Hi all,
I have 3yr old Beatbuddy its been in storage for a year due to my ill health I am ok but my buddy is dead. Its been in a good environment dry etc. Plugged in last night no screen tried firmware update and different SD card etc. Any ideas of the cost to repair please need to know if its worth a repair or just buy a new one?
Glad your health has improved. My opinion is that the pedal is well worth fixing. You have some options. One is to try to get it working again yourself and the other is contacting Support to see what they do to either help or to exchange the pedal.
To try to get it working yourself, make sure that the power adaptor works. If it does, then follow the instructions from here: Pedal does not power on
If you still can’t get it to work, contact support@singularsound.com and ask them to mail you a recovery card. You might have to pay for postage and it will take 10 days to get the card. If that still doesn’t resolve the problem, ask SS if they can exchange it either under warranty or on a prorated basis. Don’t know if either of those exchange options will be approved but it never hurts to ask.
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Hi Persist. Do you know if there is an estimated life for a BB? Mine is 1 year now and I dont want to anything happen to it! Even if that sounds as a father talking about his child. Cheers!
Just my opinion but it depends on what level of wear and tear are placed on the pedal. Also depends on where and how you use it. For example, if it never leaves your basement or if it’s used to play one-press songs where you start and stop it with 1 and 2 presses, it could very well last longer than the 2-year warranty. If you’re a gigging musician and it’s not mounted to a board, probably 18 months before it starts to show signs of wearing out. Probably more than anything, it’s the care that you give the pedal and the power adaptor. There are moving parts such as the knobs and the main pedal button that all get cycled hundreds to thousands of time. Wish I could give you a better answer. Mine’s going on 3 years with I’d say good (not gentle) care.
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I bought my BB off of Ebay from a user who thought it was too “complicated”… It has been in my studio for at least three years - used A LOT for demo’s… I am currently using it on my EP and subsequent CD… I am trying to convey that I use it a LOT… Any mechanical element (switches, potentiometers, jacks, etc.) are subject to a “life cycle”… This is nothing new - oh and so do ALL of your effects pedals… This device SHOULD be quite reliable in most situations… Even though my BB has been in the studio since I bought it - it is USED A LOT and it is still Wonderful - It IS the best “drum unit” I have EVER used and I have used them all… from a UNIVOX unit in the EARLY 70’s to an Alesis - and the BEAT BUDDY IS THE BEST…
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I just got a second hand BB with a damaged / faulty Card Reader slot, which I discovered a very small piece of plastic inside - removed that and it worked again.
On the way to solving the problem, I tried a Firmware Update and the BB died, all I could see was a black screen. But looking inside the BB, there was a small green light on - so power was getting to it.
I found the solution after much checking on line…
Here’s a useful video on YouTube - the procedure is a bit fiddly but if you’re careful you’ll have a working BB again
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Thanks for sharing the helpful video.
There are also instructions on how to restore power to a bricked pedal here: Pedal does not power on
Hi Persist
I found the video very useful, it’s good to watch someone actually showing how the steps are done.
Combined with the written instructions, it should inspire confidence for anyone in a situation the same as I found myself in.
I bought my BeatBuddy from eBay at a bargain price - advertised for ‘spares or repair’.
My thought was, that there couldn’t be anything major wrong because the pedal is basically a metal box with circuit boards inside, not much to actually go wrong. It had to be fixable…
I’m tempted to buy another if one crops up on eBay 
Fix it and sell it… ha ha
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I finally tried my beatbuddy after it sitting in the box brand new for about a year and half and it’s dead!! Won’t turn on at all. Tried a different power supply from another beatbuddy that works and still dead. Tried the video for the card and nothing. It’s never been used and brand new out of the box!!!
If you’ve already tried the steps here and failed: Pedal does not power on
Then it’s time to contact Support, support@singularsound.com