BOSS RC-505MK2 Loop Station Hands-On Looper for Modern Performers

Boss has revamped their RC-505MK2 Loop Station to add impressive dynamic range to the mix as well as extended looping time and more rhythmic support from its onboard processors. Let's examine what the Loop Station is before we get into the updates: the RC-505MK2 is a live performance tool for loop artists, housed in a compact tabletop enclosure. It provides easy fingertip control of five stereo phrase tracks and various loop playback behaviors, while a choice of input and track effects deliver a wide range of real-time processing options.

Like the original, this unit provides independent record, overdub, play, and stop buttons for each track, to allow for capturing and controlling loop performances, mixing loop levels on the fly, storing up to 99 phrase memories, and more. Three notable improvements grace the RC-505MK2: First, recording time has been upped from 3 hours stereo to 1.5 hours per track, coming it at around 13 hours total. Second, Rhythmic support has gone from 85 types of percussion sound to over 200. Lastly—and this is quite exciting for guitar players who love dynamic range—the RC-505MK2 utilizes a 32-bit float signal path, which means dynamic range is preserved to a degree far greater than you'd get with original's 16-bit linear resolution. A power adapter is included.