Software to create BeatBuddy (BB) beats, songs and patterns

BeatBuddy General
#1

Some of the free programs that come to mind are in the lightweight category in terms of capabilities and efficiencies needed to get the job done. To paraphrase an old saying, “if you want something for nothing, don’t be disappointed if that’s what you get: nothing.”

Lightweight and free apps are along the lines of BeatBuilder (search for it here on the forum) and Aria Maestosa (for Mac and PC).

What you should be looking for is a DAW (digital audio workstation). Keep in mind that you’ll have a potentially steep and frustrating learning curve but once you’ve become familiar with your DAW (and the nuances of programming MIDI for the BeatBuddy (BB)), you’ll be happier. Here’s some sorta free ones: https://thehomerecordings.com/free-daw/
Some are more capable than others for example, Garageband does not export to MIDI, which you’ll need for adding MIDI files to the BB.

If you want to jump up the price chain, you can try Reaper for free and then it’s $69 if you decide to use it. For Macs, Logic Pro X is available to try 90 days for free. Forum users have their own preferences and will freely share their experience and opinions on what works best for them.

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Best free stand-alone software to create midi drum patterns?
#2

Midi Editor has been mentioned on the forum somewhere before
https://www.midieditor.org/

And Ableton Live 10 Lite is currently free of course

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#3

As is Sonar by Bandlab :wink:

#4

I was a Cubase user before BB came along so I use that to work on my MIDI before transferring to the BB Manager to compile and add to the setlist.

Wish the Manager would be updated to do some more basic tasks. It can make for a long process.

#5

Just my opinion but I think that although Singular Sound is trying, they’re having enough trouble getting the basic features and performance of the BBM to work reliably. My takeaway is not to expect any improvement of the MIDI Editor until they get the basics done and even then it’s going to be iffy if they even bother trying to fix and improve the MIDI Editor.

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#6

It’s sad if that is the case because it could be such a fantastic tool to work with.

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#7

I definitely prefer the Unix approach “Do one thing, do it well”…

There are a lot of possibilities to edit some midi data (to add to the list, I used to use Hydrogen , now I generally use Ardour, as I see that Open Source killer apps have been forgotten…) and the BBM will never be on par with those.
BBM is to bundle and manage the BB bank.

#8

Hmmm… I thought the Unix approach was, “Write once, debug everywhere”… :laughing:

#9

Hummm… Maybe because you have no knowledge on the subject ? :laughing:

#10

That was supposed to be a joke…It actually was a joke all those years ago when I was a systems programmer on Unix System V and BSD 4.2 gear. And it got hilarious when some of my buddies and I were hired by the government to develop the definition and implementation of POSIX. But I guess that was when people still had a sense of humor.

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