It would be awesome if the standard BB drum kits were made available as ToonTrack EZDrummer EZX expansion kits for a fee to have the same sounding drums in EZdrummer without having to sample every instrument in BB and manually build kits in EZDrummer. I know BB does the playing of sampling differently per repetitive hit but if the core sounds could be ported to EZX so that when making midis in Logic etc. and EZDrummer as the VST drum module they’d be close enough for a faster workflow when editing midi patterns. The BB value add would be better sounding on BB and portable vs. EZDrummer for production midi work.
BB openness and visibility would increase since EZDrummer is platform independent and is one of the top computer drum modules. The EZDrummer beat finder feature is also a huge timesaver so if the BB loops were in the EXZ packages they’d be included in beat match searches, another big win. Along the same line the ability to buy ToonTrack packages as BB.DRM format so that all existing TT kits could be used would be much easier than building random kits and again looking at it the other way, the more kits that sound the same in EZdrummer as they do on BB the betterer.
I remember saying something similar like 9 months ago, yet as Singular Sound company was really new, it was taking only well-tried and secure steps at the time, using closed proprietary formats and stuff. And that was pretty understandable to me. Talking about creating an open system even before the company fulfilled its primary goal (kickstarter campaign) and started bringing income was premature, to be honest.
But talking about it now is much more appropriate. This should help the team choose the way for the product to evolve.
I personally have the idea to turn BeatBuddy into a platform that one can easily develop add-ons for via BeatBuddy API that will be a standalone download.
Cool as this idea is, there is going to be a store to purchase more drum kits in the future… I just want to see full midi implementation so you can trigger the samples in the Beatbuddy from another device, in that way you don’t need the samples in the computer or maybe make the manager software into a VST. Although I am dreaming of the day when I can trigger the samples in the BB from an old 1st generation Yamaha DTXpress - what a difference that would make to the sound!
I’m all for MidiBuddy and more custom kits at the store but going back to the issue with using other DAWs, the kit sounds need to be portable to DAWs as well as BB. Packaging all the good work done recording patterns and sampling the drums already seems like a fairly low fruit (no reprogramming of BB/BBM) way to add it as a revenue option and to draw them to BB for portability. I’ve posted this short example of how to use samples of Beat Buddy drum sounds and organize in a grid for sound comparisons in Logic by using EZDrummer as a VST. The Beatbuddy Manager is using previously posted (http://mybeatbuddy.com/forum) soundcheck midi files to trigger individual sounds which were recorded and and brought into Logic which is using the same soundcheck to play EZDrummer’s VST. The next step is going into EZDrummer to to select kits, adjust mixers and effects etc. to get as close a match as possible. My goal doing it was to minimize rework of midi. I’m using OSX/Parallels XP and SD card swaps, it works but the less back and forth the better.
I use Superior Drummer and Ez Drummer midi a lot. The midi files are easy to find on your hard drive and just load them into BB Mgr the same as any other midi files. I’ve had no problems with any of the ToonTrack beats.
i have been looking at all the tuturials I can find and I have been trying to take ever angle I can to get these midi files to go into BBManager.
It was suggested to me not to save the file after modifying it but to select file then export the file as midi. This I have done and it still won’t import into BBManager. I have also renamed it with the .sng extention on it and still won’t go into BBManager. This is the error I get:
Cannot Parse Portable song c:user/name/desktop/midi/files/boot scooting boogie.mid. Then continues to say skipping file.
Obviously, I’m not as computer savy as some of you guys on here. This BB isn’t working out for me. I love the sound quality of the installed files and I have been able to install files that I have found that a couple guys have already built with no problems.
I audition the drum clips in Superior Drummer (or EZ Drummer if that’s what you have.) The clips are in the same folder structure as they appear in Superior Drummer. Then in BB Mgr just click on the midi part and direct it to the midi clip you want.
Not sure exactly what you are trying to do or accomplish.
I make very few modifications to the midi clips, generally just removing a hit or adding one on a fill or accent. Those I do with some freeware programs. I have a lot of midi clips from my studio, so I don’t make many changes to the clips themselves. So for me it’s just a matter of previewing a clips to find what will work well. I’ve had my unit since mid-December and I’ve polished about 60 songs and roughed out another 55, so once you get going, it doesn’t take long to get up to speed.
I had trouble in the beginning trying to understand the process for setting up song sets, and I was getting that same message. I just went back a couple of times and watched the tutorials again and finally it came together.
Hang in there, give as much info as you can on what you are trying to do and somebody can help you. It’s worth the effort and once you understand how it works it’s pretty simple, although it could be a little easier and I suspect it will with BB Mgr updates. It’s all there and it works, so don’t give up.
I have been importing midi’s into Guitar Pro5 and I have been removing all the tracks except the drum tracks. Then I export the file back into a midi folder as a midi I have set up on my Desktop. Then I try to import it into BBManager as a single track. For some reason this just isn’t working for me. Maybe, I’m out to lunch here and doing it all wrong. I haven’t taken any of the drum beats that came with BB yet and see if I can make modifications to them. Don’t want to go there until I get my first issue ironed out. Maybe by deleting all the tracks in the midi files except the drum beats is where I’m making my mistake. I just don’t know now.
The BeatBuddy can only play midi files with less than 500 events, but it would give you an error when you try to add them to a song. So you need to remove all but Channel 10 (the drum track). If it is still too big you will need to chop it down.
Personally I would open one of the BB midi files and re-add it so you understand the process maybe even make a change to it remember to save it as a different name.
I don’t know Guitar Pro but I expect it’s doing something in the file that BB doesn’t see as pure drum midi. Also, as Psalm40 says, it can’t be over 500 events. I’ve not had any midi clips from Toontrack that were too big. After all you’re just looping a few measures at most. I’ve only been using pure drum midi of no more than 8 measures on a verse or chorus and 1 or 2 measures for a fill.
I do occasionally get an error message on loading midi to a song in BB Mgr… but the midi track actually still loads and plays fine. I expect the issue is something in what you’re exporting from Guitar Pro.
Modifying the BB midi loops I’ve had no problems with. You might try purchasing EZ Drummer fill packs. For $30 a genre, you get a ton of pure drum midi. I would avoid “free loops” because you never get enough of a particular groove to build a full song. Buying midi library collections gives you far more usable loops and they just aren’t that expensive. I have a lot of them because I use them in my recording studio so I already had a lot of midi loops.
Try some straight drum midi and see if your still have a problem. Keep your loops to just a couple of measures until you see what’s happening.
Judging from the error message in your earlier post #7, you are using the wrong BBManager function for that. A single MIDI file should never be imported as a complete song, as it represents only a single part in a song!
Create new song in BBManager (or edit an existing one), then use your MIDI file for some song part. Song parts are represented by big rounded square buttons in the center-to-lower-right area of BBManager.
I use Superior Drummer midi files. To make things easier I use Toontrack Solo to organize/edit the loops. I use the map wrapper feature which will convert the loops to General Midi format. Drag loops into BB Manager and construct songs that way. Very quick and easy to get up and running with the pedal. Will eventually construct a drumset in BB that will respond to the Superior/ EZ Drummer format.
