@rayhtm
First, be sure to distinguish between BBFF (the App Store app, one payment), and BBFF Editor (web app, subscription). Since you talk about subscription, I believe you are referring to the Editor, and I believe @andrew13 answered his opinion as the developer. I am also going to give my 2 cents for the Editor, in no particular order.
I’ve been using, maybe more accurate, playing with, the BBFF Editor, going back and forth from BBManager to BBFF Editor, just to be really conscious of what I am doing and what are the changes going on with the Editor. I am impressed with what has been accomplished here.
First, let me say that I am not a fan of web apps, specially when I need to do something and find out that my internet is gone or I am having a power outage. I like traditional apps, they are faster, and maybe someday this Editor can become one, but my issues with internet and power are not the Editor’s fault. So, I have been able to use the Editor 99% of the time I have intended to use it. And after expressing some concerns about speed to @andrew13 , he quickly corrected the issues and I am happy to report that the Editor feels snappy and responsive while working with it.
I never quite understood BBM editor “3-D bubbly” feel and look, and the inability to interact with it while playing back a song, mainly to check for errors and issues. The Editor plays as a regular DAW and I am able to interact as I wish, concentrate on the lower or higher parts of the midi number spectrum with ease, helping me to catch errors more easily.
I usually convert MIDI files to BeatBuddy structure depending on drumset in Logic Pro, and it has been a breeze and a pleasure that, when I find a small issue with the file, I have been able to solve the issue right there in the BBFF Editor. Once I committed a big blooper, and the ease of use of the editor helped me correct the issue in 1.5 hours, it would have meant like 3 or 4 hours in Logic (because I would’ve had to start over from scratch, don’t ask, hehe) and it would have been impossible in BBManager. It literally saved my day (last Friday, by the way).
I would love a manual (maybe the last guy on Earth that reads them), even for quick reference, but the video on YouTube is pretty complete and helpful about the main usage and keyboard shortcuts.
Now that you are beginning to work with MIDI, OnSong and BB (I also do that) I think you will find invaluable the MIDI commands for OnSong that @andrew13 has incorporated to the Editor. It is a great tool for me.
If your are using the Editor constantly, like I have been using it, be sure to log out and log back in from time to time. Since the updates are done automatically in the web app, sometimes you missed them until you log out and back, in order to refresh the app.
I’ve been going back and forth between the BBM and BBFF Editor seamlessly. If that is important to you, please be assured that your Project works seamlessly between the two, no issues at all.
The newly incorporated drum editor is great!! I’ve done quite a few new drumsets to conform to some very specific songs, and it is a great addition to everything the editor can do.
Leaving the best for last: @andrew13 . He’s been great and very responsive. He listens, AND responds. In the couple of weeks I’ve been using the Editor, he has squashed bugs, make the app more responsive for people like me that use OPB and its variants, immediately fixed an issue with playback volume I was having, added-- in record time-- the drumset editor, answered every question I’ve thrown at him (here, in Facebook group and via e-mail). Even though my interaction with him is limited to this endeavor, I think he is just a great person, cares about his product and the users.
Do I love subscriptions? No. Do I recognize this is the new software reality and there is no going back? Yes. Do I think BBFF Editor is a good investment? I think it is a great investment. And even if I believed it was a so-so product, I would have invested anyway, because of the audacity of undertaking a project that was seemingly dead and restoring our faith and joy of creating for the BB. It would have been an act of hope and faith, but it didn’t needed to be, because right now the BBFF Editor is delivering, and I really believe it would get better.
Hope this helps. From a fellow OnSong, WIDI Thru-6 and BB user.
