Pointer to basic steps to get the content (song and kit) and set up in BeatBuddy for OP and OPB

Hi,
I’ve been reading lots of different threads about how to get OP and OPB songs on my recently purchased BB, but haven’t successfully made it work yet.

I think one reason I’m struggling is being unsure how to get the kits required (such as * NP Standard Pro Bass and similar).

I’m happy to purchase content, as well (and strong interest in Beatles, fyi).

I realize there have been numerous threads about this over the years, but that’s part of my confusion, is at least want to make sure I’m working from the best/latest info and purchase the correct items, if that’s required.

Thanks very much,
Dan

Most of the kits are available on the Forum search for a couple words in the kit’s name. The asterisk is not part of the name. That is a symbol to tell you that you don’t have the kit installed. To get Standard Pro with Bass or Ludwig with Bass, first buy the official Standard Pro and/or Vintage Ludwig kit from Singular. Then send me a PM with the proof of purchase. I’ll send you a link.

To get a kit working, you need to install it using BB Manager (File>import>Drumset), then activate the kit. To do that, click the check box in front of the kit’s name in the BB Manager Drum Sets list. After you the content that you want installed, you’ll need to get it onto the SD card to use it in your pedal. You do this by using File>Synchronize Project, on PC, or File>Export>Project to SD card, on Mac.

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Thanks very much!

Would you mind if we step through one example?

Let’s say I want to try the OPB song posted here, thoughts on the process you’d follow/how you’d proceed after downloading the referenced zip:

Thanks!
Dan

Sure. And by the way, the fellow who did this is another Phil, not to be confused with me. Although he is a great helpful guy.

Do the download and unzip. You have 4 files. They are an .sng, a pdf, and 2 mid files. The pdf is a chord and lyrics sheet. You can ignore the mid files. Those are for folks who want to remix or re-edit the song in a DAW, like Logic or Cubase.

If you have not already done so, on your BB, using BB Manager, create a file for Beatles, since you are going to want more of these. With that Beatles folder selected, From the upper BB Manager menu, select Songs, New Folder. A New folder appears in you folder list. Click on it, rename it Beatles.

A blank song folder space appears. In BB Manager, select File>Import Song, and navigate to the expanded Don’t Let Me Down folder on your computer, probably wherever you keep your downloads. Select the file with the ,sng ending. The song should load and look like this:

Notice the Default Drum kit name, NP Standard Bass Hammond. Let’s search for the kit. Back on the Forum, click the magnifying glass icon at the top of the page, enter NP Standard Bass Hammond, and you won’t find the kit. This is not a normal result but it does happen with some older kits. Do a search on the Forum for Missing Drumkits. Within those posts, you’ll find a post I made on Apr 1, 2022, called “Missing” drum kits on the Forum. Click on that, and then click on the dropbox link. Scroll down until you find NP Standard Bass Hammond, click on that, and then download the kit.

Some kits need to be unzipped, some don’t. Once you have the kit, back in BB Manager, selected File Import>Dumset and navigate to the the .drm drum file that you just downloaded, and select it.

Once it finishes getting added to BBM, look at the Drum Sets list in BB Manager, and if necessary, scroll to the bottom of the list to find the kit you just added. Click on the box in front of the kit’s name. The drum kit is now ready to use.

Finally, one more little trick. Phil normally creates his songs with the whole as the outro. He likes it that way. What this means, though, is that when you click on the pedal to play the song, nothing appears to happen. Actually, on the pedal, you should see the visual metronome counting beats, but not hear any sound. This is because it is looping the “Null” main loop. Double click on the pedal to progress to the Outro section, and you will hear the whole song play.

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This is great, exactly what I was hoping to get, thanks very much!
I’ll dig in and give this a try and let you know if I have any questions, thanks so much!

Thanks @Phil_Flood, I’m making quick/good progress, thanks to your very clear response.

Got the song and kit working on my BB, thanks!!!

A few questions, in case you or others have insight:

  1. When I try playing this song using BB Mgr on Windows 10 (either using “Play” button or double clicking the visual pedal), it doesn’t play all the sounds as it does when I actually play it via the BB device itself, is this expected behavior?

  2. Is there a way to stop this song part way through using the BB pedal?
    Wasn’t able to figure out an obvious way to stop the song part way through, given that the pedal is treating the core content as the outro, but perhaps I’m missing something

Thanks,
Dan

As long as the kit is installed, it should play the same sounds in the virtual pedal that it plays in the actual pedal.

There is not a pause or stop function on the pedal. In BB Manager, if you click on a song part to play it, you can click on stop to stop.

You can move parts around in the BB Manager screen. This can be helpful when auditioning songs. I use Mac, so I can be sure of the results on PC, but I believe to can right click to copy and paste.

Thanks. So are you saying that once an OP or OPB song like this starts playing on the pedal, there is no way to stop it other than letting it play to the end of the song? Just want to make sure I have that right, since I was hoping for a way to be able to start it on the actual BB device, play for a bit and stop it when I want to, but sounds like that may not be possible.

Thanks

Generally, that’s correct. What I sometimes do is make an OPB, with a long gap at the end, and then a dummy note at the very end. If you place this type of file in the Main Loop, you can double tap to end.

Double Tap essentially means, go to the Outro and play it until the end. That’s why the song can’t be ended if the body is in the Outro section. If you have a good means to edit midi files, it’s relatively simple to do. The built in midi editor is NOT a good tool for this, but I assume it could be used.

I see, thanks for sharing that info.

To get Standard Pro with Bass or Ludwig with Bass, first buy the official Standard Pro and/or Vintage Ludwig kit from Singular. Then send me a PM with the proof of purchase. I’ll send you a link.

Done, sent you the proof of purchase.

Thanks

Phil, thanks for the tips. Seeing the song the outro was causing distress like I did something wrong. Same as having the songs in the fill, looks like “Slide” was created to have the full song start in the fill slot. That would get tough to remember which ones start with which keystrokes. Why would fill be good spot for the SNG, vs. the main loop? Is there an iPad tool that can drive a set list on stage? Thanks! Jim

The only advantage I could see to having a full song in the fill slot is that it would only play once. There wouldn’t be a fear of it continuing to loop, as happens when the song is in the main loop slot. I would manipulate the file a diffeent way, but much of what happened when making OPB files was experimental.

OnSong is good for set list management, but there are other songbook program that work as well. They do require a midi connection between the iPad and the BB. For that I use the Yamaha wireless midi dongle.

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can i control BB through onsong? that is, if I choose one song on the onsong, BB will automatically recall that song??

That is what I use it for. I have lyrics and chord sheets as pdf files entered into my OnSong database. Each of these is tagged with their Tempo and Time Signature. They are also tagged with a midi locator, based on the folder they are in and their position in that folder, in BB Manager. When I called up the song on Onsong, Onsong sends a midi signal to the BB via Bluetooth to load the song.

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Is this set up simple to do? Can you send me a link of this cable?

YAMAHA MD-BT01 Wireless MIDI Adapter interface genuine MIDI Interface | eBay is this one??

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Wireless-MD-BT01-5-PIN-Adapter/dp/B01CFOHF6U/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=CjwKCAjw5NqVBhAjEiwAeCa97ZZYstY-2pzENcLElih7Afkbfbl6bAnJi7wRFgodrKsL06vEBWULjRoCdwoQAvD_BwE&hvadid=409995984199&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028035&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16700765071760248181&hvtargid=kwd-297179547344&hydadcr=29838_12016285&keywords=yamaha+md+bt01&qid=1656182026&sr=8-3

I also use an IK Multimedia Blue Board to scroll the lyrics within OnSong. My set instruction reflect the use of that device.

https://www.amazon.com/IK-Multimedia-Blueboard-wireless-controller/dp/B00BIPL9JW/ref=sr_1_12?crid=3MHT8ZUI94WFS&keywords=ik+multimedia+blueboard&qid=1656182326&sprefix=ik+multimedia+blueboard%2Caps%2C228&sr=8-12

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Yes that’s it.

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You need the Beat Buddy midi cable, too. It connects to that.

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2 cables right?? https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-2148344334-cabo-midi-sync-pedal-beatbuddy-singular-sound-_JM right??