I received the bundle yesterday. I have mixed feelings about the results. So, here’s a little feedback from me. The positives first:
The presence of an on/off switch
Larger screen with more information
Having the Aeros and the Maestro, everything fits together beautifully aesthetically
The presence of two buttons, very practical for pause
The HD kits, which are very good
The superswitch is perfect. It allows me to free up my maestro and thus leave only the controls for the aeros and the Headrus Core
Now the negative points, that’s just my opinion :
I know the delivery delay isn’t Singular Sound’s fault. However, the lack of communication from them on this point is really annoying. The estimated delivery date was changed, and the explanation was only provided on this forum after a user asked a question. No email, nothing…
Not everyone who ordered the bundle received the Cablis. Regarding the song packs and drum kits, there’s no information on availability… I paid customs taxes upon delivery; I sincerely hope that when I receive the Cablis (if SS sends them), I won’t have to pay any other taxes…
BB2 contains 3 HD kits and an Autopilot song folder. The rest is identical to BB1… I really think there could have been more content to stand out from BB1. Rhythms using HD kits for example… Here it is a copy and paste between the 2 generations
That’s my feeling. I’m not disappointed with the BB2, but this experience leaves a bitter taste (delays, lack of communication, incomplete package, etc.). If you’re upgrading from the BB1 to the BB2, I think you should find a deal with HD drum kits. Otherwise, I’m not convinced the upgrade is a good option; it’s not worth it; the BB1 is already perfect…
This isn’t meant to criticize anyone, but I wanted to share my feelings, which are somewhat spoiled by certain points…
I have been a long time BB user and my current BB1 was getting a little worn (loose knobs), so I bought the BB2. I like the BB2 overall (and am happy to have a "new” device), however I don’t think it’s a massive improvement in functionality over the BB1 in its current state. I “know” what I bought, so I’m not bemoaning features/functionality that BB2 doesn’t have. Still, it is a little head scratching why some aspects of the BB2 don’t seem like massive improvements.
Better/faster processor. Why do Drum Kits still take the same amount of time to load. I get that the new kits are much larger, but the old kits are small and still take time to load. Why launch a new/improved unit without upgrading the processor (and marketing this)? There doesn’t appear to have been any update to the processor, yet we’re paying a higher/premium prices for the BB2. (maybe I’m incorrect on this, but I hadn’t seen any messaging around the processor being updated.)
HD Kits are good but I’m not sure they sound significantly better that other premium kits I have purchased. I know my audiences won’t hear the difference. The new “Standard Custom” kit has a ringing in the snare hits that I just can’t unhear, so I’m likely not going to use that one. The Modern Custom kit is good and better aligned to the sound I prefer.
AutoPilot…off to a decent start, but needs work (see the thread that @oktronic started on this). Looking forward to this improving. Would be even better if song parts could send midi CC/PC messages, to allow control of external devices/pedals in sync with song parts. This would be a killer feature, and seems like a missed opportunity to elevate the new unit. (maybe this is a future capability?)
More drum kits and beats. Fresh/new content in tandem with the BB2 launch would have been great.
Again, it was time for me to get a new BB and I plan to leverage AutoPilot (which drove my final decision to upgrade). If you need/want the new features and control options, then the BB2 makes sense. If BB1 is working for you now and you don’t need the new features then the BB1 is still a great option.
@Ron_Desjardins I’m reassured to see that we have the same feeling about the BB2. I also prefer the “modern kit”. Sending MIDI commands (when changing parts for example) with Autopilot would indeed be a very good addition
