I love using my BeatBuddy and I mainly use it as an advanced MIDI player controlling Superior drummer (I need that variable Hi-Hat and live velocity control), but it has it’s quirks (mostly MIDI related) and I’ll post about them here.
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[]The tap tempo solution is far from optimal. One shouldn’t need to leave the main screen to tap tempo. Why not use a blinkin screen instead? Also the way tap tempo “takes” over the BeatBuddy is not good for live performance. It takes over all three pedals when tapping tempo and can only be cancelled by timing out. Tapping using an external pedal shouldn’t interfere with the flow at all.
[]Midi sync start ignores the count-in, but intro works. Shouldn’t they be treated the same? Also the fact that the BeatBuddy needs 2-3 clocks to settle to incomming clock, should be accounted for in software. I have to pre-roll my BeatBuddy live to avoid rushed/laggy count ins and intros. Another thing is an option to ignore MIDI start/stop commands and only receive midi tempo.
[]Accents should have an option to use MIDI note(s) messages instead of using a wav file. Much easier to handle for the end user than digging around for suitable wave files. It also makes it easier to layer accents.
[]The ability to receive MIDI song/patch commands for changing songs. Makes it way faster, and possible, to generate setlists using third party software. (One seldom need more than 15 different BeatBuddy songs to replicate 100s of real songs)
[]Reception of MIDI Control Change commands on multiple channels for selecting/triggering song parts directly using external MIDI for jam sessions and songwriting scenarios (the main reason I still use my custom Ableton Live drum setup for making songs). Each part should have the option to be designated a freely assigned master CC with the possibility to designate CC’s to it’s siblings as well. A quick example using CC number and MiDI channel: Intro-CC20/1, Part 1-CC21/1, Fill Group 1-CC80/1 (Sub fill 1-CC80/2, Sub 2-CC80/3), Transition Group-CC81/1(Sub trans 1-CC81/2, Sub trans 2-CC81/3), Part 2-CC22/1, Fill Group 2-CC82/1 and so on.
[]Possibility to assing CC to master MIDI velocity to control dynamics live for a less robotic experience.
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I’m not saying this should all be a free upgrade (the advanced MIDI CC stuff could easily be a paid upgrade), but the basic MIDI stuff should be adressed to make this otherwise great product a stellar one.