OTR Trucker who likes to play guitar

SweeperAZ · April 3, 2016, 5:11pm

Hey all,

    I'm an Over The Road truck driver who likes to practice guitar during my downtime. And because space is always at a premium, I have to be very picky as to what I take with me.

To that end, I’ve always kept an eye out for equipment that’ll let me play and have fun without taking up a lot of space or disturbing my co-driver.

I first saw the beat buddy of Guitar Center’s website and was intrigued by the idea of a drum machine built into a guitar pedal. A bit of research and mess of videos later, I was hooked. So I squirreled away some cash and kept an eye out for a Beat Buddy to buy; I found a used one with the footswitch for a good price and I bought it.

The way I normally use it is in conjunction with an iRig 2 and amplitube on my iPod Touch; the iRig 2 is set up to be plugged in between a guitar and amp so you can use the software. This works out pretty well as I can use the Beat buddy at the end of the chain to pull double duty as both a drum machine and an amp.

The one true downside I see with the pedal is that it requires an external power source instead of having the option of a 9V battery. It’s a shame, but considering the amount of guts in the pedal, it’s understandable that there was no room.

aashideacon · April 3, 2016, 8:49pm

SweeperAZ:

Hey all,
    I'm an Over The Road truck driver who likes to practice guitar during my downtime. And because space is always at a premium, I have to be very picky as to what I take with me.
To that end, I’ve always kept an eye out for equipment that’ll let me play and have fun without taking up a lot of space or disturbing my co-driver.

I first saw the beat buddy of Guitar Center’s website and was intrigued by the idea of a drum machine built into a guitar pedal. A bit of research and mess of videos later, I was hooked. So I squirreled away some cash and kept an eye out for a Beat Buddy to buy; I found a used one with the footswitch for a good price and I bought it.

The way I normally use it is in conjunction with an iRig 2 and amplitube on my iPod Touch; the iRig 2 is set up to be plugged in between a guitar and amp so you can use the software. This works out pretty well as I can use the Beat buddy at the end of the chain to pull double duty as both a drum machine and an amp.

The one true downside I see with the pedal is that it requires an external power source instead of having the option of a 9V battery. It’s a shame, but considering the amount of guts in the pedal, it’s understandable that there was no room.

You could get a 6 battery pack at radio shack, and make it run on 6 AA, C, or D!

Rob22315 · April 3, 2016, 9:31pm

Get a DC-DC converter that converts 12v to 9v. You can power your consumer electronics off USB ports and the guitar electronics off the 9v. Your truck or a 12v auto battery can power everything.

I haven’t worked out the details of powering an instrument amp off car or truck power but car stereos do it so I assume it can be done for instruments too.

SweeperAZ · April 4, 2016, 1:00am

Actually, we normally have inverters in the trucks so power isn’t an issue. I was just thinking it a shame battery power wasn’t an option.

Abbott · April 4, 2016, 3:09am

I think the screen would eat up drycells fairly quickly…
When I’m playing outdoor back yard parties I power up my TC Helicon harmony G XT from my Crate Taxi amp. It has a 12V motorcycle style battery…I already have some 12 to 9V converters on hand so I suppose the beatbuddy can come along too. The old alesis SR16 couldn’t 'cause it had a 9V AC power supply…

fingerstylepicker · June 3, 2016, 4:06am

If it makes a difference, I have a Line 6 DL4 Delay which generally runs on 9VAC but it does have the option of a 12VDC supply which I run on all the time. Don’t know if your Alesis SR16 has the capability of doing that but just thought I would mention it. It wouldn’t hurt to check your specifications.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.

fingerstylepicker · June 3, 2016, 4:11am

Hello Aashideacon, Just thought I would mention it. Radio Shack/Tandy folded in January of this year. No more Radio Shack. They did this in Bakersfield, Ca. and also here in Texas. Hated to see them go. Bought a lot of stuff off of them in the past.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.

Binsen · June 9, 2016, 1:53pm

SweeperAZ:

Hey all,
    I'm an Over The Road truck driver who likes to practice guitar during my downtime. And because space is always at a premium, I have to be very picky as to what I take with me.
To that end, I’ve always kept an eye out for equipment that’ll let me play and have fun without taking up a lot of space or disturbing my co-driver.

I first saw the beat buddy of Guitar Center’s website and was intrigued by the idea of a drum machine built into a guitar pedal. A bit of research and mess of videos later, I was hooked. So I squirreled away some cash and kept an eye out for a Beat Buddy to buy; I found a used one with the footswitch for a good price and I bought it.

The way I normally use it is in conjunction with an iRig 2 and amplitube on my iPod Touch; the iRig 2 is set up to be plugged in between a guitar and amp so you can use the software. This works out pretty well as I can use the Beat buddy at the end of the chain to pull double duty as both a drum machine and an amp.

The one true downside I see with the pedal is that it requires an external power source instead of having the option of a 9V battery. It’s a shame, but considering the amount of guts in the pedal, it’s understandable that there was no room.

Hi there! What a great story. I was wondering if you would allow us to feature your story along with a picture of you jamming near your truck?

We are inspired by musical artist like yourself who are making music everywhere and however they want.

Please let me know if what you think!

Keep on rockin’
B

SweeperAZ · June 17, 2016, 1:51pm

We finally got a 1000W inverter installed in the truck so we can run our toys when time permits. I can now use the pedal when I have the time to practice.