BeatBuddy as MIDI slave — reliable?

BeatBuddy General
1

Hi everyone,
After many hours of homework, I’m thinking of purchasing a BeatBuddy. Before I do, however, I would like to get some feedback from experienced users about how well it functions as a MIDI slave. I have found 2 posts in this forum that seem to suggest the BB has sync issues when slaved to another device’s MIDI clock: Post 1[/URL], [URL=‘http://mybeatbuddy.com/forum/index.php?threads/midi-clock-in-sync-issue.1834/’]Post 2

I have an Eventide H9 that I would like to use as the MIDI Clock master, primarily because it has tap tempo, and I simply don’t have the room to accommodate the BB footswitch. In my case, I would like to use the BB primarily as a “click track” generator that I can send to other band members by toggling the pedal off and on. Consequently, I need it to receive the correct clock info and stay sync’d to it.

In the end, the setup will be H9 (Master) --> MIDI Solutions Quadra Thru --> Pigtronix Infinity --> Moog MuRF --> BeatBuddy (for click)

This is expensive unit: honestly overkill for what I need, but the ability to toggle live click off and on via a stomp box is worth the price, assuming it works correctly. Thanks for any advice and/or info!

Best wishes,
Andrew M. Lee

2

It doesn’t drift much but after a minute or so it will start losing a few clicks and lag slightly behind the master clock in my experience.

3

Thanks, Klink — Anyone else have any experience to share?

Thanks,
A

4

I can’t comment as I don’t use the BB in this way however searching for “midi slave” brings you these results and most of them suggest that the BB is best used as a master at the moment.
http://mybeatbuddy.com/forum/index.php?search/404543/&q=MIdi+slave&o=date

5

I think it is safe to assume that the CPU isn’t randomly keeping loosing time either as master or slave. A lot of looper related posts are more likely due to loops chopping that are not correctly sliced on the beat so appear eventually will not be in sync when repetitve looping. If BB is not responding to incoming clock continually as it should to change tempo when slaved engineering should confirm and open a case to fix. BB playback started or stopped doesn’t matter and clock is sent at the set tempo. It is also listening even when used as master to follow incoming tempo as there is no setting to tell it to be master/slave. If there is a bug as a slave, maybe it is not following incoming clock continually and using the current loop tempo but I haven’t seen a post that proves that. When I use BB with a Quadra Thru it is master and all devices receiving clock go parallel to QT to avoid chaining, the H9 as master to QT and then to other pedals should also work to the Midi-In of BB.