Just unboxed a BOSS RC-5? This walkthrough gets you from empty pedalboard to confident first performance: recording and overdubbing, the menu system, the two kinds of settings, and the handful of shortcuts that make this single-track looper feel much bigger than it looks.
Record your first loop
Everything runs from the single footswitch. Press once to start recording, press again when your phrase is done and playback begins immediately. Press again to overdub — and thanks to the RC-5's 32-bit sound engine, overdubs are unlimited and uncompressed, so you can stack layers all night without losing audio quality. Made a mess of a layer? Press and hold for a couple of seconds to undo the last overdub; the same hold brings it back.
Read the loop light display
The LCD is your best friend while learning: it glows red while recording the base layer, yellow while overdubbing, and green in playback. Double-tap the footswitch to stop the loop.
Understand Setup vs Memory — the key concept
The RC-5 is the first BOSS stompbox looper with a full menu system, and it splits into two halves you must not confuse. Setup holds the system settings: global parameters that apply to every one of the 99 memory patches. Memory holds per-patch settings: loop mode, rhythm choice, loop level, record action and more, saved individually to whichever patch you're on. That means you can pre-build a patch per song — each with its own drum pattern, tempo and behaviour — and step through your set list patch by patch.
Tip: To jump through the 99 patches quickly, press and hold the memory knob while turning — it scrolls in tens instead of singles.
Customise the display mode
Under Setup → General → Display you can change what the loop indicator shows: the loop's position, the patch number, or my favourite for beginners — Status, which prints exactly what the pedal is doing (REC, PLAY, DUB) in bold text. When you're learning loop timing, that clarity is worth a lot.
Change the Record Action
By default the RC-5 records, then plays back when you tap again (Record → Play). Under Memory → Loop → Record Action you can flip it to Record → Dub: the moment you close the first phrase, the pedal drops straight into overdubbing so you can layer immediately. It's a per-patch setting — set it to match each song's arrangement.
Set your loop level
A lot of new owners hunt through menus for the playback volume. It's hiding in plain sight: click the memory knob once and it becomes the loop level control. Turn to taste, click back out.
Explore the rhythm section
The RC-5 ships with 57 drum patterns, each with A/B variations, multiple kits and time signatures — all per-patch under Memory → Rhythm. The shortcut worth memorising: press and hold the rhythm on/off button to jump straight into the rhythm settings, where you can also tap in a tempo or dial in an exact BPM with the knob.
Where to go next
That's the core workflow: record, overdub, undo; system vs memory; display, record action, loop level and rhythm. From here it's repetition — loop timing is a muscle. When you're ready to go deeper into every parameter (external footswitch control, one-shot mode, reverse and the rest), the full course below walks through every single setting on the pedal.