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Worlds First Drum Machine in Pedal Form!

#61
darius8 said:
This sounds like a great idea. There is one small problem with playing a drum machine thru your amp. If you don't have a tweeter or horn for the higher freq. (like the cymbals) no drum machine will sound good. This is no fault to the BeatBuddy of course or any drum machine.
Click to expand...

A 'beats only' balanced out (TRS) jack would solve this. Just run it to an amplified PA speaker (or the mixing board) and you're good to go onstage.

um... David, if you use this idea, can I get a discount?... :D
 
#62
dbbxyz said:
David,

Seems there lots of concerns on running this thru an amp. Have you considered ( is it even possible) to program output routing options to the existing stereo outs?

For example in addition to the typical right & left/mono set-up could you program additional routing(s) of;
L: instrument only & R: drums only
And maybe even
L: instrument/drum & R: instrument OR drum
(All with independent volume control...)

This would cover a lot of ground between the bedroom, solo, solo-looper, band with FOH wanting separate sends, etc type situations...

For me, this routing flexibility would really be the order winner.

Brilliant concept. Thanks
Click to expand...


Well, we are trying to keep the BeatBuddy as simple and easy to use as possible. Though we are considering releasing an SDK to allow you to create custom programming for it.

We probably won't have any hardware type switches for routing options (to reduce the clutter on a small footprint device) but we may allow you to work that out through the programming side.

Though if you want to keep the drums and your instrument signal separate, the simplest thing to do would be to just plug the BeatBuddy and your instrument into separate channels -- no need to put your instrument into the inputs on the BeatBuddy -- those are there mainly for when you only have a single amp and/or no mixer.
 
#63
Vlad5 said:
A 'beats only' balanced out (TRS) jack would solve this. Just run it to an amplified PA speaker (or the mixing board) and you're good to go onstage.

um... David, if you use this idea, can I get a discount?... :D
Click to expand...


You can use the 1/4" output as a 'beats only' out -- just plug in your instrument separately and don't put it into the BeatBuddy's inputs.

It would be difficult to fit a TRS jack in the single pedal format... maybe in the next double pedal model -- if we put it in, you can be one of our beta testers :-)
 
#64
bongomania said:
Hang on now. If someone needs all kinds of routing, MIDI, etc. then they should really be buying a "real" drum machine and proper amplification for it (PA channel or second amp).

This is clearly a device for practicing. I support any improvements people can think of that would make it even better for practicing. Trying to make it into something it is not is unproductive and unrealistic.

Again: if somebody plans to gig with a drum machine, there are already plenty of drum machines out there that are already chock full of multiple outputs, MIDI, footswitch jacks, USB, and every other thing mentioned above. And if I saw somebody "seriously" performing onstage with both their bass and their drum machine through one bass amp, I would laugh. Get the right tools for the job.

Seems to me if somebody wants to practice to a beat at home with just their one amp, this pedal is the right tool for the job.
Click to expand...

Well, running a percussion loop, a sequenced track, or even a simple click track along with a flesh and blood drummer with a full band, IEMs, and a full PA is pretty typical in in my experience. Put that all on a bassists pedalboard, and relieve the keyboard player or better yet the sound guy from launching .wav files would make me smile, not laugh.
 
#66
dbbxyz said:
Well, running a percussion loop, a sequenced track, or even a simple click track along with a flesh and blood drummer with a full band, IEMs, and a full PA is pretty typical in in my experience. Put that all on a bassists pedalboard, and relieve the keyboard player or better yet the sound guy from launching .wav files would make me smile, not laugh.
Click to expand...

There are already thousands of drum machines that do what you want, including some small enough to fit on a pedalboard. Get the right tool for the job. Also, there is a difference between running two instruments into one bass amp (which is what I described) and running however many instruments into a PA system.
 
#67
As many features as you guys want, it seams like a rack mountable option would be more for y'all, or at least a double pedal.

I really like the simplicity of the pedal in the video. Keep it as affordable as possible and really user friendly. This will allow more beginner players, or just hobbyist the ability to use it. Really, what is a 16 year old who just started playing going to do with a MIDI in/out and multiple stereo options?

I really love the idea of this product and think with the USB capability, it will make it a real game changer. Once it gets released and people see how the "small" current version works, then a rack mount or just much larger version could be released. I hate when good products are rushed to production and end up being so over advanced or glitchy that no one can use them.
This is just my 2 cents though.
 
#68
DavidPackouz said:
You can use the 1/4" output as a 'beats only' out -- just plug in your instrument separately and don't put it into the BeatBuddy's inputs.

It would be difficult to fit a TRS jack in the single pedal format... maybe in the next double pedal model -- if we put it in, you can be one of our beta testers :-)
Click to expand...

oooh, count me in!
 
#71
LeonD said:
David, if I have a song with verse and chorus sections, would I have to program the sections into the unit in the exact order they occur in the song? Or, could I program in a verse part and a chorus part and toggle between them randomly?
Click to expand...

If you just have one verse and one chorus section, then you can toggle between them whenever you want.

If you have more sections -- such as a bridge, etc. then you program the sections to occur as they do in the song -- though you can stay on each section as long as you want until moving to the next section.
 
#72
How do you do fills? Using the footswitch? What kind of footswitch is going to be compatible?

DavidPackouz said:
If you just have one verse and one chorus section, then you can toggle between them whenever you want.

If you have more sections -- such as a bridge, etc. then you program the sections to occur as they do in the song -- though you can stay on each section as long as you want until moving to the next section.
Click to expand...
 
#73
Adamixoye said:
How do you do fills? Using the footswitch? What kind of footswitch is going to be compatible?
Click to expand...


Fills are done by pressing the main pedal while the beat is playing. Different fills are cycled to give a live drummer sound.

The footswitch is used to add additional 'one off' accent hits, such as hand claps or cymbal crashes. Any standard latching footswitch with a 1/4" connector should be compatible.
 
#74
How does the pedal distinguish doing a fill from switching between chorus/verse? And it will need a latching, not momentary, footswitch?

DavidPackouz said:
Fills are done by pressing the main pedal while the beat is playing. Different fills are cycled to give a live drummer sound.

The footswitch is used to add additional 'one off' accent hits, such as hand claps or cymbal crashes. Any standard latching footswitch with a 1/4" connector should be compatible.
Click to expand...
 
#75
Adamixoye said:
How does the pedal distinguish doing a fill from switching between chorus/verse? And it will need a latching, not momentary, footswitch?
Click to expand...

A fill is a quick pedal press and release.

To switch between verse/chorus you hold the pedal down, which plays a transition fill (if one is available - otherwise it keeps playing the original beat) and when the pedal is released it switches verse/chorus. That way you can time your song changes right where you want them.
 
#77
LegoBass said:
As many features as you guys want, it seams like a rack mountable option would be more for y'all, or at least a double pedal.

I really like the simplicity of the pedal in the video. Keep it as affordable as possible and really user friendly. This will allow more beginner players, or just hobbyist the ability to use it. Really, what is a 16 year old who just started playing going to do with a MIDI in/out and multiple stereo options?

I really love the idea of this product and think with the USB capability, it will make it a real game changer. Once it gets released and people see how the "small" current version works, then a rack mount or just much larger version could be released. I hate when good products are rushed to production and end up being so over advanced or glitchy that no one can use them.
This is just my 2 cents though.
Click to expand...

If it sells in its projected price range, it will be out of reach of most "beginner" players to begin with- as a startup company I doubt something like this could be designed and made for cheap enough to appeal to a mostly novice audience like that (there are drum beats built in to most existing cheap multi-effect pedals these days specifically targeting that audience). The computer programability and part-changes-with-a-tap gives this project the potential to do a whole lot more in a compact package for a live musician in my opinion, without the need to carry a large bulky expensive interface like an MPC or other sampling sequencer + MIDI control interface to every show.

Maybe I'm a fringe audience for something like this, but if I could use this to build beats for solo looping stuff, and have it MIDI-synched with my looper to keep things tight I would have a perfect solution for a problem I've had for years performing that stuff live. I always do my beats through a seperate effect chain and amp, so having seperate outs wouldn't be necessary for my uses (I wouldn't ever be running other instruments through the drum machine).
 
#78
As a consumer, I must say that the facebook ad on your website that wont go away is super annoying.

It's covering up your product information...

Which is a shame because this looks like a great product.
 

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