I am certainly sure I am missing something here but it is not clear what the relationship is to me between the MIDI files and the WAV files. I have had my new BeatBuddy for a couple weeks now and have yet to be able to include it into any live gigs which I previously had been really looking forward to.
It is not clear how to create custom songs. Apparently it has to do with the combination of MIDI and WAV but as of yet I haven’t found much on the forum that explains how.
While the drum/songs that come with the BeatBuddy are not bad, there’s not much stock I can use and need to create my own beats and songs.
At this time my SR18 is far easier to use and program. I have sets of songs programmed in my SR18. How do I get those same songs into the BeatBuddy?
Think of MIDI files as the drummer or the actor who hits the instrument. Think of the WAV file as the instrument that produces the sound. The MIDI file (the drummer) provides the pattern and the velocity that hits the instrument. The WAV file produces the sound you hear. So the drummer can hit the instrument softly or loudly, in standard time or waltz time, and with a short pattern or a long song. The instrument can provide the sound of a bongo or a bass drum or a cymbal.
With the Beat Buddy, the drum sets provide the instrument sounds. So a rock kit has one set of sounds. A percussion kit has a different set. The MIDI files provide the patterns that beat on the drum sets. And the songs make a link between the song parts, the MIDI files and the drum set. You use BB Manager set up all the links.
MIDI allows you to use patterns with a world of different sounds. It is more complex than a recording, but it allows you to separate different things in the music world.
I’m about half through porting all my SR18’s patterns to BB, likely there are a lot of them with similar beats to BB but it was something I started before I got the BB for use in Ableton so… I used Ableton to capture the midi out from SR18 and tediously start/stop and record each SR18 song part (not the audio line out) to individual .mid files. Now am assembling them into the Alesis song list in BBM. The songs ported to BB play using the drum sounds in BB vs. the Alesis sampled sounds. The ones I’ve done so far sound great. I’ve got about 260 individual .mid files, one for each segment PatternA, PatternA-Fill, PatternB, PatternB-Fill. BB songs are more flexible where intro,outro combinations can be added to the limited pattern choices within the song and fill selections on the SR18. Part of what can now be done is edit patterns and add intro/outro sections to make the default SR18 beats less repetitive than the Alesis defaults.
A midi editor is needed to change or create new fill/intro patterns. BBM is used to arrange the beat patterns into how they can be selected in songs. I like Ableton for midi editing, you could use Logic or another DAW. Drum box makers often don’t expose their .mid patterns but BB does so that is another plus. Alesis don’t make it easy to take their beats to another platform but it can be done via midi out from it.
Thanks for the info Norbert and beckerdo. I am intimately aware of what MIDI is and what MIDI files are as I have done a solo act for many many years with racks of keyboards and devices connected via MIDI. My question was the relationship between the WAV files and MIDI with regards to the BB. You did a great job explaining. Is there a video or manual that goes into this detail?
timmyd, I know for sure that I already posted exactly about what you want to know. Please search my post history for like “MIDI WAV BeatBuddy random” and some other words.
Well…I’m sure it’s not just me that would like more information… Either more info in the manual with screenshots or video. So, far I’ve had my BeatBuddy for over a month and have yet been unable to put it on stage. I was not aware until after I purchased it that one could not create their own drum patterns within the unit. As mentioned, at this stage it is still far easier to use the SR18 on stage. But… working on getting to the point of using the BeatBuddy.
Ok…just read the whole thread…LOL! That’s too funny. So, I am NOT the only one that finds all of this so confusing. I think a more thorough manual as well as videos would be great.
Can you send the SR18 files so I can import them into the BB manager? I am just getting started and this would save me countless amounts of time. Thanks fserafini@mac.com
