Hi , my beatbuddy is permanently stuck in tap tempo even though I never use tap tempo , tap tempo is stuck flashing on screen every couple of seconds , beatbuddy no longer works at all.
It does not matter how many times I power off and on again , it is still stuck , and even if I take SD card out it is still stuck on tap tempo screen flashing up.
Seems to be completely broken , and probably requires sending back over seas.
Also a question , we have a local music shop selling beatbuddys now , can this transfer be done through them since they are a dealer ? , or not ? , I did not buy it through them , but my entire rig was purchased through them.
Great if there is a fix to this bug but it does not look likely and I can not find info in forums to this issue.
Thanks.
It’s the main switch in the pedal that is faulty, there is a video on how to clean or how to repair. But if you still have warrenty or are not that handy, I would contact support.
But maybe you have the same problem as in this video
Yes thanks I will look at that , I have already taken apart my last beatbuddy and disassemled the switch it was broken inside and sent it back , it was replaced.
From memorry it was the same symptoms but not sure.
Yes the switch is of poor quality , the design is very bad , it wears out easily it is weak and breaks , it also is a bad designed switch because it does not have a stopper meaning it is easy to stress the switch.
I have been treading on egg shells with new unit ever since I got it , knowing how weak it is and knew it was only a matter of time before it broke , I was so careful I would often not trigger fills because I used it so lightly.
Singular sound need to change this switch for a better quality one.
In 30 years of playing I have only ever had one switch break in a wah peddle.
I sourced the maunufacturer of the switch Alfa switches from memory , I need to buy 6 or so switches , I have not found a better quality switch yet that fits.
I am suspicious its software this time as the switch feels ok to use , and the tap tempo is always on screen even with the SD card out of unit.
I will try the latest firmware so I can programe my footswitch to do main functions and see if that fixes it , if it does I will permanently use it as I can replace switch easy and use any good quality switch , I may make my own switch peddle with high quality switches in it
If you think it’s software, maybe re-up the firmware?
Can you tap tempo when it kicks into this mode? Or is it totally stuck? I ask because, before you re-up the firmware, I’d want to be sure it’s NOT the switch.
I experience this problem, when the cable for the external footpedal is not connected properly. Even if the pedal is disconnected from the cable, but the cable is still in it will happen.
So maybe it is the switch which registers the connected cable.
I can use the tap tempo button , I dont think I can use the main peddle to tap tempo , I am not home for 8 hours to check , pretty sure I cant.
I would have thought no reason I cant update firmware and try configuring the additional footswitch as I am not interested in getting a new unit to fix a broken switch I will just not use the main peddle again the switch is too weak a new one will break too , I live in New Zealand too far to send back for a switch again , I asked for some spare switches to fix it myself last time but it was not allowed.
I have the original source swith manufacturer to buy 6 of them as spares if I want to fix switch.
I do not use my beatbuddy foot switch I find it fairly useless just didnt use it so that is not the issue , thanks for suggestion however
im on my third unit in about 4 years . same issue broken switches. BB has been great about replacing unit 
. now with new firmware i can use external switch to start/stop songs, add fills, transitions so saving my main peddle switch
Yes that sounds like the answer forget about the main switch its usless just use foot switch.
I have not updated firmware yet I will do it and confirm that is the issue.
Yes Jay and beatbuddy are great , too marks to customer support for sure.
I do hope for their sake and customers that they source a better switch , I have taken one appart and it is very poor quality and a bad design , its designed to fail , its the only thing letting down a great product , one component.
All switches especially foot stwutches should have stoppers so the switch can only ever be depressed to the stopper , the Alfa switch in the unit has no fail safe mecanism and it is just a very thin strip of metal , with very delicate ends on it about 1.5 mm across , extremely weak.
Anyway hope my foot switch fixxes issue after firmware update.
I just get the latest firmware I am guessing ?
I’ve worn out a few units, myself, but I wouldn’t say the switches are junk. We rehearse every week and play 60 shows a year, so that’s about 110 nights at a conservative estimate of 35 songs each, times 3 verses, 3 choruses, and a solo, plus about 7 internal fills. That’s about 54,000 main pedal presses multiplied by the two-ish years years the switches last before I start to worry, and you have, essentially 100,000 presses. That’s quite a lot of hard miles by any switch’s standard.
My issue is not the quality of the switches, because my math says these hold up pretty well; My issue is with how hard it is to replace them. So, if I was doing anything with the Beat Buddy, I’d leave the switch alone, and I would modify the chassis so the switch is easier to access and replace.
But I am curious about any setup that has burned through three in four years: Are you playing a lot more than us? Is it mounted on a pedalboard? Do you store it sealed in a gig bag, or does it live on a basement floor? Is your climate really damp or dry? Because it seems really odd that I’m consistently getting (conservatively) 100,000 presses before I see any issues and you’re burning through them about 3x faster.
my unit is mounted on a peddle board next to Voice Live 3 not much gigging maybe 3 or 4 per year , then just practice in my house
And you’re burning through switches every (let’s call it) 15 months? That is crazy. Does it live out in the open in a really damp basement, maybe? There’s got to be something environmental going on, because, like I said, over 100k presses before I even start thinking about it.
No the switches are definitely junk no question about it , I have taken one apart , it speaks for its self its a poor design when you see it , you stats mean nothing but luck , I do not play in a band I do my own thing , I am extremely gental , so gental with the unit I tread on egg shells with it , too scared to press the foot switch knowing how weak it is , I often miss fills and transitions because I fear pushing on the switch , and it still broke I could not possible be more careful , and I should not have to be paranoid of breaking it using it gently while sitting in a chair playing guitar , not standing no weight at all on the switch.
Hey I have had all sorts of pedles for 35 years , and they have had a hammering and only one unit broke a switch , my wah is the only switch to fail in 35 years
You only need to look at the switch itself it is a tinny strip of thin steel both the plasic had completely worn through where steel stip of switch hinges , and the little strap of metal is about 2mm across its width , at both ends of this strip it has half that width where it mounts only about 1mm thick , this is where it snaps , it is physically a bad design it is obvious when you see it , vertually no one should be teturning these units with broken switches , yes it happens but not when lots of people have multiple failures
There is nothing lucky about how long mine have lasted. I’ve burned through a couple, and both have been two years and over 100,000 presses old. Having other pedals that last for years is not an apples-to-apples comparison: How many of those pedals get stepped on 9 times a song on 38 songs a night twice a week?
Which reminds me, I forgot to include song stops (double-tap). So more like 150,000 presses.
I stand by my stats – they back David’s statement that they have a failure rate of about 1%. This is why I’m asking about environmental factors. Use is not killing the switches off prematurely, but maybe something else is. So, while you can ignore the fact that other people are putting hundreds of thousands of presses on the pedal with no issues, it might be worth considering that something else is causing the issue – something else that might be addressable.
But my question was to @Mzladd: Can you tell us more about your environment? Maybe we can figure out what the actual issue is. Because you seem to be eating these a lot more quickly than seems normal. Could just be bad luck, but it could be something else.
Well fair enough comment about not comparing this pedal to others yes it definitely gets far more of a hammering than any other pedal would , I say the same thing about the physical design however , I used to have photos of the broken switch and its internal design and workings , it has no stopper any good switch should have a stopper imo , so it can only ever be depressed to a given point this switch does not have one and its parts are very delicate , the parts should be much more solid imo.
Yes the switches are tested to failure 100 k plus , but by a machine that has a stopper that only goes to the same preassure every press.
Anyway the topic is a bit pointless , I was mainly posting to see if stuck in tap tempo was a bug , the switch actually feels ok to press with fingers , it clicks evenly and does not bind or have any erratic behavior , I am suspicious that it is something else , I will up date firmware tonight or tomorrow and put it to the test after configuring other foot switch.
And if it works fine I am happy as I can very easily replace other switches , the Alpha switch in main pedal is very short non standard size nothing else fits and it has a small circuitboard on the back with 6 pins soldered , I would need a solder sucker to replace it , easy enough to get and do.
My fix is not to send it back and wait two weeks or so , but to buy a small box of Alph switches dirrectly from the supplier in the UK as I tracked down the model number and make , now that would be easiest if it is the switch or not , I should have done that as soon as I got last unit , my bad stupid I could have a box of 20 switches lol which I will soon as I will fix it.
I hear ya.
Is the travel shorter than normal on these, or is it just the shaft that’s shorter? You could adjust the nut on the shaft for height, but if the travel is shallower, that’s a bigger problem, as you suggest.
Meanwhile, we play pretty often, so I have both the luxury and the requirement to own two Beat Buddies – the one I’m gigging with and the one that lives in my gig bag for when the gigging BB goes down (which, as I said, has happened twice – both times at gigs, never at rehearsals). I have duplicates or multiple ways to do everything, because I rely on it all, week in and week out. But I also know that owning two of these relatively expensive pedals is a much less appealing option if you’re not playing regularly. What it does give me, though, is the ability to tolerate the pedal having to go back for repair or replacement. It’s cheap insurance that, in my situation, just makes sense.
Off-topic: Did you say you were in Iceland? Or was that someone else?
no basements in Florida and always ac , so i attribute it to my style of blues playing with a heavy foot? i really couldn’t tell you but im happy with an external foot switch
Glad to hear it, but it’s still weird.
Happy Festivus!
(Yes, that’s today!)