BOSS RC-500: A Question About Fills and a Hidden Setting 

Kim! This was a great video! The demonstration of the Rhythm - Loop function was well done. There are times in my live looping gig that I just want to hit play on the looper and play guitar, sing, take my solos and not think about hitting a foot switch. This enables me to record the drums on track 1 and add bass guitar and whatever else to track 2. Save. Turn off the drum machine. Then hit play. Awesome! I have a feeling I will be creating more using this method. Thanks so much!

When you switch from Variation A to B. This is where the fill is activated. It will play different fills depending on how much time is left in the measure.

New rc-500 owner here. Good job! I guess the Boss strategy is that we all learn together, rather than putting out one definitive encyclopedia manual? Maybe that builds a ‘community’ of explorers, and is best in the long run? Thanks for your contribution. Subscribed.

I am currently going through many videos on the subject and I think I have found it. For example, you can set the 3rd pedal to variation. If you then press this pedal, the variation of the rhythm comes. First, the pedal 3 must be deactivated, because the function is not found under the standard settings: MEMORY > CONTROL > PDL3 FUNC (OFF) Now the variation can be stored for example under Assign 1: MEMORY > ASSIGN1 > ON MEMORY > ASSIGN1 > SOURCE > PEDAL 3 MEMORY > ASSIGN1 > SCR MODE > MOMENT (As long as the pedal is pressed Rhythm Variation B is played) MEMORY > ASSIGN1 > TARGET > VARIATIO To record the rhythm with variation you have to make the settings as you described at the end of the video. INPUT > RHYTHM > LOOP If you use the 3 footswitch for the standard function, you can also connect an external switch and assign the function to it.

In my time with the RC-500, I figured out that the fills kick in when you transition between the A & B variations, with the Variation Change set to Loop End.

Thank you very much. They don’t even explain a simple basic instruction such as delete - by pressing stop a few seconds. Thank you very much for your videos

Great tip about saving the rhythm to the loop. I’m going to try to create a rhythm only backing track with some chorus / verse variations.

Thanks for answering my question :)

Ooh thanks for showing me how to save drum changes! I use a Boss FS-6 footswitch with my RC-500. You can select what the switches do. I'm new to this too so currently have footswitch 1 set to start and stop rhythm and footswitch 2 as Variation change. I'm sure there's a way to double tap for a fill but I'm yet to find it.

Interesting & useful :)

I feel better now about not having figured out my more basic Boss looper... ccrappy manuals.

What I have found so far, is I had to do an Assign the Variation parameter to a pedal button (or external pedal). At this point depending on if you've enabled the fill, and hit the pedal just before where you want the variation to transition, a fill will play. Probably old news for most of you.

Thanks, I’m thinking about getting one. I think using a full song backing track would be better through the looper. From another source.

Can you please tell me, if it has the outro fill feature, as the RC-10 does?

I think if you record a loop of say, 4 measures, then when you play the loop back the fill comes in at the next beginning of the loop

Hi, Thanks for the useful vid, it is appreciated. Do you happen to know what "Rhythm Lev2" is for? Just trying to understand this thing! Many thanks.

didnt see you press memory value to confirm fill on

Thanks

Is the drum fills in with drum variations

fill only work with new variation 0n drum a or b patern

I don't understand how boss could have this menu. Do they test it with reall guitarists? For me all this new serie is totaly bad. This menu make me crazy.. Really i' m always losted inside every time.