I have been using the BeatBuilder to allow me to select various sections of midi drum files for Intro/Main/Fills/Transitions/Outro etc with the latest version 1.5.0.1 of Beat Buddy Manager software to attempt to create custom songs. Not all of the sections I create are working.
Some of the midi selections work without a problem and some of them play no sound at all. When I select the troublesome midi sections and import them into the BB Manager, it hangs up until I hit STOP. When I synch that same song into the BB, it produces no sound during those sections that hang up in BB Manager, but the pedal does not hang up like the BB Manager does, it continues to run through on the LCD without producing sounds during those parts.
What could be the problem that produces the lack of sound in the pedal and the hang ups in the BB Manager?
I have attached one of the files that does not produce sound in the BB pedal and hangs up the BB Manager.
I have had a lot of these same problems so let me try to explain what happens. When you create a brand new song from scratch and import it into the BB Manager, it will not play at all and generally locks up the BB Manager completely to a point where you have to close the Manager and start all over. This seems to come from the original thing of where this song was created. It will only work if it is created originally for the BB Pedal itself. I think it is a proprietary thing that the support team can not explain either. Secondly, You will notice that sometimes a “Fill” is located in the 2nd measure. Leave it there, don’t try to move it like to the 1st measure. Sometimes, It will not play. Another propietary thing created by the internal structure of the BB setup. Thirdly, if a note is on the 2nd position at the starting of the measure, leave it there. Sometimes when you move it to the 1st position, the whole fill or transition will not play at all but will have a whole silent measure and then it will trigger back into the “Main Beat” if it doesn’t lock up the whole program. Another thing that the BB program has in it. Now here is a funny one, If you create an original drum beat from scratch and save it or copy it from a different phrase, it will play but it will have “Ghost Beats”, usually about two, or three that trigger on the downbeat after the fill has played in Beat Builder. They will not show up on the screen but nevertheless they are there and will play. It may not affect the whole fill or transition because it is somewhat quieter and will not affect the timing length but you can still hear it when played by itself. Really strange, and the support team can not explain that one either. Lastly, if you create a fill that has an offbeat in it, it somehow affects the internal midi clock and throws the timing off with “Ghost Notes”, not loud, but still audible. If you leave it running for some time, the “Ghost Notes” get further and further apart and begins to eventually throw the timing off so bad that you can’t use it. You can’t get rid of it either. You have to “Not Save” the project, back out of it all, close the program and then reopen it. All this sounds crazy but it does happen and the Support Team either knows nothing about this or they just can’t find a way to fix it. Some of the stuff is very annoying so I guess a person has to find a way around this or not work with the entry itself and shut it down and/or start over. Pain in the butt. I have told the “Support Team” about this time and again but I never get any response back. I don’t think they know how to fix it. Hope this explains some of the difficulties using the Beat Builder and BB Manager. If it doesn’t sound right, or work right, I wouldn’t download it into the pedal, because, it might cause damage to the SD Card or the Pedal itself. Don’t know that, but why take the chance. Hope I have helped in explaining some of the problems that do exist. Maybe it will all go away on the next upgrade revision of the firmware which is supposed to happen soon.
Sincerely, Fingerstylepicker.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with these issues that mirror mine. These are things that should have solutions that can be found in the embedded microprocessor design world, but apparently not enough people are having them to make the effort to fix them. So they are ignored and we find ways to work around them when possible.