NOTE: We divided this tutorial into two parts, and the second part follows the post immediately below this one.
First Things First!
[Do not attempt to do anything in the BBManager unless you read this part first, and complete the necessary steps. Do not skip this!]
Before you do anything in the BBManager, you must first create a project!
Creating a project -
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Insert the SD card into your computer, or place the SD card in the BeatBuddy and connect the BeatBuddy via USB to your computer while the BeatBuddy is powered on. (Please note, unless you have the latest firmware version 1.85 in the BeatBuddy, for Mac computers you must insert the SD card directly into the computer.)
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From the BeatBuddy Manager, choose File > Open Project – and choose the drive that contains the SD card, it might say something like “removable drive” or something similar (on the Mac, it might say “Volumes” or “NO NAME”). Make sure that you choose the drive itself, and not a folder within it.
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After the project loads, it will automatically prompt you to save a local copy on your computer. Do this. After it finishes saving a local copy on your computer (takes 2-3 minutes to complete), it will ask if you want to “save the project for future synchronizations” - choose ‘yes’ for this as well, as this will enable you to synchronize any changes you make to your pedal (which means to apply the changes from the BBManager to your pedal).
Here is the next most important thing:
Any changes you want to make to your pedal, must be done via the BeatBuddy Manager software, and in the project you just created, exclusively!
You cannot manually drag and drop any songs/drumsets/files directly onto the SD card on your computer. The BeatBuddy will not work, and it can potentially mess up your card. Any customizations are done via the software, and after you are done, you need to apply the changes you did in your project onto your BeatBuddy (i.e. the SD card) by synchronizing: File > Synchronize Project - and select the SD card’s drive.
Now, onto the tutorial!
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A couple things to keep in mind:
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When the directories user_lib or default_lib are referred to, the full paths are -
C:\Users\Username\Documents\BBWorkspace\user_lib
C:\Users\Username\Documents\BBWorkspace\default_lib -
When the format Action 1 > Action 2 - this is always referring to the dropdown menu in the order that the options are. For example, File > Export > Song is:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/VoLNh6InySnoDxELNZQS45vUN1sR5iV0TrCTPOyOS3id2PGNRc6gu-vQWxZ0zsDBZ-l0tH4yQ5B5OQHK86CfDu7TdjaAtTtV2JDrqYinT_9o4XEbVzyFMGrejSp1nPxBNq-FnDs
[PART I] GETTING STARTED
Grasping BeatBuddy Key definitions:
Project = The entire combination of songs and drum sets on your BeatBuddy’s SD card, as one singular entity. Or in short, this entire thing:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XZgHNFXREF4Hrdte_CoGRfrXqp1GhZckUnECaK9x-Ncj6YsQAxgvVdAcaIZXLLFLVgkIrZ-Vg0x5Cwg9mROjE4-AVIoSzGTgwXuW07H2RXNypjClbQOqcVhr1RXNBFDsA7KXAIU
Folder = When the term ‘folder’ is used within the context of the software, usually it will mean the folders within the software on the left side (in which all your songs are stored). If the manual is referring to a folder on your computer, the term ‘directory’ will be used (e.g. when we’re talking about the folder in BBWorkspace) to avoid confusion.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/0cjQxPeJIwzOTxQVjk7nUpvmyHWuVx9mezeAV2SgjnG9LbXXhsYFnnw3fSMnStXBblqfUOcftSIvx34IHkF7oKF73Xd3bvJz2hiN5Le46-yiGAxPCoHLw4FgW9a-ddt_8thP85Y
Also, the entire folder’s list of songs appear in the left sub-menu of the folder selected, for example:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6Gr_j1cdJM7gdvtduTou4twcjXv6YMe4FA3Pb4nUDH923cju5BEurMhoGDwbCbuDIH2qxZLn_9Ep81nPbNFylfE5j1Yky9rJSaKiPr79Iy1heHzuS9pgyHjHgWA6xKOVBMzUcVU
Set List = This is the list of songs within a folder, and a ‘set list’ is usually referring to a personalized and customized list of songs a folder contains (e.g. a new folder you created with just the songs you need for a specific gig)
Song = In BB terminology, a “song” refers to an individual rhythm track that contains at least one main drum loop (the majority of the default songs contain additional drum loops as well). But because each “composition” consists of several separate patterns/beats (i.e. the intro, outro, fills, main parts), the term “song” is used. Alternatively, the term “BBsong” can also be used and it is synonymous. You may want to use the term “BBsong” when ‘song’ in its common definition is being discussed (e.g. “I love this song! What chords is he playing? And what song BBsong and setting should I use as the rhythm track?”)
The entire screenshot shown below is a “Song” or a “BBsong”:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hEP4fPRsR12Gw8O_MLy1QGiBgvIvErwCi4QSSqDqYlmJgMFkyMCMDsUB9nhARPWcQpUzvjqd2BSRobAIDfxst1VdOhSwb5c5o5qMzoYc9nZgf0ml39DlXKNeMLmcbht_AGHwKxg
Song Part = The entire horizontal section of the song. Each song part has a number to the left of it showing the order of it in relation to the other song parts, although the intro and the outro have an ‘I’ and an ‘O’ to the left of them, respectively. See the above screenshot. The entire section outlined in red is an example of a song part.
Song Track = Each individual rectangular part you see below is a song track. They are the intro, outro, fills, transitions, accent hits, and main drum loops.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/oWRVXZUJi0saHPIL4a8Z9eVEfjkNIK7NIJ0-IKUgURBiiYUF_QpbZEiySbLZeSDM8LmsmZ9N7BuMORGCfbSWK3WCEZafbth7m-jewpgqUhbTthwsv_Tc_dR2CF7IBNyrEFYmlpo
Getting Started Worksheet
You can access this worksheet summary at any time within the BeatBuddy Manager by Help > Getting Started. It will open up as a separate popup window, so you won’t need to close your project.
Important Note: When you first load a project from the SD card, it will prompt you save a local copy on your computer. Please do so. After you saved a copy on your computer, it will ask you if you want to link the project for synchronization, as shown in the image below.
If you intend to apply the changes you make to the current project to the SD card (i.e. to your BeatBuddy), then choose ‘Yes’. If not, choose ‘No’. You can always change this later by re-linking it via File > Export > Project to SD Card (which will also overwrite the content on the SD card with the current project opened. For now, choose ‘Yes’.
Creating Backups of Your Projects
It is imperative that you create at least one backup of your project, especially if you make lots of customizations. Hopefully you already saved a local copy of your project on your computer. This will protect against losing your work completely if your SD card gets damaged/lost.
There is another way in which you can make backups of your projects, and that is to create a “zipped” (i.e. single file) version of them. This also enables easy transfer/storage of your projects, so it is really important that you are at least aware of this method of project backup.
One major advantage of saving a zipped version of a project is that it retains its original form without any changes applied when you make edits. This may be useful if you have a project that you are generally satisfied with, but want to experiment a bit and make lots of changes.
Here’s how you do that:
Step 1 - File > Save Project As
Step 2 - A prompt window appears asking where you want to save it. After you navigated to the location and chosen a name select the Single File Project File (*.bbz) under the ‘Save as type’ menu (shown below)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/XziXdkMbNHu_6ZPIkBKrsGzaY-tJdiUvY1LsKSryZyPeJXW3WPj3tiL7A6Vh3mvpaC7A51yQfo52z74HiJVMjgrXmvBy0IlVGBJLFrHcIBFb80ZSBsIIxmkvb1Dq5G0YWeuTnfw