Boss RC-3 or Digitech Jamman Solo or Regular Jamman

Hey everyone, I've been wanting to get into doing some looping and I've narrowed my choices down to the new Boss RC-3 or a Digitech Jamman solo. I like the idea of having a lot of space to store my loops and come back to them later, and I don't really plan on gigging with it. It's just going to be a tool to practice, write, and have fun with.

The RC-3 is really new, so I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with either one of these pedals? I think I've already decided on the Jamman Solo because I can pick one up on ebay for around $120-$150 compared to $200 for the RC3, but I just wanted to get some input before I buy.

I've also considered the original Jamman with 2 soft pedals because I can probably get one used for the same price as the Jamman Solo, is there a big difference between these two in features, tone, etc? Thanks in advance!

I have the original Jamman and it's nice because you can plug in an external 3 button switch to enhance the functions. Not sure about the others.

Also, since it's just for practice I'll throw out the GNX4 multifx. It's looper has the ability to store loops on separate tracks. So you can mess around with deleting or remixing stuff later. It's also one of the few loopers that syncs to an internal drum machine.

I got the Jamman solo back when they first came out. I use it on a regular basis to jam with when there is no one to jam with. I built a 3 button switch for it a while back but replaced it with a new FX3X as they were on sale for $19. The extra fs is great to have I hate Ben Dover everytine I change loops, it's a time and back saver.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z440/TTSC2/FX%20Stuff/5142011upload2.jpg

If you plan to use more than one amp, the RC-3 has dual outputs and dual inputs, and works of a 9v battery, where the Jamman has a wall wart and one output. Both looks like the same digital design from the functions in the manual. Both have optional footswitch inputs. The Jamman also has memory card function. both have Aux inputs.

Check the youtube for demos of the two, there is a guy named Calder who does some great stuff on the looper.

Thanks for the quick responses! Does the JM Solo allow you to record a bunch of overdub parts without starting stopping? I've seen a few demos on Youtube and they have to like start/stop when doing overdubs... whats up with that? I guess I'm asking because I would love to practice making percussion noises on my acoustic, then layering rhythm, then layering lead accents, then soloing/singing, etc. but I would love to do it seemlessly without stopping.

I'm not sure if you need to stop, seems like the demos I've seen, they continue to overlay and continue to add while the loop is playing. I could be wrong.

But with the foot switch, you can create several loops in different memory banks off one rythm or loop, (this requires starting and stopping and saving). Then when you start playback you can switch between any of the created loops whitout stopping. To do this you hit the switch any time before the loop ends and when the loop ends it auto switches to the start of the next loop you chose. Also, by using the mode switch you can lay more on to a specific loop, and continue to change tracks if you choose.

There is a lot of ways to use the looper to add overlays and save, and add more, and It may sound confusing, but take it one function at a time.

Good luck.

Get the new Boss RC-3 I did and LOVE it. It has the best of both worlds Jamman and Boss, better drum tracks more recording files 99 to be exact, and 3 hours of record time and stereo out... IMO the new RC-3 blows away both the Solo and the Rc-2

Keep in mind that if you ever want to do live looping, all of these units are really hard to use if you want to create a multi-part song on the fly (verse, chorus, bridge).

Personally, I don't like to go back to stale loops. I never bonded with a looper until I got my Boomerang II, which is now my favorite piece of equipment next to my guitars and amps.

I hate my Jamman solo. It's too complicated, and I never seem to be able to store the loops I make. Shoulda never traded my Boss RC-20XL. I'd gladly trade my Jamman solo (And pedal) for an old beat up RC-20XL.

I really wanted a looper and bought the Boss RC-2. In two weeks, it was either sell it, or throw the f*cking thing through my front window. The UI is unbelievably wretched and complicated. I put it on eBay -- gone.

Months later, I found myself dicking around with a Digitech RP-155 pedal, and while I hated all the "multi-fx" I really liked the 20-second looping capability. Easy enough even I could handle, and I like easy. Seriously -- I play guitar to get away from 'complicated.'

But 20 seconds isn't enough, so I returned it.

Recently, I bought a Jamman Solo. It TOO has a wretched UI, but it's better than the BOSS RC-2's, and overall is incredibly useful. I have to break out the manual to figure out the rhythm track/auto-quantize/tempo crap, which drives me into a rage, but otherwise it's simple enough and perfect for laying down a progression, and blowing over it. It's also a good training tool for timing.

Is there a simple pedal out there? All I want to do is loop, and occasionally overdub, and -- rarely -- input from an MP3 player.

To the OP - you can modify the loop in mid-stream.

I have the JamMan Solo. I think it's fine. I use it just for practice/experimenting at home, and it does the job just fine. I don't find it hard to use at all. Still, the specs of the RC-3 are attractive.

I hate my Jamman solo. It's too complicated, and I never seem to be able to store the loops I make. Shoulda never traded my Boss RC-20XL. I'd gladly trade my Jamman solo (And pedal) for an old beat up RC-20XL.

You're probably just not hitting the store button twice. You hit store, then the light blinks, and you hit it again. It blinks so you can select a different memory position before finalizing the store if you want to.

Dear everyone.
I'm a new member from Ukraine (yes, it's realy far from you).
All the morning long I'm trying to chose between RC-3 and JamMan Solo for my bass-player.
Let me explain you the task and maybe some of you will help me.
We are playing in the band: me (drummer) and the bass-player (who is also doing vocals). As we don't have the guitar-player, the bass-player have to play all the guitar stuff on the bass.
So the situation is: he is playing chorus, recording the bass-line as a loop, and when the recorded loop starts repeating he is playing the overdubed solo. I think this can held both devices. But as he also sings - with that he can miss the right start or end of the loop and the further bass-line will go crooked. I found out that JamMan does supports the auto-quantizing option. That will make the loop to play smoothly with the tempo of the song. But I didn't find that RC-3 has this option as well.
Can somebody give me an advice to chose the correct pedal for our situation?

Thanks!

Thanks for the quick responses! Does the JM Solo allow you to record a bunch of overdub parts without starting stopping? I've seen a few demos on Youtube and they have to like start/stop when doing overdubs... whats up with that? I guess I'm asking because I would love to practice making percussion noises on my acoustic, then layering rhythm, then layering lead accents, then soloing/singing, etc. but I would love to do it seemlessly without stopping.

It works without stopping.

I have an RC-3 and find it very frustrating. It's not intuitive at all and you might as well throw the instruction manual away; it's useless.

Hey everyone, I've been wanting to get into doing some looping and I've narrowed my choices down to the new Boss RC-3 or a Digitech Jamman solo. I like the idea of having a lot of space to store my loops and come back to them later, and I don't really plan on gigging with it. It's just going to be a tool to practice, write, and have fun with.

The RC-3 is really new, so I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with either one of these pedals? I think I've already decided on the Jamman Solo because I can pick one up on ebay for around $120-$150 compared to $200 for the RC3, but I just wanted to get some input before I buy.

I've also considered the original Jamman with 2 soft pedals because I can probably get one used for the same price as the Jamman Solo, is there a big difference between these two in features, tone, etc? Thanks in advance!

I just bought a Jamman Delay from Proaudiostar for a stupid good deal. The regular Jamman is around $200 and I paid like $240 for the Jamman Delay. They were having a sale. You might be able to get that price. They ALWAYS hook me up with a good deal. I'm not affiliated with them at all, just bought a few things there. Be sure to call if you want to order. They deal with you better that way.

I've had the Jamman for a few weeks and I must say it is a ton of fun. The delay models are just "ok" but it is super cool that you can sync the delay tempo with the loop you are playing. There are something like 8 delay models too which is cool cause you get a decent delay if you are just using it for home use. I won't throw out my Malekko Ekko anytime soon though...

Also, it has 99 spots for saving loops and can store like 35 hours worth of audio with an SD card.

I've had a lot of fun just loading drum beats from my computer onto the Jamman and playing along with them through my amp. LOTS of fun.

Also, the user interface is way nicer than the single pedal types. Very easy to use, but you still have to tweak knobs from time to time.

So... that's what I like... Here are the things I don't like about it:

1. It's big
2. There is no mic input like on the jamman stereo
3. There are only 9 rhythm tracks and they pretty much suck. You can't change them, as far as I know.