Today I picked up a Boss RC-3 Loopstation that looks pretty much brand new. The only problem was that it wouldn’t power on using either the Boss PSA adapter or via batteries. I bought it for $10 thinking I might get lucky and be able to get the pedal going but so far I’ve had no luck. Basically the pedal is dead and after some further research on the internet, there appears to be a power issue trend starting with these.
Now, I’ve had a Boss RC-3 before and had zero problems with it before I sold it. I am using the same type of batteries and required PSA adapter to power this newly acquired RC-3. Again the problem is that the RC-3 won’t power on. There are no lights or anything. I do get sound going through the pedal. Meaning I get a clean sound when either the battery or PSA adapter is connected. If I disconnect the PSA adapter or take out the battery, I get no sound. Note that no LED lights or any sign of life appears when trying to power on the pedal.
I’ve also used Mono cables and inserted appropriately the cables to the A output jack which acts as the “power on” to the Boss RC-3. Still nothing. I then took a good hour and dismantled the entire pedal and check for any obvious issues. Again nothing. In addition, I checked for continuity on most of the points and also checked for any cold solder joints. I couldn’t find anything wrong at all.
Thus it’s very strange that this Boss RC-3 won’t power up at all. Others have claimed that the Boss RC-3 while working fine one day will suddenly stop and not turn on. It’s dead! This is a great little pedal, but I’m afraid that unless the problem is found, we could see quite a few more of these “very expensive” pedals crapping out in the future. So I thought I’d post my experience and will update if I make any progress. Beware of possible power issues with the Boss RC-3.
Stay tuned!
Jim Atwood in Japan 