you clear each channel? It plays for a second while you hold down to clear.

[@woodyardmusic]

Not that I’m aware of, that was bothering me too

[@chuckmottmusic1915]

You have to add a clear function somewhere but you can't bring it back once it's gone

[@walk357]

Real enjoy you tutorial . and you add list of your pedals on you foot pedal board ..

[@woodyardmusic]

Thanks! I added a list of all the pedals in the description of the video.

[@dantewolfguitar]

extremely helpful and useful thank you!

[@woodyardmusic]

Awesome! You’re welcome

[@HEYSERGYO]

Hey!! Great video! Question: What kind of power supply your using? I got one that either puts 100mA and 500mA and not sure which one to plug the RC500 into. Thanks!!!

[@HEYSERGYO]

Can i ask, is there any way to clear both tracks all at once?

[@woodyardmusic]

Great question! I was using a Cioks Hi5 that supplied 660mA to the pedal. The pedal requires at least 240mA (330mA if using phantom power), so i'd recommend using the 500mA slot!

[@woodyardmusic]

I'm not sure, I know you can change the preset without saving and that will clear everything. I found this guide that mentions ALL CLEAR but doesn't tell how to set it up: support.roland.com/hc/en-us/articles/4422857412251-RC-500-How-to-Assign-onboard-external-footswitches-to-other-functions I checked in the manual but didn't see anything: static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/RC-500_Parameter_eng01_W.pdf

[@HEYSERGYO]

@@woodyardmusic thanks man! Also, I just got 2 new questions for you … I attached an F5-5U foot switch in order to swap between tracks, and the “track select” button to an -all stop/ all start- (I’m already too used to the foot switch) Q:, I cannot seem to clear both tracks at the same time, have you got an idea on how? If I pause both tracks and long press stop , it will only clear one.

[@HEYSERGYO]

@@woodyardmusic last one, is there any way to change the color combination on the lights? Let’s say I want to make all blue when I’m on right track, and all white when in left track , or whatever

[@57barryt]

Thank you 🙏

[@woodyardmusic]

You’re welcome, hope it helps!

[@sideve5526]

Hi, congratulations for the video! A question, can I use the external pedal (BOSS FS-7 or FS-6) to start (and possibly stop) a backig track (a .wav file saved in "track" memory)? Thank you.

[@woodyardmusic]

Yeah that should work in theory. You’d need to use one of you A or B tracks for that but other than that it should be easy to set up

[@Hamnaria-music]

Thanks !!

[@richardjoss569]

Thank you for the great video! As beginner I ask you: do you connect the chorus and the El Capistan by way of INST IN B or OUTPUT B? I am not sure. Thank you for a short answer! Thank you! Richard

[@woodyardmusic]

Hello! I connect all my pedals in series before the looper and go in INST IN A, then OUTPUT A goes to amp, PA, speaker, ect. Hope this helps!

[@richardjoss569]

@@woodyardmusic 😃 of course it helps, thank you so much! merry christmas to you!

[@woodyardmusic]

@@richardjoss569Merry Christmas to you too!

[@onalorkun]

It's a good setup. I have a question for the drums in RC500. Since there is no reggae beat in the device, can I create one by changing the settings on any of the available beats? Appreciate any help😊

[@woodyardmusic]

Oh that’s a great question. I dont know for sure how well that would work but there’s definitely lots of options and tweaking

[@stonemedicine]

Thank you!!

[@S9MusicProd]

What if I want to stop everything including drums?

[@woodyardmusic]

There should be an “all stop” command. I’d check for that in the manual, not sure of that one off the top of my head!

[@martinconverso2866]

Amazing video, txs.. Got a question, do you know how to connect a midi controller to the rc 500? txs and cheers!!

[@woodyardmusic]

Thanks! Unfortunately I don’t have much knowledge on MIDI for this application, sorry!

[@brandenbran]

There’s a port on the back

[@marcroberts9002]

You lost me brother. I don’t have a clue where you’re going. But it is clear that you are fearless. The interface on this thing is rather opaque. I hope someday to learn the all stop, maybe before my next gig.😂

[@woodyardmusic]

Sorry about the screen! I didn’t realize it was hard to see until after I had filmed. Check this manual here, page 13, it explains how to reassign the three main foot switches. Hope this helps! static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/RC-500_eng01_W.pdf

[@chuckmottmusic1915]

Isn't all start on button 3 the way it is set up by default?

[@brandenbran]

@@chuckmottmusic1915nope, it’s set to switch track as default

[@matboy314]

Hi. Great video, and I have set up my RC 500 just like this with the Boss foot switch. When I press start all (as the right hand side footswitch is now) to stop my two track loop it stops one track at a time. Does anyone know how to make it stop both tracks at once? Matthew

[@woodyardmusic]

I believe that parameter is called “all stop” but I could be wrong, take a menu dive and see if that works

[@matboy314]

@@woodyardmusic I checked, and it is “All start”. There doesn’t seem to be any other obvious option. I can stop track 1 and track 2 one after the other with a single tap, but to stop both together requires a double tap; perhaps that’s the only way it can work? Thanks for your response. :-)

[@woodyardmusic]

@@matboy314that might be the case. I looked into it and didn’t see anything about an all clear. Maybe they will add something in a future firmware update? Or maybe someone else will chime in.

[@nelson1953]

In my opinion the Rc 10r is much easier to deal with. I bought one 1 year and half ago and it suits me fine. When I want to record something with some good quality I just record a base of 2 guitars & 1 Bass and then send drums and guitars separately to the Daw and sync it after wich allows me to equalize it separately and I can also record some drums variations with a little patience.

[@woodyardmusic]

Nice! I'll have to check that one out.

[@martinconverso2866]

Hi there, I ve got a question, I assigned the fs 6 footswith as described in the video but for some reason pedal A of the fs 6 needs to be pressed twice to play the rythm or to stop it..Do you know what am I doing wrong? txs for your videos, cheers!!

[@woodyardmusic]

Hello! I’m not sure what you’re doing wrong (or if you’re even doing something wrong). I would take a dive through the settings menu again and just see if there’s anything funky going on. I remember needing to tweak and tweak to get it working right! Best of luck to you!

[@martinconverso2866]

@@woodyardmusic txs dude, I just solved it.. don't know how.. txs

[@woodyardmusic]

@@martinconverso2866 Haha that sounds like my whole experience using the RC-500. Glad you got it figured out!

[@walk357]

Question I'm getting low volume output on my looper when I plug my guitar in is there anyway to adjust the volume output for the Guitar Volume is 10.

[@woodyardmusic]

I’m not sure of that one, I’d recommend checking the manual, you can probably find it on the Boss/Roland website

[@ronnylee1411]

These options are not available on my brand new RC-500. Are you using an older version? I really like your tutorial but it is useless to me. I bought this unit based on watching your video prior to purchase. Any chance you might make a new video that addresses this?

[@woodyardmusic]

Oh wild, sorry to hear that. Let me look into it and see if I can find anything!

[@woodyardmusic]

I checked their most current manual and it matches what I was using at the time of shooting the video. That tells me you may need to update the firmware one your pedal (I had a similar issue in the past with a different boss pedal, with menu options not showing up, and a firmware update fixed the issue). I’d recommend emailing boss, explaining the issue, and then they will be able to walk you through a firmware update. Let me know if this works!

[@miraposajehano4309]

I like the looper but it ain't so easy to set up. I have been trying to split the sound of the rhythm on one amp and the guitar on another. I did but I still faintly hear the guitar where only the drum sound should come out. Another problem is trying to hook that FS-6 Boss pedal on special effects. I wanted to set one pedal on vinyl effect and the other one on reverse. The reverse one is working fine but not the other one. As you say, everytime you want to modify the setting, you have to do a complete reset and therefore lose all your previous recording.

[@woodyardmusic]

Yeah, it definitely has so much functionality but it’s hard to get it set up at times.

[@bassmonk2920]

How do you fade one part out and start another in time...

[@woodyardmusic]

That’s a great question, I’m not sure about that one

[@rovenordiales]

How do you clear all? Holding the 3rd footswitch doesn't clear it.

[@woodyardmusic]

I never actually clear all, when I finish a song I go to the next memory without saving. That being said, you may be able to program it in the assign area.

[@rovenordiales]

@@woodyardmusic yeah I figured it out. Best to pair Rc500 with a midi footswitch. I programmed 1 button to start and stop all single press. Then press and hold to clear all. Still maintained the default control as I wanted to have a dedicated stop button for each track.

[@chuckmottmusic1915]

You mentioned it , but I would think you would need to add that function via a midi footswitch. I watched a guy program a whole verse with his feet, with two guitars, keys, bass, then undo everything when he got to the chorus without soundling like he was losing much. Was a beautiful thing to watch and part of the entertainment value of watching someone with a looper do their thing.

[@NoCoverCharge]

Why when I do the exact same thing my drums stop every time

[@woodyardmusic]

What button causes them to stop?

[@chuckmottmusic1915]

In my case double clicking the track stops the loop AND drums, and of course all start stops everything. I would love to have the option of stopping the loop without the drums stopping. Any ideas? It would essentially give you a third track, but I have not been able to figure it out. Undo only undoes the last layer. THat said, thank you for posting this, this was a very practical way of setting up the looper.

[@paulwhitworth8904]

Sorry but you lost me at double-tap to stop. The main reason I use this looper is to have a dedicated stop button. Anyway, what ever works for you mate.

[@woodyardmusic]

Ah, understood. The beauty of the looper is you can set it to what’s best for you!