Midi Song Select questions

BeatBuddy Help, Questions and Bugs
1

re: Brennan’s Jan 5 article “MIDI Song Select (Aeros, BeatBuddy, MIDI Maestro)”
First, thanks for the well written article.

My setup: MM (1.1.7) to BB (3.9.9) to AE (5.1.1).
What I want: To load a BB song and a stored song on AE. From the article, it would appear the best option is #3: automatically open an Aeros song when you open a specific BeatBuddy song

Questions:

  1. Is there any way to “permanently” link a PC command to a specific song, regardless of its order in the folder? It appears the answer is “no” and that the PC number is dictated by the song’s position in the folder. (i write a custom set list for every gig, so Song A may be #1, then #4 for another gig).

  2. If the answer is no, is there a better option than keeping the BB songs in a fixed sequence, and I have to jump around during the gig? Another option would be before the gig to change the PC # for each song on Aeros, but that doesn’t appeal.

  3. What BB firmware level is required? I have 3.9.9 and do not see Song/Folder Select under MIDI Out options.

2

Not a direct answer to your question, but would it be an option to select both BB song and Aeros song with say iPad? :thinking:

Personally I’m using an app called MobileSheets where I have the lyrics and chords etc. When I open a song in MobileSheets it sends midi commands through my Midi Maestro to BB and HX Stomp and selects BB song and tempo etc and preset for Stomp :relieved:

So I create the setlist on iPad and I can freely connect BB song and Stomp preset etc within the app :yum:

Note that quite many sheet apps support midi commands when opening the song :smiling_face: And there are other methods on connecting the midi other than Midi Maestro :sunglasses:

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3

Thank you for reaching out!

To start, please ensure all your devices are running the latest firmware.

For your MIDI setup, I recommend the following configuration: connect the MIDI OUT of the BeatBuddy to the MIDI IN of the Aeros.

Step 1: Configure the BeatBuddy

To use the BeatBuddy with the Aeros, navigate to: Settings > Main Pedal > MIDI Settings > MIDI OUT > Song/Folder Select and choose Aeros Mode.

Step 2: Set Up OnSong to Open Specific Songs on the BeatBuddy
To configure OnSong to open a specific song on the BeatBuddy:

Use the LSB command to select folders. Note that folder numbers are offset by 1. For example, the first folder is LSB 0, the second folder is LSB 1, and so on.

To select the second folder on the BeatBuddy, program LSB 1 in OnSong.

To do this, in the MIDI Event settings:
Choose Program as the Type.

Under Program, select the song number within the folder (e.g., 0 for the first song, 1 for the second, etc.).

In Bank LSB, select 0 for the first folder, 1 for the second, and so forth.

Step 3: Program the Aeros to Open Songs Automatically

To have the Aeros open a specific song when the BeatBuddy opens a song:

Select the song you want to sync on the Aeros.
Click the Pencil icon, and open the MIDI tab.
Toggle MIDI Song Select to ON.

Here, MSB corresponds to the folder (e.g., MSB Bank 0 for the first folder).
Use MIDI PC to specify the song within the folder (e.g., 0 for the first song).

With this setup, opening the first song in the first folder on the BeatBuddy will open the corresponding song on the Aeros as programmed.

Note that you will need to manually program each song following these steps.

If it doesn’t work as expected or if you need further assistance, please send an email to support@singularsound.com

4

aapo, thanks! i currently use my iPad for lyrics and song notes, but it’s not integrated. maybe it’s time to join the human race!

so, with an app like MobileSheets (or OnSong?) i would be shifting the setlist order from my BeatBuddy to the app, which allows me the flexibility to reorder my setlist and not have to juggle around on the BB. in order to do this, songs on the BeatBuddy would need to remain in a fixed order in order for LSB/MSB/PC commands from the app to trigger the right song. correct?

also, what do you use to connect your iPad to your Midi Maestro? is this possible via bluetooth, or is there some odd adapter required?

I should also be able to have this method select the preset on my roland fantom 06 keyboard too, right?

5

Daniel - thanks for the quick reply. Can you get me one specific answer though? What is the minimum BB firmware required?

I’m currently on BB 3.9.9. again i don’t see “MIDI OUT > Song/Folder Select and choose Aeros Mode.” is there another setting I enable, or am i required to go to 4.0?

“please ensure all your devices are running the latest” won’t cut it, upgrading to the latest firmware on BB/MM/Ae cost me over a month to trouble shoot and fix issues with MM programming.

6

Yes, Midi Maestro supports two direction bluetooth by default :yum:

This means that in addition to select BB song from iPad etc, I can change page etc by foot using MM :grin:

MobileSheets supports also so called smart buttons, meaning that I can press a button in MM which in turn presses the smart button in MobileSheets app which in turn is programmed to send any midi commands I want :sunglasses: I’m planning to use this to navigate some prog songs with up to 32 different beats in single BB song :blush: (+ all the effect changes in HX Stomp)

Lets say that first the 32 beats are played in order but then the order can be e.g. reversed :sweat_smile: (or played in any order) All this while allowing the band the flexibility that the BB offers :relieved:

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7

Happy to help! Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid the position issue on the BeatBuddy as it does base the MIDI song select on the song’s location, but a neat way to avoid this is by using playlists. Playlists can be made and edited without altering the folder structure and you can have up to 17 of them

You will be limited to not being able to move songs around within the playlist just the same once you set up your MIDI controller, but at least you have some more flexibility to make several setlists using the playlist feature and rearrange your main folders without affecting song select. Also this way you won’t accidentally mess all of it up by adding a new folder above the other existing ones

I highly recommend you use BeatBuddy version 4.1.6, it is not going to change your common experience and it will work correctly with the BBMO and even the BB manager, many bugs were fixed and optimizations made. Playlists work best in this version among other things, the song select for playlists does not work in 3.9.9, I believe.

Read more here:

Please refer to this info for how to open those playlist songs with song select:

Hope this helps!

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8

Brennan - thanks. Based on the inputs above, it seems like my best option is to use an iPad app (Daniel recommended OnSong) to trigger BB and AE. BB song sequence will need to remain fixed, but that’s not an issue if I’m managing the order on the app.

Playlists don’t seem like the answer for me, as I change the order for nearly every gig.

Do you have a recommendation between OnSong vs. MobileSheets, or any other iPad app? If I go OnSong, it doesn’t appear I need the Premium version?

9

I don’t have a specific recommendation, but many customers enjoy using apps like OnSong, SongBook Pro, MobileSheets. I’d suggest trying them out to see which one fits your workflow best.

10

You might also consider giving unrealBook a try.

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