I have been using my BeatBuddy for a while now and am really enjoying it. Although; I am looking to take my setup to the next level by creating some custom drum kits tailored to my specific needs. I have got a few MIDI files that I would like to convert into new drum kits for the BeatBuddy; but I am not entirely sure where to start.
I have looked through the manual and various online tutorials, but I cannot seem to find clear guidance on how to properly import and assign MIDI files to custom kits.
Is there a straightforward way to map a MIDI file to the individual pads of the BeatBuddy so that each note corresponds to a different drum sound?
Are there any software tools or plugins I can use to help with the conversion of MIDI files into a BeatBuddy-compatible format?
How can I ensure that the tempo, time signature, and other settings in the MIDI file are preserved when creating the custom kit?
Are there any tips or best practices for creating drum kits that sound cohesive; even if the original MIDI files were created with different instruments or genres in mind?
Midi files are not used to create drumkits. They may be used to create songs. Drumkits are made from a group of WAV files. The wav files must be 44.1khz, and, preferably 16 bit. They must also be properly formatted for the BB. I find the best way to get a wav to work on the BB is to run it through NCH Switch, and save it as a 44.1khz 16 bit wav file, even if it already appears to be such. There is some formatting architecture in programs that create wav files that may cause an incompatibility with the BB. Using NCH Switch removes this impediment.
In the very helpful 10 year old post you found on creating kits, there is a confusing bit where the author refers to creating midis. What he is actually referring to is the process of assigning a midi note to the wav file or group of wav files that it will trigger.
My best advice is to open drumkits using BBManager or BBMO and look at how they are organized. A single midi note will be assigned to one or more groups of wav files which are broken into velocity groups. This is what gives the BB the ability to produce realistic drum sounds. It allows softer and stronger drum hits to use different samples depending upon the velocity at which they are struck. Velocity in midi is the speed at which a key goes from being at rest to being depressed on a midi keyboard.
I typically make my drumkits using existing midi instruments contained within Logic Pro, or with third party plug-ins from Native Instruments and IK Multimedia, among others. What I do is record a set a notes at a given velocity, and then save those notes as wav files. I have posted a tutorial on this process. I then construct the kits. I have also created samples from live instrument recordings, and from older hardware drum machines.
One thing you will learn quickly is that the total size of the kit cannot exceed 100mb. While many drum hits can produce relatively small wav files, some drums will be much larger as their sound rings longer. This is particularly true for cymbals. You will find a need to make compromises in the numbers of samples. Again, looking at the stock BB kits can give you a good idea, but if you want to add more pieces to a kit, you will find it necessary to cut samples from some of the other velocity groups.
I will just add that we do have a lot of new kits available in our brand new Beat Boutique content, and even if you don’t use the kits as they are sold, they are really easy to mix and match using the BBMO drum set instrument import feature.
In the drum tab of the BBMO, you can see an import feature at the top right of the list of instruments. This allows you to mix and match and use elements of existing kits in your new ones, no need to start fully from scratch
We’ve done an excellent job at capturing these unique kits in the studio and one or many of them may have elements you’d desire while removing the need for you to record or format them.
