BeatBuddy

AQUATOPAZ

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Has anyone tried one of these? They supposedly can do different types of drums, including different types of percussion instruments, in different styles at whatever speed you set it to. I ordered one, especially since I can play with it before I get an amp and before I receive my custom with pickup by just using headphones. I was looking into loopers and echoes, but wondered if there were drum effects and this came up. They have a cheaper mini version, but this one can be loaded with more drum sets and styles. If they come up with more world music, I would be interested. I'm excited. My first pedal. Next will be a looper (Landlord fx Happy Hour) and either a foxgear echosex baby or a strymon volante.
 
UU member Olarte had shown and discussed in two previous threads here from 2014 and 2015:

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...enade-for-Raye-amp-Europa&highlight=BeatBuddy

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...-Song-for-my-Grandson-Max&highlight=BeatBuddy

both found via searching "BeatBuddy" :)

How kind of you to dig up these very old threads. I was actually bringing up this recent but as of yet not received purchase to newer members, which, if you scroll though names over time, mostly change. For videos, I have already viewed numerous ones PRIOR to my purchase and prior to my post.
 
Earlier this year, I swapped my Trio+ for a bandmate's Beatbuddy for a few months and was impressed by its intuitive interface and high sample fidelity. The pedal is easy to set, its screen easy to interpret, and its essential functions easy to operate. If you have MIDI experience, loading and/or creating new beat patterns is a simple procedure, and the pedal is capable of high-level functions such as midi clock syncing with other midi-enabled pedals.

Grievances: the built-in samples are a bit "forward" for most acoustic settings, and the included rhythms are stretched thin across a wide variety of genres. I often found myself wanting to create my own rhythms, but the Beatbuddy is designed for practice/performance rather than creation, and I lack the midi experience necessary to plumb the depths of its capabilities.

Addendum: the rhythm-focused nature of the beatbuddy is probably a better match for the electric guitar in general. Acoustic guitars and 'ukulele can already render many rhythmic patterns acceptably well, and the 'ukulele in particular generally benefits more from bass accompaniment.

Overall, I was pleased with the Beatbuddy. It brought to light some of the flaws with my regular practice aids, and I'm now considering creation-focused rhythm solutions such as the Digitech sDrum, a drumpad and step sequencer, or the Boss DR-01S.

Aquatopaz, there used to be an active beatbuddy user community that generated quite a bit of downloadable content (both free and for purchase) for the device. It may be worth looking into.
 
Earlier this year, I swapped my Trio+ for a bandmate's Beatbuddy for a few months and was impressed by its intuitive interface and high sample fidelity. The pedal is easy to set, its screen easy to interpret, and its essential functions easy to operate. If you have MIDI experience, loading and/or creating new beat patterns is a simple procedure, and the pedal is capable of high-level functions such as midi clock syncing with other midi-enabled pedals.

Grievances: the built-in samples are a bit "forward" for most acoustic settings, and the included rhythms are stretched thin across a wide variety of genres. I often found myself wanting to create my own rhythms, but the Beatbuddy is designed for practice/performance rather than creation, and I lack the midi experience necessary to plumb the depths of its capabilities.

Addendum: the rhythm-focused nature of the beatbuddy is probably a better match for the electric guitar in general. Acoustic guitars and 'ukulele can already render many rhythmic patterns acceptably well, and the 'ukulele in particular generally benefits more from bass accompaniment.

Overall, I was pleased with the Beatbuddy. It brought to light some of the flaws with my regular practice aids, and I'm now considering creation-focused rhythm solutions such as the Digitech sDrum, a drumpad and step sequencer, or the Boss DR-01S.

Aquatopaz, there used to be an active beatbuddy user community that generated quite a bit of downloadable content (both free and for purchase) for the device. It may be worth looking into.

Received it and have been playing around with it as much as I can. It comes with so many different beats, and trying to find the right beat for what I'm playing can be challenging. It does help quite a lot keeping me on tempo and makes it easier to get into the groove of each song. The variety of styles is mesmerizing. I am ordering a few of the percussion drum sets in a few weeks. I can't right now because I'm supposed to be concentrating on material for Ukulele Hot Springs and I would find it hard to tear myself away if I got them now. If they ever get a Steel Drums set, I would be over the moon. BTW, I loved your 4 part breakdown on pedals. It helped make it less intimidating.
 
If they ever get a Steel Drums set, I would be over the moon. BTW, I loved your 4 part breakdown on pedals. It helped make it less intimidating.

I'm glad you found the "Pedalboard Reflections" thread helpful. I promise I will post the later installments at some point! Coincidentally, one of the things I intend to discuss in Part V of that thread is the emulation of other instruments through the use of effects and filters.

I don't recall ever finding a set of steel drum kits for the Beatbuddy, but there is a way to make an 'ukulele sound like a steel drum. The first step in emulating other sounds is to first understand how those sounds are physically constructed. In the case of a steel drum, the sonic profile can be simplified as follows: fundamental and second harmonic, with weaker third and fourth harmonics and a sympathetic octave below induced in an adjacent note on the drum. The attack is sharp, with short transience and a rapid decay that loses definition over time. As the drum is struck harder, the rest of the drum begins to vibrate, resulting in a complex overtone series.

Luckily, the ukulele can have a similarly sharp attack and somewhat rapid decay, so the main thing to get right is the harmonic content. This sound can be emulated as follows:
1. A light overdrive to add upper harmonic content into a digital octave pedal set to generate the octave above the note being played. This will result in a "dense" version of the usual steel drum sound similar to what happens when the steel drum is played hard. You can mix in a little octave down to add body. I'd add a touch of reverb to round out the overall picture.
2. An octave up effect into a comb filter (similar to those present in the flange effect but without any modulation). This adds the emphasis on the octave above while also removing some of the excess upper harmonic content. This is a little more authentic (gets closer to the more thinly dispersed upper harmonic content of struck metal), but comb filters are somewhat rare on acoustic effects boards. The easiest way to set this up is to use a modulation effect with a very short delay time (such as a flanger) that allows you to turn the modulation off or to use a delay that can be set to an extremely short delay time.

Once you get the sound right, just play staccato, and voila! Instant steel drum sound. Combine this with the beatbuddy and a looper, and you could do some killer stuff.
 
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