I think it could be really cool and useful to expand the functionality of playlists by adding a transition feature for cueing the “next song,” seamlessly. In theory, it would work similarly to “next part” transitions in an arrangement. This can be a really great tool for keeping the energy alive during performances when you change songs hands-free without much setup or navigation time in between.
In practice, songs have different loading requirements, which could pose a challenge for development. Most of BB’s memory is used for loading samples, and if different songs in the playlist use their own kits, then there would need to be some creative solutions to make it transition more efficiently:
For one, you could have Song A play its outro (if enabled), which then enters a transitional pause section where all the parameters of Song B are loaded, including samples, tempo, time signature, etc. During that pause state, you might switch instruments, talk to the audience, or tweak levels, for example. Then it’s simply a matter of tapping the BB footswitch to exit pause (with whatever setting Mute Pause is set to) to start the intro/part of Song B. This tightens up hands-free navigation between songs when playing a pre-organized setlist. It is also a manual approach; there could potentially be a setting for auto-playing songs in succession, but that goes a little beyond my problem-solving.
In terms of hardware, you could implement this in future firmware by assigning an external MIDI CC, or maybe have it work as an option for something like double tap + hold on the outro. I haven’t seen this proposed before, but I see lots of utility in it for seamless live performance!
But to limit the amount of footswitches this is a great idea 