Beat Buddy
 

Any one that has experience with the Beat Buddy? Thinking about getting one. I am somewhat challenged (with some tech) but if it’s simple enough for my dog to operate it, then there is a chance I could also.
I think I have seen most of the you tube demos, but I would find actual experience more useful. Simply wanting to add a bit more to my music without too much difficulty…..
Thanks

I've wanted to get it for the longest time but the more I looked at it, the more complicated it is to operate (especially in a performance). You'd probably need a lot of time to get used to the pedal especially with the patches and such.

It is very capable, and was the first pedal I bought four or five years ago in my current incarnation as a performer. But I never even tried to use it live. Now, I'm not the most coordinated person in the world, and I have little patience for menus and such. But I've never seen it used live by the far more talented musicians in my area either.

The BB has a long and steep learning curve to say the least. I suggest you think long and hard about getting one of these. The drum sounds are great but actually using it in a gigging application is tough.

I agree with hotroad. I'm also technically challenged and found the BB a bit complicated to upload the software. If you do plan on buying one, there is a BB users forum which I found to be super helpful if you ever run into any problems.

Yes
 

I have one, I do not recall ever using the software to create my own patterns or songs. I bought one of the extended libraries. I’ve performed with it a couple times over live online open mics when Covid first hit. Before that I did use it
In a classroom setting. Nice thing about the Beat Buddy is playing in odd time signatures. I have the original with the larger screen and you can watch the beat move on the screen and visually see when the next measure arrives. I like it far better than drum machines. The only tricky thing at times is ending the song, if you don’t double tap correctly, it just keeps playing. Typically no different than a looper, best to avoid putting it on any soft carpet.

I’ve been using the bb for a few years. I use it along with the foot switch for about 1/3rd of the songs I play. I’ve tried out some of its competitions and I like it the best. The sound is most realistic and the drum fills are great.

The foot switch is handy for songs that you have to pause the drums periodically (like Lyin Eyes just before the chorus) as you can program one button for pause and the other for cymbal hits. You need to practice a lot with it though if you plan to play guitar, sing and control the bb all the same time as one little hiccup could spoil your performance in a live show.

Some friends of mine have a three man Standards combo and they started using the BeatBuddy. It sounded great, but those guys were constantly bending down, sometimes all three of them, pushing buttons and fiddling with this thing between songs. Not a good look for professionals on stage. They eventually abandoned it.

There is a learning curve but it's a pretty amazing device and can add a whole new dimension to your performance. Lots of info in forums, etc. but if you are easily frustrated then it might be challenging. I've had one about 6 months, here's some suggestions:

- Buy the World Percussion Set drum kit, this is mostly what I use to accompany acoustic guitar. I use this on most songs.

- Buy the Cafe Gig- Cajon Essentials Beats, again great to accompany acoustic guitar. You can get this much cheaper a-la-cart then the premium packs.

- Turn off into and outros, these are pretty cheesy and make it obvious you are using a drum machine.

- Get a midi controller or at least the external footswitch to make it easier to control in a live situation.

- if you use a looper, have the BB feed it midi time sync. This is pretty awesome. I use my BB with a Pigtronix Infinity 3.

- Use SongBook or the iPad software on a tablet to send midi controls to the BB for song selection. This eliminates bending down and fiddling with it between songs.

- I export then import a copy of the beats for each song I use it on so I can tweak them.

- DO NOT use any punctuation in the title of your songs except a dash. For sure don't' use a period. Learned this the hard way.

- Learn how to back up your SD card and do so before syncing to the BB Manager

I'd love to have a pedal that I could tap 4 times to set a tempo and let it run for the song. Maybe a stomp button for fills and another one to pause, but I've never seen anything that simple.

I got one of these at the beginning of Covid to use when practicing instead of a metronome and it really made a difference to my tempo issues. When we started playing again I got two compliments about my improved tempo. I think it's pretty simple to use, but I don't ask much of it. I have played live with it once or twice with a foot pedal in low stress performances, but I think really it is best as a practice tool. I also think its more fun to have a drum working with you, especially with electric guitars, but I use it all the time for acoustic too.

Here it is!

https://www.drumport.de/drumport-eng...player-bundle/

I've just started playing around with mine at home, but will start using it at gigs shortly. In Auto mode it's 4 taps to set the tempo......the 5th tap starts the loop....tap to pause, and tap again to start, tap to finish. No fills, but I can deal with that. You can also use it in Manual mode, and keep tapping/stomping throughout the song, but pauses and finishes are a bit clunky and very hard to time right

Aaron Short did a demo on the all in one version, but I have the pedal type box, which can be triggered by any regular stompbox, and have it mounted to a mic stand bracket, so I can change the styles/kits in between songs without having to bend down and fiddle.

They were originally made by a German company called Finhol, but now are produced by DrumPort. I did a lot of homework before I bought one (from Germany), but it's looking, and sounds very good so far.

Here's a couple of links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2A3_km3RGc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyg28EMwnIk

Very interesting! I saw this at the time but didn't recall the auto capability, which he starts talking about around the 9:18 mark (first video). Very clever how you worked around the stop/start limitations.

Could this be the next big thing?

Ortega QUANTUMloop Digital Percussion Stompbox With Looper

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...g?v=1634755153

Whoa, that looks fun!