I need help syncing my BeatBuddy and Boomerang III before starting the drums on the BeatBuddy. Because the Boomerang doesn’t recognize measures (it treats all midi clock clicks identically), I use the Boomerang’s Serial Sync mode and create a 1 bar silent loop. That approach, which seems fairly common among Boomerang users, allows me to control other loops by tapping at some point in the preceding measure instead of having to hit the 1 beat almost exactly.
The Boomerang and BeatBuddy usually sync perfectly when I start the drums before creating a silent loop in the Boomerang. But that doesn’t work well for gigging because the audience hears bars of drums while I sync the silent loop, and it also prevents me from using intros on the BeatBuddy.
It seems I should be able to avoid those problems by syncing the silent loop visually before starting the drums, using the BeatBuddy screen to find Beat 1. When I do that the Boomerang initially (before I start the drums) syncs properly to Beat 1. But after the drums start the Boomerang usually winds up synched to another beat (which beat seems to be random).
The Midi settings I’m using on the BeatBuddy are:
- Output is set to Ch.1 (default) or 16 (the Boomerang manual says to use Ch. 16 but it seems to pick up the clock from either channel).
- Midi Sync is set to always on.
- Start is set to Main Beat (default) or to Intro.
- Mute Pause is set to enabled or disabled.
I have tried every combination of these settings.
I’m hoping some of you BeatBuddy/Boomerang users been able to work around this problem and would appreciate any solutions you have found or other suggestions that might help solve it.
Thanks!
I use a boomerang. I understand what you’re talking about with having a 1 measure empty loop on track 3 to use a driver.
However, I don’t feel like that’s really necessary with the Beat Buddy. Maybe a relic from users who create their percussion sounds manually on track 3 and then use that as the “base” for the other tracks. I really don’t see a need for anything like that with the beat buddy.
With the “blank loop” approach you do gain some button-press flexibility when you are initially laying down a loop, but the cost of tying up an entire loop track is pretty steep. Further, once your loops are established you get that same functionality. I can select the “next” loop at any point while the current loop is playing and it will transition when the first loop wraps up. I personally set it up this way:
Midi Sync is When Playing. Start is set to Intro. The first time I am laying down a new loop I control the loop on the “1” at the beginning and the end. For example, with a simple verse/chorus song:
- Start song, intro play (4 count hi hat for example)
- On 1 when the guitar comes in, start the loop (on loop track 1 2 or 4, NOT 3)
- On 1 when the loop has been recorded, press boomerang again to finish the loop and start “looping”
- After the last iteration of the verse loop has started before the chorus, I select another loop track for the chorus to “queue it up”. Also during last measure I will trigger the BB Transition (if needed)
- On 1 of the chorus, the Boomerang switches to loop 2 and starts recording. I just play.
- On 1 at the end of the chorus loop recording, I end that loop.
At this point I have 2 loops that I can queue up as needed and I never again have to hit the boomerang on “1”. And I’m not wasting a loop track to do it.
So, my advice to you is to not use a blank loop track and to just use the process I described above.
HOWEVER. If you must use a blank loop track, I would:
- Create a 4 bar empty midi file and put it as Song Part 1
- When the song starts, you have silence and can create your loop on loop 3
- After you have done that, you can transition to Part 2 to actually start the song.
But again. I really don’t think it’s needed, and in fact adds some complexity and ties up a loop track, and doesn’t really give you much benefit.
Jason - thanks for the helpful response.
I like your approach overall. It works well on many of the tunes I play (and the “extra” loop is nice to have), but for up-tempo (especially non-4/4) tunes there isn’t much margin for error in ending loops when I initially set them. The silent loop approach eliminates that problem since I can redo it before starting the tune if I don’t initially hit the beginning and end “1” beats precisely.
Your alternative approach isn’t ideal for me because it doesn’t seem to let me use an intro or transition between parts (Part 2 and a Part 3 in your example).
I sent SingularSound Customer Support a video showing that the BeatBuddy doesn’t keep steady time as it progresses through intros. Hopefully they’ll be able to fix that problem.
In the meantime, your approach is a big step forward, because I can use it on many tunes on the gig list (which should increase with experience and practice), and for the others I can cut the BeatBuddy output with a switch or volume pedal while setting the silent bar loop (far from ideal, but at least I won’t have to do that for every tune on every gig).
Thanks again,
Mark