Norbert's BeatBuddy Hardware Hack

Excellent!! What a great idea.Just what the doctor ordered. I wonder is there any chance that this simple idea can be developed and added to the original unit?

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Love your video and sense of humorā€¦(and the mod too) ^:)^

Thank you Norbert, today I opened up my BeatBuddy and wired up 3 footswitches: a central main switch and the two other switches either side. All momentary footswitches mounted on a board. To wire up the Beatbuddy, I unplugged and took out the headphones jack socket and used the hole to hardwire up all three switches through a single 5-core cable, using the 3 stereo jack socket conductors as solder-points for the two extension switches and your method for the main switch on the Beatbuddy box. Easy soldering job really. It all works under test. Next I have to construct a bracket to hold the BeatBuddy box on a ledge on the side of my mic-stand. Probably held in place by velcro as with the storage docking place for the Beatbuddy on the footswitch board. Then Iā€™ll test it all in band rehearsal before going live in a gig. So thanks loads for helping me do that.

I modified a couple of Go Pro pieces , the base attachment wouldnā€™t stay stuck with its supplied 2 sided tape even though I took the rubber mat off the BB, so I ended up pre drilling and the base and securing with a small screw.

Looks awesome but I ainā€™t going to buy a go pro soā€™s I can get the mount LOL

typically stores who carry the go Pro will have a display with all the individual mounting pieces that you can buy individually ,
Easy to remove/ replace, cost effective works great.

WoW, thanks for that, didnā€™t realize that was the caseā€¦well done!

Hey Singular Soundā€¦ psst, BB supports MIDI, where is the BB companion app for phones and tablets?

@Norbert - Your work has inspired me to build a BB remote of sorts that sends various MIDI commands through the BB MIDI port. Things like tempo, volume, drum set, song selection, and/or any MIDI command that the BB will accept is in theory possible. In addition to controlling the BB, with the BBā€™s MIDI merge feature, itā€™s also possible to send commands straight through to other devices as well. The project is in this thread if anyone wants to contribute. My MIDI knowledge isnā€™t all that developed yet so itā€™s going to be slow going.

I realize there are existing methods to send MIDI commands, like a computer or phone/tablet based DAW or apps like Set List Maker and what have you, but I really like simple, dedicated devices, exactly like your tempo hack, that donā€™t rely on fragile phones or bulky laptops with buggy bloated operating systems or proprietary cell phone carrier hardware and software that works one day then breaks when someone receives an email notification in the middle of a solo. I want to plug in a cable and turn the knob that says tempo.

Thanks for the innovation.

I got mine from Mouser. Digikey is another good source. I chose one with a plastic enclosure so there was little risk of shorting something out.

If I recall, Norbert installed a Switchcraft Stereo jack (Tip, Ring, & Ground) and only used the Tip & Ring avoiding any connection to ground. He then soldered the wires to the switch circuit board as described. I did the same modification using the hole left by the removal of the headphone jack which worked great. I never used the headphone jack anyway. The stereo jacks can be bought on E-bay. Get the Switchcraft jacks. Theyā€™re better quality.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.

Norbert got the wires backwards. You need to find the later posting where another modded figured out which connection on the pedal switch is ground. If you have e the correct ground, you can wire the jack up properly.

I thought something was a little funnyā€¦ when watching the video Norbert uploaded, one of the photos shows the Red and Black wires soldered to the switch in one location, but later in the video when heā€™s installed the jack the red wire seems to be in a different location. Do you know which locations are correct?

It really doesnā€™t matter if you are using a stereo jack. You are just making contact across the two contacts on the back of the switch. Another thing. When I opened up my pedal there was a ā€œBridgeā€ across all three terminals on each side which I soldered to. It wasnā€™t like the picture that Norbert had. It did however do the same job. If you are using a mono jack instead of a stereo jack, you will need to pay attention to which terminal is ground. The way to do that is take a reading with an ohmmeter to find out which side is to ground or closest to ground. I would though put in a stereo jack if you are doing it that way. I didnā€™t. I just soldered to both sides with the wire I had run through the hole left by removing the earphone jack. I then wired it to a mono switchcraft plug which plugs into a Boss FS-5U switch set to normally closed contacts which duplicates the main switch. I hope all of this helps. It sounds complicated but itā€™s really not. Keep in mind that you only need to ā€œCloseā€ the points across the main switch in the BB.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.

I disagree, you should get the ground correct no matter whether or not you use a mono or stereo jack. You never know when another grounded object might come in contact with the case of your add-on foot switch or the barrel of the plug. I suspect the BB power supply is short protected but I donā€™t feel compelled to find out the hard way.

I used a continuity tester to make sure I had things hooked up the right way.

I donā€™t remember which connection is which and Iā€™m currently 3000 miles away from the BB. I can take a picture when I get back next week if you havenā€™t sorted it out by then.

A picture would help a tonā€¦ thanks Rob22315. Iā€™m in no rush to wreck this thing! :slight_smile:

I will be home on Saturday. Will post a pic this weekend.

In the meantime, see the post by c.grainger on the second page of postings in this thread. He describes the problem with the original wiring for the hack and includes a picture showing the correct wiring.

Hereā€™s a pic. Black is ground.

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Thanks very much Rob22315 that is helpful! Does anyone have a part number for a good 1/4" jack that youā€™ve used? Iā€™ve seen a ton of options but I donā€™t know which type works the best and is easy to connect.

I used one that was completely enclosed in plastic. This type of jack takes up a little more room but gives some protection from shorts if things get loose. I got mine from Mouser.com.