that’s a shame, I would love this feature, I think it should be an option to do whatever x whatever so we could decide… eg. 2x4 or 4x3 etc
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Could be fine to have that in the future !
I’m putting together a solo set for some bar gigs, I love how flexible the 2x2 mode is but in a few songs that I’m working with, they have a verse>pre-chorus>chorus structure. I’m programming my drums into the BeatBuddy, and I’m having a hard time working around making 3 parts in my drums but only having 2 parts in the looper to work with. Is there already a fix for this/can we get this?
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I agree. Allowing users to predefine a 2x(1-6) and 6x(1-6) would provide the most flexibility for everyone. Every one approaches looping differently and it would be fantastic to predefine different looping parameters for what ever given scenario.
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Lacking the ability create any dynamic structures, the best thing I have found to do is always work in 6x6 even if you only need 2x2 (so that you aren’t always having to think about the differences in operation), and then use a MIDI Controller to switch parts.
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I know Rock, ur right there, but a 2x is so dynamic with the pedal action. Having MORE 2x would be so fantastic for the live improvising player. 6x6=more river dance. I can’t river dance… 
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I definitely won’t argue that if you like the way 2x works, then you should want more out of it. My answer is more that if you have a gig coming up soon and 2x2 is a roadblock, the best thing I can think to do today is adopt 6x6 fully with the addition of a powerful and programmable MIDI controller. You can get it down to minimal taps and even make 6x6 work closer to a 2x2, 2x3, etc. (but it would be even better if the MIDI Implementation were complete).
Let me caveat this by saying that I don’t use the BeatBuddy, so I don’t have the entire picture of what it’s like to use both of those units together.
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2x2 is easy because there are only two tracks and two parts, so the switch just toggles between them instead of scrolling through a long list (like in 6x6). I agree with RockDebris that using a midi footswitch helps simplify 6x6 control a lot, but even so, it gets confusing because 6 song parts is so many for live looping even with a Midi Maestro foot pedal. I would love it if the developers would use numbers for the parts icons instead of the circles. It would be so much easier for my brain to be able to see what number the part is instead of having to count down from the top each time.
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So with the BeatBuddy, the upshot of it is that you long hold the BB and it not only transitions the drums but also automatically transitions the Aeros in 2x2 mode. In 6x6, you need to cue the Aeros to the next section and get then trigger the transition on the BB.
I guess an alternative to having 2x# would be to make the 6x6 mode have an option to trigger part transitions with the BB (which I think you’d have to preset when you’re creating the track). I feel like doing that though would more or less eliminate the 2x2 mode for most of its applications.
I would be looking to see if I could make both the transition on the Aeros and BB with a single press on the MIDI Controller. I do this kind of thing with several loopers simultaneously, but no experience with the BB.
My favorite arrangement on the MIDI Controller I use (Morningstar) is to have 1 switch that toggles between Parts 1 & 2, a second switch that toggles between 3 & 4 and a third that toggles between 5 & 6. That’s 3 switches on the controller with 1 or 2 presses to get to any part (with the display on the footcontroller telling me which part is going to be triggered). If I’m playing a song that has 2 parts, then even though I’m in 6x6 mode it is all still concentrated on one switch and one press just as if I’m using the Aeros switch in 2x2.
Hope that gives you some ideas. I totally agree that 2x2 can be limiting and 6x6 can get complicated to manage. The whole reason I work in 6x6 all the time with an external footcontroller is I don’t want to switch between modes and work with two different patterns of operation. The way I devised allows muscle memory to set and I never run into the 2x2 limitation.
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As an update, in the meantime I changed the role of the BeatBuddy, it is not the central unit/clock master of my MIDI rig any more. In fact I only use the BB in singer songwriter like gigs with no synths. Otherwise as MIDI slave it is a great visual beat/measure indicator.
My Aeros is now cc triggered by a MIDI sequencer to switch between Parts, during recording and performing. While recording, the Tracks are handled by the switches of the Aeros itself. While performing the Tracks are cc muted/unmuted by a MIDI controller switch.
So it’s done, in practice I only use the 6x6 mode as a starting point. Then I use any number of Parts as needed, usually 2-4, while each Part has a varying number of Tracks, usually 2-4. It works really nice. I feel free. Thank you SingularSound.
For me the only MIDI command missing now are PCs to load projects.
I’m not exactly sure what is being referred to when you say “achieve this”, but I’ll say that I avoid Long Press religiously for anything that happens in the midst of a performance, so it’s never that. (I just can’t spare the cycles to pay attention and see whether I held a Long Press long enough)
If what you are asking is how do I program the switches to toggle between 2 parts, it’s just one of the actions available for switches in the MC6 to create custom toggles, and can include up to 16 MIDI commands. I could toggle the loops of up to 8 devices with one press if necessary (I actually have 3 devices that I toggle, so it’s good that I have this). I would consider the BB just another one of those devices, but I don’t want to say definitively since I’ve never had one and I’m not familiar with its MIDI Implementation.
When a song starts expanding beyond a simple Part 1 & 2 toggle switch, and I have to step on the 2nd or 3rd toggle switch to engage the other 4 parts, I do sometimes have to make 2 presses on one switch (at most) to choose the correct toggle state. This is okay for me as all of my songs use EOM/EOL part changes, so I have time, and the screen on the MIDI Controller tells me what’s about to happen.
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Hey guys, the official thread for this request is here.
Because of this reason, I will be moving this to the general discussion section of the forum
Please forward any thoughts related to setting parts/tracks to that thread if you feel it is missing something.
Carry on.
My 2-cents for what they’re worth:
Adding more flexibility with the x by y by parts is a wonderful addition to my current flow. At the very least being able to scale from 2x2 through 6x6 with all of 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5 being available is a massive improvement over current limits.
Not sure if the hardware limitations would create an issue but in a dream world I’d like to be able to choose the “x” and “y” for the “x by y” set up.
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Even just 3 by 1 mode and ability to assign switches to functions like rc500
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For me an RPM 4x4 mode using midi commands would be perfect!
Like this with the MM, I could attribute in a single page:
- 4 independent tracks,
- 1 button to undo selected track
- and a button to leave this page.
This is already done in 5.0.0 beta which is out since Christmas, we have a setting to allow Auto Song Part changes
We are still looking into whether we will be doing what we currently are calling N x M mode but no promises
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