I don’t see how, BBMO as an option is fine, but it’s not a valid replacement for the BBM.
I guess it all depends on your needs, as a gigging musician who sings and plays guitar in bands and acoustic duo/trios I believe the BB is not being used to its potential or by it’s biggest ordinance.
All of the people I play with cover songs, some have written their own material, but even those mainly play covers. None of them do live looping etc, and none of them want to be constantly tapping a pedal.
While I respect the fact that there are many BB users that like the creative side of the BB, I genuinely believe and have first hand experience of musicians that would use it if it could just play the song in place of the drummer.
Most guitarist want a pedal that they toggle on and off, and having the extra foot-switch is also a great option. Most local bands anywhere in the world are cover bands. So the largest demographic of users for the BB are not catered for, look at the Kemper and how many third party content providers there are etc.
I know that the BB community create OP songs and you can shoehorn them into the BB, but imagine how much bigger the community would be if the BBM was built from the ground up to be able to import and play songs from commercial content providers and the BB community.
I can see now that this is never going to happen, until recently I still held a glimmer of hope. But if SS purchased the BBMO then they probably never were redeveloping the desktop BBM with any real commitment , it does happen but most companies don’t just throw away years worth of investment.
My hope is that SS get bought out by a bigger company with real commitment to the products and the customers who have invested in them.
It is funny how people use the product differently. I am in an active gigging duo. I actually have zero interest in the one press songs. I like the original charter of the BB. One press songs are essentially tracks and in my opinion there are better options (although I live loop everything and use nothing prerecorded so tracks don’t interest me).
From a functional standpoint, we constantly get people coming up to talk to us while we are performing. If it was a one press song it would be a nightmare. I can just improvise or work around until the singer is free to sing or they stop asking me questions like, “do I know song x” or “what kind of guitar is that” and BOOM back into the song without issue.
I actually don’t know what the musical demographics for the BB are. I assume you are correct that most people are doing cover tunes, but how do you know most want one press or a more robust track type feature?
I, like you, have been frustrated by the BBM and lack of commitment by SS, however, they show good will by purchasing Andrew’s BBMO. Although I am not using the new BBMO it is a step in a direction whether right or not.
I fully appreciate your point, and respect the way you and others use the BB. And I wouldn’t advocate loosing the ability and functionality that the BB provides you and others that use the BB in such a creative way.
But I do believe that the vast majority of guitarists would prefer it to be able to play the song in addition to how you use it, I know there are other options like backing tracks etc and I have tried them.
I think the BB sounds great, it’s why I bought it along with the extra footswitch and the full premium library. Unfortunately the premium library was a wast of money, far too many transitions in most of the songs.
As to the BBMO, I believe it’s just a way for them to get off the hook from delivering what they promised. It’s not good faith, it’s a cop out.
Even without autopilot, I’d have need happy to see a new redeveloped desktop BBM, I understand that it’s subjective based on each person’s perspective, but in my opinion SS have taken the easy way out and done the least they can get away with when it comes to supporting the BBM and the people who invested in it.
If we think for a moment. My understanding of BBM is that it’s so tangled that it would’ve required a new one from scratch anyway.
And as a programmer I know that two programs that are implemented same/similar goal in mind initially can end up being vastly different.
So if BBMO would have been implemented by someone receiving monthly payment from SS would you feel differently?
But BBMO should not be stationary. I believe updates are coming and that is the biggest benefit of it Even if not now perhaps in one or two years it will be a valid replacement
I’m 59 years old and have been a software engineer all my life, I currently manage a team of C++ embedded devs and .net azure development.
With respect, I know software development, what SS promised was easily deliverable years ago. Nothing takes this long to deliver within the context of small consumer product.
However, if I’m alone or in the minority in feeling that we have not been given what was promised, then I have to accept that the majority of BB owners are happy with how SS have acted.
It’s not my intention to get into a disagreement with my fellow BB users, and I’m obviously bitter about the way things have gone.
I’ve been part of this group and discussion for years, part of the reason for being so vocal on here and YouTube and other platforms has been to make potential new beatbuddy customers ask questions before making the purchase. Then after finding out the facts they will know if the beatbuddy will satisfy their needs and what they can expect from SS, I believe I’ve accomplished that.
it’s also obvious to me that after being patient for so long I’m not going to have the product and functionality I’ve been waiting for.
I think it’s worth remembering that when I purchased my beatbuddy the advert on the home page actually said “ Coming Soon Autopilot “ with a short description of the functionality!
I really don’t like the BBMO, but if you guys are happy with it more power to you
If it would be just one product then yes I’d agree with you. But it seems SS planned for much bigger with multiple products
Was it fair to expand to bigger territory before fixing old issues, probably not But it might’ve been a do-or-die situation, who knows. Those kind of things are not very comforting for customers so I guess they avoided a hit by hiding it (just me guessing) But then years later it became back haunting
Anyway, I’m a new user and so far happy. I was a bit scared the first time I read the forum (after making purchase but before receiving the unit ) but I try to be optimistic about future while realising the past mistakes that SS has made
Ha, I am a software engineer as well. I think that is why you are so frustrated (as I was too). It was hard to understand why this was not getting done.
I understand the sentiment. I actually agree it was a quick way for them to solve their inability to get the BBM fixed / updated / rewritten. With that said, my point is they could have done nothing but instead procured the BBMO, which is some level of action. My “good faith” comment was probably a little off the mark.
I need to try out the BBMO. I haven’t because I have a process that works and I am reluctant to mess with it.
Like you, I think the BB is a great product that has truly elevated my little duo. We’ll see where they go with the BBMO. The developer, Andrew, did a real service to the BB community. Hopefully, Singular will build on it like others have suggested.