Boss Audio Systems RC50 manual Loop Quantize and Multi Mode, Guide OFF, Loop Sync OFF

When you’re in Single mode and the patch’s Phrase Change mode is set to LOOP END, selecting a phrase for recording while another is playing puts it in a record standby state, and recording doesn’t actually begin until the current phrase ends. If the guide is on, this behavior ensures that all phrases’ beginnings and endings are aligned with guide measure downbeats.

If you’re using Single mode as described in the tip above, you may wish to record phrases on-after-the-other without stopping to listen to the previously recorded phrase. After recording the first phrase, make sure you initiate the recording of subsequent phrases exactly on—or up to one-half measure before—the downbeat of a guide measure. When you do this, Loop Quantize ensures that recording will begin on the downbeat. If you initiate recording after the downbeat (anywhere up to one-half measure after), you’ll find that your newly recorded phrase will be out of sync with the guide sound when the phrase starts playing back.

Loop Quantize and Multi Mode

As opposed to Single mode, where only one phrase can play at a time, Multi mode allows you to play up to three phrases simultaneously. With multiple phrases playing at once, measure length and timing becomes a critical consideration.

Just like Single mode, Loop Quantize is automatically enabled in Multi mode when you’re recording with the guide, functioning as described previously.

When the guide is off, however, keeping multiple phrases in time with each other is more of a challenge. To help, there are a couple of conditions where Loop Quantize can be used while playing along with a previously recorded phrase.

If you want to record and play your Multi mode phrases without any timing reference to each other, turn the guide, Loop Sync, and all phrases’ Tempo Sync switches off.

Guide: OFF, Loop Sync: OFF

When Loop Sync is off, the patch’s three phrases can be of any length. Using this functionality, it’s common to create phrases that have identical measure lengths, but different numbers of overall measures. This is illustrated in the following example, where Phrase 1 is one measure, Phrase 2 is six measures, and Phrase 3 is two measures.

Phrase 1	CC CC C C C C CC CC C C C C CC CC C C C C CC CC C C C C CC CC C C C C CC CC C C C C
	1 measure	1 measure	1 measure		1 measure	1 measure	1 measure
Phrase 2	CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C
				6 measures
Phrase 3	CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C CC CC C C

2 measures 2 measures 2 measures

When you’re playing with the guide, it’s easy to create phrases in this fashion, as Loop Quantize makes sure that all phrases match the guide’s measure length.

If you don’t want to use the guide, there’s still a way to use Loop Quantize. By turning on a phrase’s Tempo Sync switch, the phrase can be used as a reference phrase for Loop Quantize. In essence, this allows the phrase to be used as a replacement for the guide.

Loop Quantize is enabled during phrase recording when:

•the desired reference phrase’s Tempo Sync switch is on.

•the reference phrase is set for looped playback (its One Shot parameter is set to LOOP).

•the reference phrase is playing.

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