Has anyone else noticed how poorly the tap tempo works on this device? I have a lot of other pedals with tap tempo functions, and you can get it locked in with just two taps, three at most. On this thing you have to hit it multiple times before it will dial in and then just one tap can throw it off a couple of BPM. Plus it has this annoying lag while it’s waiting for another tap before you can get it to start. It’s like it’s waiting for four more taps before it realizes you’re done.
I also found the latching footswitch completely useless for tap tempo, and that was irritating because it said non-latching on the packaging. Waste of money.
The output on this thing is way too hot … it should be line level. You have to have the volume on practically nothing if you are running a guitar through it to an amp, and it’s hissy as all get out. Headphone jack does not fix this problem, either. The only way to tame it is run its output separately on a channel and dial the trim way way back. I don’t have a channel to waste on it playing live so I have to live with the hiss.
It would also be nice to be able to stop it from sending MIDI tempo when it’s not actually playing, as loopers will be responding to its tempo even if you are not using it.
I don’t know if any of these things can be fixed with firmware … obivously, not the output. But they’ve got to improve the tap tempo at least. For those of us who use it without programming setlist and just want to vary the tempo on the fly, it does not work well.
I agree with most of what you’ve said here. The tap tempo is screwy. I have one button set for tap, but some how, when ever I tap a tempo, as you say, I’ve got to wait several seconds for the pedal to figure out that I’m finished tapping so I can actually start it. I use my pedal, just as you say, without a set list because I have trouble with the software, and also because I’m just too impulsive while I play. I also agree that the midi should not send time code when the pedal is stopped. Sometimes I just want to use the looper without the drums. This means I’ve got to pull the midi plug if I’ve had it plugged in. I don’t really know how this could work, but it would be nice to be able to create a loop, then if I want drums, just tap the tempo in and start it up. It should be able to sink up with the start point of a loop right? Anyway, here’s hoping they fix some of this stuff soon.
@Qrp911 - I might be in the minority, but tap tempo seems acceptable to me. I don’t use the latching switches because they are indeed horrible, but you could use the latching switch to trigger the tap tempo mode, then use the main pedal to actually tap the tempo. Usually takes several taps to adjust tempo, or 3 to set it outright, which doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.
@RustyP - If the BB doesn’t send a sync signal when it’s stopped, and you create a loop without any kind of clock signal, that loop won’t be synced to anything, nor will it have a tempo for other devices to follow. When you start the BB, it won’t in any way be synced to your loop. From a device perspective, how is the looper supposed to make your loop fit the tempo of the BB? With MIDI sync, you have two options. Record in sync, or don’t, but you cant really switch between the two once you start, unless your looper is capable of generating it’s own clock signal, but even then, it’s best to sync up and stay that way.
I have to say I completely agree about tap tempo being poorly implemented.
It takes too many taps to find a tempo and then the delay until it goes back to the screen to start the beat is so annoying.
I know getting it right is achieveable because every delay or modulation pedal I’ve ever used with tap tempo finds the tempo with the first 2 taps and then works out the average with every further tap. Also, if you have a switch that is dedicated to only tap tempo as I have with my external best buddy switch there needn’t be a delay while it switches back to the main screen. I really hope this will be fixed with a firmware update.
Thank you for your feedback on this. I will forward this feedback on, and see how it can be improved. If you (or anybody else here) have specific suggestions on ways it can be improved, please post these suggestions here: http://mybeatbuddy.com/forum/index.php?forums/feature-requests.17/ (You can also email us directly if you prefer: support@mybeatbuddy.com)
The BeatBuddy’s output is line level. Assuming that you are connecting the BeatBuddy to a clean neutral channel, one possibility is that there is an impedance mismatch, and it could cause noise. Don’t plug it into a hi-z instrument input or a DI box. Plug it into the ‘line-in’ input. Try turning down the volume to 80%
Another user who had this issue while plugging into an audio interface put a -10dB pad on the input jack and that got rid of all noise.
We had a different case where it was the power supply that was defective - try using one of your other pedal’s power supplies - but make sure it is 9V, center negative and at least 300mA.
If the above solutions do not work, then there may be a technical issue on your SD card (either corrupt files or physical corruption of the SD card itself). Downloading the ‘SD Card Backup’ files from our downloads page (http://mybeatbuddy.com/downloads/) and placing the contents on a different (and preferably new) empty SD card should fix the problem.
If the audio annoyances continue despite all the above solutions, we will likely need to replace your unit. Contact us directly if this is the case.
This has actually been taken care of in our new (unreleased) firmware! We haven’t completed all the features yet, so we haven’t released it. But if you would like to try it out and benefit from its current cool features (like the one quoted), email me at support@mybeatbuddy.com and I will give it to you.
@scudd I totally understand that for my looper, a Boomerang, to be sync up with my BB we need a clock signal. But, when I do a song without the BB, I don’t need them to be sybnc’d. In fact, it goofs things all up.
I think, as has been said above, the biggest problem with the way the “old” firmware handles tap is that after you fnish tapping in the tempo, the BB takes several seconds to get out of tap mode so you can start it. i think one way to handle that is to long press the main pedal to get out of tap mode, but that interrupts the flow entirely. If I’m setting a tempo I want to basically count off in my head tapping and then hit the pedal to start the beat and begin playing my guitar.
If I’m playing an guitar intro, and tap in a tempo, then have to wait until the BB is ready to start, it’s just funky.
So, the way it should work is I tap the dedicated button for tap tempo, 1-2-3-4 and I hit the main pedal and the beat starts right in time with my tapping. I’ve changed out my buttons to momentary buttons so now all that needs to happen is the tap tempo thing needs to be fixed.
Or it should be possible to enable pedal to start at fifth (or how many taps you prever)tap (so we could tap tempo 1-2-3-4-start…), so no need to switch to another button…
