As a background, I am using OnSong on an iPad connected to a Puc+ to the beatbuddy MIDI in. I am sending the simple commands from OnSong so when I select a song the MSB,LSB,Song metadata selects the correct patch…which is excellent.
This is all well and good with the exception of adding new songs to the Beatbuddy which I do on a regular basis. Right now I have all my songs in a folder in alphabetical order. This is necessary in the case I am not using the PUC+ or if something goes down I can still get through the song list via the BeatBuddy controls and get to the song quickly via the Beatbuddy interface.
Problem:
Anytime I add a new song to my folder on the beatbuddy I have to go in and change all the MIDI metadata in OnSong for any songs after the newly added song because the beatbuddy song number is order dependent. This is a bit of a pain.
Example:
Suppose this is my songlist in the first folder on the beatbuddy with the OnSong MIDI data to the left.
000 All of Me
001 Brown Eyed Girl
002 Dock The Bay
003 Funny Valentine
…
If I add a new song:
000 All of Me
001 Brown Eyed Girl 002 Bad Bad Leroy Brown (Added song)
003 Dock The Bay
004 Funny Valentine
…
At this point I would need to go into OnSong and update all the MIDI metadata for every song following the newly added Bad Bad Leroy Brown…because the beatbuddy MIDI folder / song selection is order dependent. Obviously if I have a ton of songs, which I do, and add songs on a regular basis this is unsustainable.
Possible Solution?:
What if each song in each folder had a unique id assigned to it? So the Beatbuddy manager would allow the user to assign (or it could be automatically assigned) an id to it? Maybe the info is already there as an index or id in the DB where all this is stored? The change would require the Beatbuddy to process the MIDI command id as the song of interest NOT the order it is in the list.
The point being then if you add a new song you would simple specify the id for the song in OnSong and you would be done…no redoing of any commands.
I notice in the manager 1.6.6 it has an “Enable Song Midi ID” command in the "Songs"menu . Could it be this is what this is for? I have not enabled it but saw it and wondered what it was? This would be great if this is what it is for. I have the same need.
I think that’s what it is. According to the change log:
Version 1.6.6
[LIST]
[]Tempo changes: Edit/set/change tempo in MIDI editor to allow for different main parts to have different tempos.
[]MIDI Export: If there are no note-offs in the MIDI, the exporter will add them.
[]Song ID: Song ID is now editable and permanent–no longer changes with position in folder.
[]MIDI Info: Hover over any song part to see MIDI info–Time Signature, Tempo, Length in measures.
[]Additional misc changes:
[LIST]
[]Fix crash if MIDI is corrupt.
[]Added bbmdebug.log.
[]Autoset Workspace.
[]Fix various dialog box sizes.
[]Added Saved/Unsaved label to song.
[*]Added Workspace location to About dialog
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
@RustyP Onsong can control BeatBuddy right now without issue. I use it for all my gigs. The song id firmware update is a future enhancement to make adding new songs to BeatBuddy and controlling them via OnSong (or any other app that supports midi) easier. It would no longer be order dependent in the BeatBuddy. Currently If I add a new song in the middle of my song list on beat buddy I need to change the id in the midi message from OnSong to match the new song order for any songs after the newly added song. The firmware update does away with this when it is available.
So if you decide to use OnSong and the BeatBuddy now, just realize the order of the songs that are in the beat buddy represent the ids you will use when adding the midi data in OnSong to select them.
BTW: as a temporary work around until this is ready I bought OnSong Console which allows me via the PC to quickly update my midi data for any changes versus though the app on the iPad.
This may be of some use in helping to use Onsong midi to select folder and song systematically.
I am using Onsong and I pad connected to Beat Buddy via Yamaha MD-BT01. Midi connection is managed by Midimitter app.
I have set up an indexng system based on a Beat Buddy folder for each letter of the alphabet and a list of songs starting with that letter in a fixed position in each folder.
Folders are numbered in my BB Manager 01-26 (with and empty 00 and 27 folder at each end for testing etc.) All the songs I use are placed in these folders based on their start letter. Any new songs are added at the bottom of the list ( this is essential)
In Onsong I add a midi message to each song via the midi editor as follows:
e.g MIDI 0.20:0 where Bank MSB = 0 Bank LSB = 20 ( the Letter “T” folder) and Program = 0 ( the first song in the list) (( Take it Easy))
The order of songs in the folder initially is irrelevent but once set up must be maintained by adding new songs a the end od the list otherwise the midi index is broken.
Movement of songs within Onsong doesn’t have any effect so gig lists and sets can be altered freely.
It may be that using song ID in Beat Buddy can help to keep the songs in order in the folders but I have not got round to trying this yet.
Hope this is useful as this is my first ever post anywhere…
I tackled this problem a different way. I describe my setup here (and downloads to everything I have): http://forum.mybeatbuddy.com/index.php?threads/my-onsong-setup-with-beatbuddy.6773/
I found that most songs used generic beats at different tempos and only occasionally did a song have a signature beat. So I created 2 folders; one for signature beats, one for general.
My OnSong sends out MIDI to select the beat and set the tempo. It’s very seldom that I come across a song that cannot use one of the beats in my generic folder. Here’s some samples: https://soundcloud.com/ruairiau/sets/beatbuddy-samples.
My current process for a new song is to use EZDrummers Tap2Find feature to scan my beatbuddy library for a similar beat. If I find something and it’s not already in my general folder, then just add it.
As I am just moving into gigging ( well actually open nights) I appreciate your advice. Keeping it as simple as possible sounds the best idea as sometimes there is just too much to keep on top of during a performance. I’ve already found some of the songs are too complicated to manage via the BB footswitch even during practice so yours is good advice. I’ll sit down quietly and go throught the stuff you have posted and try out your approach.
Thanks
Lots of great tips in that video. I didn’t know about the tempo being able to be set once off, I thought it could only do a MIDI clock sync. I’ve been writing a MIDI command into the top of each song and calculating the MSB/LSB. I also might get one of those Bluetooth MIDI connectors, kinda awesome that they’re powered from the MIDI cable. I’m currently using a PUC+ and I had to wire in some USB power to my pedal board.
That is a really informative video. I use the MIDI to control my BB and my Looper, I press on the song title name and put all the midi info i need in there, that allows me to change the song on the BeatBuddy, and to change my looper. The video was still good though, I did learn some things that I was not aware of.
Hello,
Given this thread is about OnSong and BB I thought I’d as this question here.
I have the MD-BT01 connected in a MIDI loop with my TC Helicon VoiceLive 3 and the BeatBuddy. Both the VL3 and the BB are receiving program change commands from my iPad via OnSong to change songs and patches. However, I’ve trying to configure OnSong to receive the Start and Stop commands from BB. I know that the BT01 can receive the bluetooth MIDI messages from OnSong (it’s selecting the BB songs and VL3 patches sucessfully) but when I go into the MIDI menu in OnSong to ‘listen’ for MIDI commands from BB, I get nothing. BB is set to MIDI Merge and Channel 1, and the MIDI start and stop settings are set. Anyone have any experience with this? This nice video in this thread is not helpful to me here.
