RC-20XL Things to know 
by chris soulis from Austin, TX, April 2007
Music Background:  Live Musician/ Recording Engineer

This pedal is really good for on the fly looping, tempo controlled saved loops for use with very precise live drumming or a computer tempo controlled live sound. It does not allow you to undo more than the last loop recorded which is a disadvantage in that unlike a computer you can't undo more than the VERY LAST function. So say you loop your basic track and then add 2 fills each with independent loops - you can only erase the last loop you add which poses a problem when dropping back to your basic track. you can write those 3 loops to one phrase but in that process you have to mute out the recorded loops in order for them to be saved. You can do this w/o the flow of sound ending by switching (by hand) the phrase selector knob to the next open phrase, fading out or out-right ending the looped phrase, waiting for the unit to reset itself (1-5 seconds), and recording your new loop on the next phrase slot and layering it all the while playing the difference. Then to switch between phrases you either have to do it by hand or by using 1 fsu5 (optional) pedal. This pedal allows you to skip to the next phrase i.e. if you're on 1, hit the pedal and you have a phrase loop on 2 then it goes to 2. if you don't have a saved loop until 3-11 it goes to the next available or back to 1 whichever comes first. Two fsu pedals will toggle up /down depending on which one you hit. The f series 6 pedal has two stomp pedals which eliminate the need for two fsu5s and the mono y mono to stereo cable that is needed. One of the great things is that you can record a loop using distortion, save it, and then record another loop without distortion but with reverb and it plays both the way you initially recorded them. - you can change values on individual pedals and record loops with different, say, reverbs from the same pedal. it does have a reverse function which with an additional fsu 5 pedal you can switch in and out while playing a single looped phrase. There are a few more pedals out there - line 6 14 second looper..., boomerang, old EH 16 second dd, but for 250 dollars this does the trick. Not hard to operate out of the box. The stock sounds are a bit annoying and I wish the guide tones had a selector switch for headphones only. I also wish you could toggle back and delete more than the last track as songs have a tendancy to dynamically rise and fall throughout their duration. Perhaps the RC-50 does this. So this pedal is great if you can make use of it otherwise get another guitarist and skip the robotic replacement.

Powerful looping pedal 
by World B. Lee from Arcata, CA, June 2005

The RC20XL is a lot easier to use than I thought it would be. I even bought a Boss footpedal to go with it so I could switch between loops, but after recording a bunch of loops, I got used to simply using the stomp once to start recording/stomp again to start looping method of recording loops without using the click track. If you DO want to use the click track, it's a bummer there isn't a separate output for it so you can send it to your monitors rather than your amp. It's also a slight bummer that isn't stereo since it would be pretty expensive to buy two of these if you run a two amp setup.

The sound quality is pretty clean to my ear, even after building up a few tracks on top of each other. Using it live is very easy--the only thing you have to watch is hitting the Record/Loop start button right on the beat so your loops stay in time with the rest of the band. I normally use it in the loop of my Budda, but I've also used it for acoustic solo performances. It's great for doing everything from laying down 'percussion' tracks by tapping on your guitar to laying down bass/chords/counter melodies to solo over. Building up noise tracks while soloing (e.g., feedback, pick noises, etc.) can you give a cool wall of sound even in a trio context. It's also cool to record a loop while you're playing a verse riff that you can click on when you go to solo, although you do have to be careful to hit the Stop button quickly during the verse so that you don't get a weird doubled effect during the original verse...

I'd like the RC20XL to be a little cheaper or be in stereo, but despite those nitpicks, I've been very happy with my purchase.

Click here to Read the inSync Review for the RC-20XL

Write Your Own Review!
We all love gear, and we all love talking about gear with our friends and bandmates. Why not share your thoughts with the hundreds of thousands of customers who regularly visit Sweetwater.com? Write your own customer review on this product! To begin, just Click Here!