The BB pedal will play the other instruments as long as you have the suggested drum set. A DAW is not required.
The song I questioned about here does not that I see have specified drum set , so where wo UK led I see the set required on songs information prior to putting in manager? but file does indicate the other instruments. Am I missing something? Yes It is in my BB but all I get are the drums playing. The midi file that came was I supposed to also put in BB ? If so how ? my midi header with its editor in my manager is always shaded out. There is no separate midi editor I should have installed that I see ? I assumed would get unshaded only if I hook BB up w the midi cable I purchased for it. Is that how I put the midi into BB? I have found no help on manuals to explain this.
I don’t know if the BB user guide would be helpful but you might want to read it first. Then if you’re still having questions or problems, please post them here and we’ll try to help you.
Guide does not address my questions. Why so difficult to explain the BB use and how to do what is apparently confusing or wrong information as a new user to help me ? Why would you not explain this to me and send me to a guide with no information on my concerns?? I could be mis informed but where else can I get informed ??? I am not trying to say the BB is not a good peice of hardware, but I have a competitors drummer pedal that plays bass too , with built in looper and a way I can add instruments direct so I wind up with a band in box. I was informed, and possibly wrongly so ,that BB could do this also, except looper part by using midi. If I cannot get clarity on this issue and have to search and search, well I may as well return BB. If there is clear explanation of adding midi instruments to BB and its midi use please let me know. Too much guessing as far as I can tell. Forum has too many conflicts on opinions.
Hi Bigangbo,
Can you tell me which pedal you are referring to that has Bass in it as well? Sounds interesting.
To try and answer your question (if I understand it correctly), when you download someone’s .sng file, they may have added instruments that you don’t have in your drum set. If you can’t find the drum set that they used, then you’d have to add .wav samples of each of the missing instrument sounds. You add .wav files within the BB manager software. You open up the drum set, add an instrument and give it a name and MIDI ID number. Then add the .wav samples. I do this so that I can add certain sound effects from songs (like whistling, police siren, crack of a bat, beer can opening, etc.) It may be easiest if you ask the person who’s song it is to also upload their Drumset. Then you can install the drumset using the BB manager and won’t have to worry about adding instruments. I hope that helps clarify things a little bit.
The song is Never Tear Us Apart by INXS and the drum set is located here: NP P-Bass and Hammond 2 XRL
Probably a DigiTech Trio. Way more limited than the BB.
I Mostly refer to the songs that claim to have added the bass sounds, not bass drum or sound effects. I tried to explain there is no concrete help in manuals included with Beat Buddy. The pedal I referred to in my previous reply was the Digitech Trio Plus. It gives you bass guitar and allows additional instruments to be added via its looper. Now I know not the same as BB. But my confusion is in BB manual, it gives extensions for song files with one explaining having bass and other with Keys or other instruments. So going to the area on forum where others put up songs , they give a brief description of what instruments they added, yet no explanation on how to load into BB. If I use manager all that is loaded is drums and yes they play. My midi tab in my BB manager is always greyed out, no explanation here either ??? Help in BB manager gives little explanations, in fact if I click on it this tab this takes to a link that says no longer available. ??? I am so perplexed… never has a peice of hardware with no real instructions in its manuals. I have read quite a few posts all complaining of these very issues. I just would hope to find definitive instructions or explanations. I have spent quite a few weeks frustrated in learning what should be simple, I had easier time learning my Daws. Please help me. If I completely have its use wrong then my salesperson did me an injustice selling this to me. I do not need just a drum pedal. I can make files with my DAW and just make a play along file using my phone to playback and play along with. Am I making myself clearer or confusing. Do I also understand possible another pedal to play instruments all syncing into BB coming in future ???
Bass, keys, etc in the BB are a User invention, hence, they are not discussed in the manual. The BB is, in essence, a sampler and a sequencer. The songs .sng files, contain the sequence. The drum kits, .drm files, contain the samples. To play one of the songs with bass and keys, you need to load both the song and the Drumkit in BB Manager. You then need to select the kit in BB Manager to make it active. Click the check mark in front of the kit name. You also should then verify that the required kit is show as the default kit for the song, if not, select it.
To clarify a bit more, the bass, keyboard, horns and other sounds are added by the kit creator to the Drumkit. A midi instrument has places for 128 separate sounds. Drums are usually assigned to 35 through 59, or if the song need Latin drums, possibly drum will occupy 35 through 72 or even 80. Bass, in my kits, usually occupies 0 through 31. Other users place the bass in the range of 63 through 91. In my kits, keys are found at midi 60 and up in a kit without Latin drums, or 73 and up if there are Latin drums. I include drum maps with my kits.
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Ok gitvit, so why is this fact not plainly stated ? If user generated made up sequences are only ones to have this capability, BB needs to plainly state you do not support these user generated files and we are on our own using these mid files instead of explaining the difference in file extensions in manual leading me to believe part of your system design and use . Midi sequencers as in the DAWs or Keyboards and even allot of guitar hardware today, yes use numbers to play an instrument of your chosing within a player or to make program changes playin live… I now understand BB yes a sequencer of sorts but limited in its use, and that we must chose the numbers and generate our sounds or trust the others to have done so correctly and of course knowing if they did a custom drum kit also. Like on net so many free midi files out there but so many are just wrong. So we can put that part to bed. However you never addressed why my midi tab on my manager is always greyed out and why the help tab goes to a page not there ? Will this midi tab highlight only if I hook up the BB through its midi cable then ? Of which yes I purchased.
I don’t work for Singular. Be happy with the info you got. I don’t know what you are referring to by the “midi tab” on Manager. I guess you mean Midi Editor tab. I never use the built in BB midi editor. I do midi in a real DAW. That said, if you select a song part, by right clicking on it, and then select Edit…, the built in midi editor opens. Then the midi editor tab has its items not grayed out.
OK - I will chime in here. This is my first post. I’ve had the BB for a few months now. I’m probably older than average here. I played in rock bands 40 years ago and finally have time to get back into music, I didn’t know what a DAW was and this stuff was completely foreign to me. It took some patience and experimentation but I am now able to add additional solo measures to the opb files, change keys, convert midi files to BB backing tracks, etc. This thing is an absolute blast. I probably have 150 quality files now. Some I downloaded off this site. Some I created or adapted myself. Some of my best surprises were accidents that happened when I attached the wrong drumkit. You guys need to try Locomotive breath with the jungle toms kit that comes with the BB. I have the BB, my variax and Firehawk running though my mini PA in my hobby room. I could stay in here with this stuff all day. I guessing my neighbors aren’t thrilled. But even though there isn’t great documentation, trust me - stick with it. The BB is worth the effort. I can’t wait to perform with this setup.
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My thinking too.
Did not know you were not part of Singular. Thanks for explaining it to me. Yes tab for midi is on the top part of BB manager and does nothing. I know all about DAWs n Midi that was why I was freaked by why so difficult for BB to explain the workings just related to their pedal use n adding midi instruments already done. More I mess with it more I feel just another expensive toy. The Trio is so far easier for me and I just play my stuff along to it and create a song file that plays from beginning to end and I can add as many instruments I have here to each song along with background vocals. Do not need to mess w midi and depend on others work on midi files, just play for real, if you can that is. BB song files, that I again now purchased w the needed kits, they have to be told to change the parts. Whose has time to watch a pedal while playing live and at times sing lead too ? Yes more I think more I am thinking to send back. I can make files on my DAW easier n import to my phone or IPad and I already have a ton, too much to watch and work on this BB. Good just to have a jamming beat. Unless here again I am missing something. Thank you.
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Thanks for weighing in
Nice to now know I have to do all this on my own using my DAW or finding correct midi paths and drum sets. Salesperson steered me wrong right off bat making me think just ad to pedal and pedal does it all, left off allot on the does it all part. If you read my last answer my other pedal is more flexable, and I can also do all this in my DAW and just play song from beginning to end without having to look at anything more than the player to start and stop.I will try n stick with it now that I have more information and see if yes will work for me. You are all been helpful. BB really needs to explain this to new users. I know about DAWs and midi and I was still confused on implementation with the BB.
I play in a duo/solo band during the week. This pedal to me is used as a drum machine that lets you play a song as long as you want and gives a variety of fills and endings on demand right out of the box. I went the route of midi backing tracks that played right through and then the song was over. With this pedal you can have people dancing and just keep soloing or singing till they drop from exhaustion LOL. I love the varied freedom and simplicity. Yes if you want bass and other added instruments out of the box then the Trio is probably your best bet. I actually tried the Trio for the weekend after it first came out and sent it back. You want something other than what the BeatBuddy is designed to do you’ll have to figure that out. Good gigging what ever you do 
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trio plus has full complete band songs I created on it , even adding my background vocals or harmonies to a few where a harmoizer fails to react well. . I do a solo act with it and people are blown away at the invisible band behind me. It just depends on your use of these items and what works for some does not for others. I am not saying BB is no good, it obviously has great use for many of you and its sounds yes are great . I like easy pezy and great sounds and adding as much as I can in a timely manner, not while playing live do I wish to have to tell a pedal to change, but just set it and forget it. Trying to eliminate gear , I already have sequencer. It is also why I do not purchase midi files but create my own also to make songs my own where I feel I can get away with it. While performing I cannot watch a pedal, I have to interact w crowd. I was just steered wrong by salespeople on what the BB does and was supposed to be easy and self contained for me. Happy it works for rest of you… lack of information was also troubling for me… more so where now a days you can find out how to on so many devices on net. Yes I can use its included sounds and kits and play its songs I purchased, yes easy, but not why I wanted it. I did not need just another drum pedal or midi sequencer. I was just misinformed. But I will keep trying and see if Things get easier as I use.
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As I said we all have different needs and there us redundancy in hardware and software today. I get the fact that you have more control on a song, live, but my older drum hardware allows that too as well as if I bring my laptop I can do this also using all the great software I have by just having them loop a section already set up prior, just activate the loop. The first trios did have issues and the plus version is a bit more detailed . Not sure what you had. I am going to keep trying BB out though now that I know what needs to be done. Thanks.
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Hi Bwin,
Thank you for your encouraging message.
I’m quite new with BB and also keen on learning to build songs with other instruments than drums.
But time is limited so I ask, would you care to share your best practices of what you say:
‘but I am now able to add additional solo measures to the opb files, change keys, convert midi files to BB backing tracks, etc’
If I have a decent midi file of the song and I like to convert it to BB compatible:
What is your procedure to convert midi file using existent drumset or make new drumset?
What application you use to make all this happen (DAW etc.)
Thanks in advance.
PS. Or if you or some else reading this knows already good instructional messages in the forum, please let me know.