Individual "song" volume setting

Just curious if the “Master techs” in the BB laboratory might consider applying an individual volume control setting for each song on the BB Pedal or BB Manager that could be set and saved prior to gigging.I have downloaded a few songs and found the volumes to be quite different from one to the other and as a result I need to physically either turn the volume up or down. Naturally these are songs that I have downloaded from other users. Any thoughts?

If you are familiar with Midi control there is a way to set the volume using Midi Commands for each song.

Hey J. No i don’t have and I’m not familiar with Midi controller. Im just using the BB editor to lower the volumes of each instrument when a download comes a little too loud. Very cumbersome and tediuos prosess i might add.

yes it is. I went through that with most of the default beats I jam with because the fills were just to loud for my kind of Playing. Well Keep it in mind. If you start using an app or software for keeping a set list most of those have that capability and it really isn’t that hard. Plenty of BB Friends here to help you through it if you want to try it out.

I completely agree. [SIZE=4]I think this should be a feature of the BB software not an added chore for musicians. I tried setting a consistent volume level for the songs I have on my list and quickly found out I simply do not have that kind of time especially when I’m constantly trying to add new songs.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4] [/SIZE]

Yes I completely agree with you to. Maybe in a future update they will they consider this to be an added feature.I prefer to spend more time learning and playing songs than trying to figure out the mechanics of some of these programs. Old school dilemma strikes again, getting too old to understand and learn new tricks.

I agree. Don’t know yet if this is going to be a requirement for v2.0 of the BBM and f/w however, I think it was fingerstylepicker that suggested using a volume control pedal. If you happen to have one, you might be able to put it to good, hopefully just interim use.

It would be nice to have something like a dynamic or auto volume leveler built in to at least the pedal if not the BBM too.

1 Like

I do realize when you have a power tool such as the BB that allows you do things others can’t, it can be a complex process therefore I can only imagine the complexities of programming a machine to do all that the BB does.

At the same time even though I’m a computer tech and understand midi basics I don’t want to spend time programming my drummer, I want to play my guitar. You might want to post your request in the Feature Requests thread as should anyone else that would like this added. Good luck!

Part of this hands-on ‘realtime’ learning curve was just building the song.
I didn’t even realize what the levels were , until putting them in the BB …(lots of fine tuning afterwards)
dissecting other members selections & routines helped.
lowering the kick to approx 85-104 …is a big curve, but some midi’s don’t play well w others …lol
snare = 100-115…kick & snare are what I listen for mostly
bass 85-100+ (my root notes are louder, because I’m half deaf , apparently.)
& toms 50±80 …as low as possible so as not to cause feedback.
advice from a member, …‘louder isn’t always compatible w listening’. :slight_smile:
it’s one reason I use a volume pedal.
It’s getting better … :wink:

but, then there’s the ‘settings’ …functions …2nd pedal-switch playing / outro , cue fill,. release time :frowning:

Post a feedback survey.

Can someone suggest a volume pedal that would do the job, having the same issues, love how BB has helped me in my little musical journey but even when doing little informal jam / rehearsal sessions with my partner in guitar crime this can be a problem

Thanks in advance for any advice

I use a Dunlop DVP Volume X; others that might work well are an Ernie Ball Music Man VP Jr. or an MVP.

The reason I like the Dunlop is because it can be used as a volume or an expression pedal. You can usually find used Ernie Ball pedals at a decent price.

Thanks for the reply and excuse my ignorance, i’m pretty new to all this, but would this do the job?
http://ebay.eu/2hS2ZvR
or
http://ebay.eu/2gVE6PJ

?? appreciate anyones thoughts and more importantly time :slight_smile:

The Behringer looks pretty good; here’s some reviews https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-FCV100-BEHRINGER/product-reviews/B0002KYXTM

I searched the forum and a user reports favorably on a Boss stereo volume pedal. There may be other suggestions but I didn’t search that long.

Give the folks on this side of the pond some time to wake up and see if they have any other thoughts.

Word of advice because I wasted $80 on an Ernie Ball passive pedal and it did not solve my problem but please keep in mind this is my personal experience. Don’t get me wrong, the pedal is great but as I said, it didn’t solve my problem.

I have a solo/duo act and as such I’m already doing several things at the same time. What I quickly found out was that in live situations it is very distracting trying to find the right volume while doing everything else. I wound up having to spend more money on yet another pedal that let me set the minimum level for the heel position. I then had to go through every one of my songs and make notes on my song list.

What I do is set the BB level on the PA with the volume pedal at the heel position for the loudest BB songs in my list. Then based on my notes on the song list, I use either the heel position (min volume), mid, or toe position (max volume). I make minor adjustments during the song if needed. It’s a hassle but it’s all I could think of. Maybe there is a better way but in my opinion, a song’s volume NEEDS to be set up in BBManager and saved with the song. Unfortunately until that becomes a part of the software we’re left coping with makeshift solutions.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the BB but as you said this is a problem.

There is a problem. Because velocity and volume are two different things. Reducing the volume of the beat for a song by reducing the velocities doesn’t work. This is because the sound of a drum changes dramatically if you reduce the velocity (= “how hard you hit it”), particularly with a snare drum or crash cymbal.
Changing volume for each song with the same drum kit is one thing and a volume pedal does achieve this. However some of my set lists use different drum kits and the change in the perceived volume of the World Percussion kit compared to the Latin 1.2 kit or Brushes 1.1 means a lot of adjustment and this becomes imprecise.
I have used the “Set note volume” global command in the free Beatbuilder.jar app to help with this in some songs, but it seems to change the velocities.
It would be great if BBManager had a song “Default Volume” setting under the "Default Tempo setting. People using midi controllers with their BeatBuddy can presumably achieve this with a Continuous Controller 07 (CC#07) midi command in the set list for each song. So, technical wizards, is it possible to have a CC#07 setting for each song set as “Default Volume”?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, so it would appear that this is a problem for people, i hope the good people of Singular Sound are reading this and can address this in a future update, i’m glad it’s not just me !

I have posted this before but I will post it again for those that want to listen. Overall, I found the BB output to be too strong for the average levels on a pedalboard and had a tendency to overload everything following it in the chain. I always had a problem with this, especially the loud, harsh, cymbals and snare, stick hits. I solved all of this which also put a damper on the entire volume which also helped. I built a small equalizer circuit to handle these harsh signals and it smoothed out the entire signal to one of better quality. It is in stereo to control each side of the BB signals which I use on a stereo pedalboard. I used (4) 500k potentiometers, two for tone & two for volume. The two tone controls each have a .1mfd capacitor. This is where I have each one of the controls set. The volume output on the BB pedal is set at 40%. The volume on the controller is set at 40% both channels. The tone controls are set at 30% above ground. These levels remove all the harsh frequencies and gives a nice smoothness to the rest of the drum sounds. It does not quiet them to an artificial level but leaves enough bite to still sound like a professional drummer who knows his stuff. I control the volume by the global input of a final mixer leaving just the right signal for recording purposes. If the drum levels have to be raised, I do it at the input of the mixer which is the last unit in line. This also eliminates the need for a volume pedal which of course still could be used if needed. This works great for me and I rarely have to make any adjustments to the volume levels. Just thought you might like to know. This also mellows out the velocity levels in a nice way.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.
[ATTACH=full]4549[/ATTACH]

Agree wholeheartedly with Mr Williams ("So, technical wizards, is it possible to have a CC#07 setting for each song set as “Default Volume”?).
I’ve had some satisfaction changing to ‘softer’ drum kits for some songs but found some (like Ben Cajon too soft at max) a nice change for us but soft. As others state - there’s enough going on we can’t be fussing with delicate adjustments in volume.

On that note I do use a Boss stereo volume pedal (FV-30L) as I stated in other posts to reduce volume with BB at 100% output volume but its too drastic for subtle changes. Good for dropping down to a ‘lower’ volume during a song then back up, tapering off an outro or just kicking things with the heel to ‘off’ a bit smoother than the pedal stop.

I’ve also noticed that some drum beats are a little bit quieter. I programmed the three corners of my iPad as preset volumes. I am using OnSong for this. All you need to do is touch one of the corners to match the volume needed. I also programmed a mute. This way you can cue songs without the opening fill. If You have an midi pedal, I’m sure you can program them that way too. But, I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible.

You could try using a compressor pedal?