What is it capable of that isn’t obvious? I’ve figured out creating events, moving events,adjusting velocity levels, and there is splitting and merging which I’m not sure what that does.
Is there any ability to cut, copy, paste, trim drum patterns? I have a collection of drum patterns of different lengths that I would like to be able to edit to shorter lengths, but thus far haven’t found a way within the BBM MIDI Editor. I do have Reaper that can do what I want, but it’s sort of overkill for just simple edits to a MIDI drum pattern.
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You’re better off using the “overkill” DAW that you are familiar with. I use Logic Pro X - talk about overkill. :eek:
^^
Using the BBM Midi Editor is analogous to using a hand saw to rip sheets of plywood—yes, it will do the job but a table or circular saw will do the larger jobs faster and if you value your time, more efficiently.
What makes the BBM’s Midi Editor difficult to use is that it can’t easily batch or edit (batch process) ranges of notes. The limited capability it provides me is for verifying that there are no unsupported notes and for ocassional troubleshooting. I can move drum notes, say, from 40 to 38 but only if the track is exclusively for drum. When trying to edit notes and then applying any changes, the bass notes loses their note on/off attributes.
Cut and paste would be a really nice-to-have capability.
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If it looked and worked more like BeatBuilder.jar app, that would be excellent as that has most of the required characteristics for a simple midi editor. All it lacks for me is the ability to remap instrument numbers and add or delete more instruments. The think I like least about the BBM midi editor is the need to change the velocity for each note. A global change would be great. Also the workspace is difficult to navigate and on the Mac the scrolling does not work well with any mouse or trackpad, I have tried lots!
Which is why, after trying out lots of others, I am finally buying Logic Pro X 
Hi Phil, do the midi files out of Logic Pro-X import straight into BBM? or do they need post-processing like the files out of DM1 which I need to save through Liquid Rhythm or BeatBuilder before they will work.
It depends on the drum kit in Logic ProX and the kit in the Beat Buddy. Sometimes the LPX kit will map drums below midi 36, particularly the kick at 35. Stock BB kits do not have a 35 kick so you have to move those up to 36. There is also an LPX pedal hat below 36, which needs to be moved up to the regular pedal hat location when it occurs. Also, BB drums kits do not contain the full range of Toms, so, if one of the unmapped Toms shows up in an LPX, you need to decide what you are going to do with it.
I did, some time ago, create a Logic So-Cal kit for Beat Buddy that uses the mappings from the So-Cal kit. If you use the So-Cal kit in LPX, you can import those drum track to BB without additional manipulation.
Also, I normally create my kits with a kick at 35 as well as 36. GarryA does the same. Garry uses the full range of midi drums, so with his kits, you do not get the missing toms issue. You do still need to look at the LPX track to see if anything got mapped below 35.
Thanks Phil, very helpful.
Hello all.
I thought sharing my recent experience making beats for the Beatbuddy might be useful to all of you, and hopefully we’ll continue learning and sharing together.
I struggled for quite a while, trying to find the best way (quick and efficient) to create beats in my DAW and then export them to the Beatbuddy with the least amount of hassle involved. And then it occurred to me that the problem of matching (drum) instruments across the two platforms (DAW and BB) was to actually program the beats while using the sound of the BB drumsets in real time, allowing you to select the most adequate drumset for a particular song. This is accomplished by connecting your BB to your computer/laptop via MIDI (I use an M-audio UNO midi interface) and simultaneously listen to your BB (headphones, monitors, etc.) while you program your beats in your DAW (I use Logic X Pro). All you need is to connect the Midi interface MIDI OUT to the BB’s MIDI IN. Once you are satisfied, export your midi regions or full midi song and import them into the BB via the BB Manager.
I have found, however, that in some cases the actual reproduction of the beats by the BB, after importing them, is not quite the same (or quite different, sometimes!) to what I heard while making the beats, which so far is baffling me because I expected an identical reproduction. May be it has to do with the type of MIDI format, or some note-length limitations on the BB, or what-do-I-know. I’m currently investigating.
I hope this helps and in turn it’ll help me in deciphering the above mystery.
Cheers.
Luis.
N
Now I have it, I wish I’d bought Logic Pro X years ago.
Is there anyone on this Forum sharing LPX kits?
Thanks Persist, I think this is a BB drum kit taken from the LPX wavs, which is very useful if one wants to use this drum kit on BB. I actually meant a drum kit that could be imported into LPX so that beats could be made to fit BB more easily. Kinda the other way round.
If that’s what you want, there are some good tutorials on how to import wav files into the ESX24 to make a new instrument for LPX. I would find that be of little personal use, as I can always just connect the B.B. to make it an external midi instrument, if that is what I was after.
Luis, How do you preview Midi files while in LPX?
Hi Phil,
Is it possible to let me know how you do that, after creating beats in logic x and then importing the midi files to BB i have to do lots of tweaking in the bb editor because of the mapping issues?
Just import the midi file and double click to edit, left top corner in the editor is the play/loop fuction thier you can preveiw your edit.
You do the remapping while you’re working in Logic.
1)Make a note of the mapping of the BB kit, by opening the drum kit editor window for your target kit in Beat Manager.
2) create your beat in LPX.
3) check the mapping of the LPX kit from the piano roll editor. Note where it differs from the BB kit. The differences will normally be in: notes mapped below midi 35, the alternate kick drum; toms missing in the BB kit; and pieces mapped at 58 and above in LPX, beginning with the vibraslap at 58.
4) after identifying the mismatches, selected the entire row of notes in LPX, and move the notes to the best matching location that is in your BB kit. Sometimes with the 58 and above stuff this means you will move a row of notes in LPX to a location in LPX that is entirely incorrect. That is ok. You are getting the notes in place for the BB. Sometimes you just decide to delete the notes for an instrument in LPX. This is also ok, especially when the instrument is doubled elsewhere in the kit. Other times, you may just decide to forego that part of the kit.
5) once that mapping is redone, then you export the midi file from LPX for use in the BB. Try it in BB Manager. If necessary, return to LPX for tweaking.
Thanks Phil thats just what the doctor ordered, ive noted the mapping on a post it and stuck it on my monitor, now ill just refrence that and make sure im on the right notes…thanks very much for this info.
Really hopeful that Autopilot is a real thing and is coming soon.
In the men time, is anyone using Reaper to modify BB midi files.
Would like to tweak some of the OP files to my taste but need a new user orientation on BB and midi file.
Any good YouTubes in this?
Thanks