I’ve made a complete mess of my SD card as I cannot get my head around the project concept etc. As a consequence, I no longer have many of the standard drum kits and also premium library songs that I have purchased.
Can I buy the SD card that comes with a new beatbuddy with all the included drum kits etc so that I can start again. I’ve been battling with this for almost two years and it’s the only way that I can see me getting my beatbuddy working again. Thanks
Although most of this stuff has been posted before and is spread all across the forum, here’s the Reader’s Digest version and in one location.
Yes, you can ask Jay to send you a new SD card with the default content (it would be reasonable to expect to pay for postage to Australia) and you can re-download all Premium Content you’ve bought from Singular Sound. But then you’ll still have to re-install and configure all of it to your BeatBuddy Manager (BBM) and BeatBuddy anyway.
The concept of a Project:
The BeatBuddy (BB) pedal allows only one project at a time on the SD card;
Although your bbworkspace may contain several projects, the BeatBuddy Manager (BBM) allows only one project open at a time in the software;
A project may contain up to 99 folders;
Each folder may contain up to 99 songs;
A project is a container that never changes, the contents can be changed, however, you don’t need a new project for every gig or event—it’s static (no need to add, delete or rename projects);
You use the folders to organize and manage your gig list or performance sets. They are dynamic and you can add, remove or rename them to suit your needs;
Remember, the project as a container remains static—only the contents change;
If you treat the project as a dynamic process (new or renamed for every gig), it complicates life, meaning you have to use the BBM to Export Project to SD card; by treating the project as a static process, you only have to synchronize changes to your SD card. Much easier, IMO.
The takeaway from the concept? Manage folders—not projects.
This is a customized set of instructions based on the General Disaster Recovery procedures.
Prepare your computer for the BeatBuddy Manager (BBM)
Since I have no idea of what condition your BBM, bbworkspace and SD card are in (if your SD card is a mess, it’s likely that your BBM is also a mess), I recommend a fresh start by making sure that you have all of the premium content, custom drum sets, and BBM folders of songs backed up and available from your computer; just make sure that the backups you make are not stored in your bbworkspace
Copy contents from SD Card Backup file you unzipped to the top level of your SD card;
Leave your SD card in your computer slot reader.
Set up your project:
From the BBM File > Open Project and navigate to your SD card and open the project
As the project opens, follow the prompts to save the project to your computer; you can give the project a new name if you wish; (if you do, you will have to Export from the BBM; you will only have to do this the one time);
Allow future synchronization;
Check your BBM, it should now have the default BeatBuddy content folders (genres) and songs (and drum sets; more about drum sets in a moment or two);
From the BeatBuddy Manager (BBM), import all premium content songs or folders;
From the BBM, import all custom drum sets;
Activate all drum sets: click on the Drum Sets tab in the left pane of the BBM;
Check the box for any drum sets that you need active;
Save Project;
From the BBM > File > Export Project to SD card and allow future synchronizations;
Eject the SD card from your computer.
Set up your pedal:
Power off to the pedal; insert SD card and power up;
Verify that you have the version of the firmware that you want to use (it does not need to be the latest unless you need those features; I suggest using 1.8.5 or 2.0.4); they are on the forum;
Several Mac users have reported that connecting to their computer via USB results in corrupted data transfer and when a firmware update is taking place, this tends to make the pedal appear as if it were bricked (no power). The other symptom is that project data doesn’t transfer completely to the SD card on the pedal.
Buy and use an external SD card slot reader. They’re not terribly expensive and the small cost is usually worth avoiding the hassles I mentioned above. There’s nothing that prevents you from using the USB connection as many users don’t have any issues at all.
Thanks for your answer. External SD card reader is all I have, it connects via USB. I did have weird issues with making new folder and it doesn’t show in the pedal. I did all syncing correct as instructed, so not sure if that’s USB fault.
If this is the first time putting the project on your card, you may have to export and then sync. Keep in mind the BeatBuddy Manager (BBM) for the Mac has a bug that renders the sync feature inactive. There’s more details on the forum along with some workarounds.
