Singular Sound BeatBuddy Manuale utente
Manual
Firmware 3.9.9
BEATBUDDY
1
Welcome
BeatBuddy Manual
FIRMWARE V3.9.9 UPDATED MANUAL
REACH US!
We love to help! :-)
In order to benefit from all the latest features, it is necessary to have the most
recent firmware version installed.
To check the firmware version on your BeatBuddy, press the Drum Set and Tempo
knobs down at the same time and select ‘About BeatBuddy’. The firmware version
appears on the second line, and as of the writing of this manual, it is 3.9.9.
We periodically release new firmware updates, so please check the link below to
verify that you have the latest version.
Don’t have the latest firmware?
Download it here: https://singularsound.com/contact/
For the complete changelog of firmware improvements, see the end of this
manual.
Important note about SD card compatibility
The SD card must be a standard size (i.e. not the mini SD cards) and needs to be
between 4 and 32 GB in capacity. Class 10 is recommended.
2
Table of Contents
BeatBuddy Manual
1. Introduction.............................................................................................3
2. How to Plug in.........................................................................................5
3. How to use............................................................................................11
4. Tips and Tricks.....................................................................................14
5. BeatBuddy Manager Software.............................................................16
6. Settings.................................................................................................17
I. Sleep Mode..........................................................................17
II. Footswitch...........................................................................17
III. Main Pedal............................................................................19
IV. Audio Settings.....................................................................20
V. Font Size..............................................................................21
VI. Sobriety................................................................................21
VII. About BeatBuddy................................................................21
VIII. Restore Default Settings.....................................................21
7. MIDI and the BeatBuddy......................................................................22
8. Technical Support................................................................................39
9. Technical Specifications.....................................................................40
10. Warranty............................................................................................41
11. Changelog.........................................................................................42
3
Introduction
BeatBuddy Manual
Congratulations and thank you for purchasing your BeatBuddy!
What it does
The BeatBuddy is the world’s first pedal drum machine that enables musicians to
easily control the beat hands-free. Just by pressing a pedal, you can start a beat,
insert fills, transition from verse to chorus, throw in drum breaks (pauses), trigger
accent hits (such as hand claps or cymbal crashes) and more! It is the closest thing
to having a real drummer. And it won’t drink all of your beer! In fact we have a
Sobriety setting so you can control how drunk your BeatBuddy gets, no beer
required! (for real)
Content format
The BeatBuddy is a MIDI based drum machine. The beats in the songs are MIDI files.
MIDI files are like musical notes on sheet music, which tell the musician what to play
on an instrument. The drum sets on the BeatBuddy are collections (libraries) of WAV
sound files - which are recordings of the actual drum sounds. The MIDI files trigger
the WAV files in the drum sets. That is how the BeatBuddy is able to play any beat,
any time signature, using any drum set at different tempo settings to get a
completely different sound.
Whenever possible, the BeatBuddy’s drum sets and beats were set up using the
General MIDI Drum Map, so that most beats work with most drum sets.
Please note that not all beats and drum sets sound good together -- it may sound
strange to play jazz beats on a heavy metal drum set -- or it may sound cool! You
decide.
Please Note: There is one exception, and that is the Latin genre/drumset. The
Latin genre is exclusively compatible with the Latin drumset. We occasionally have
some library content that also is mapped to the Latin drumset (e.g. a few songs in
the Beatles package), and those songs are preset to use the Latin drumset as
default.
4
Introduction
BeatBuddy Manual
Content Organization
The BeatBuddy’s beats are organized into ‘songs’, each comprising ‘song parts’ (such
as verse or chorus). Each song part has a main beat loop, an accent hit and multiple
fills associated with it. When transitioning between song parts, the song parts are
played in order until the last song part is played, and then it goes back to the first song
part. For example, if there are 3 song parts, it will play part 1, 2, 3 and then back to 1. If
you wish to play song parts out of order, you will need to use a MIDI controller such as
the MIDI Maestro.
All beats and drum sets are stored on the SD card. If you lose your SD card, you can
download the content that came with your BeatBuddy for free and place it on a new
SD card.
What the BeatBuddy is Not:
The BeatBuddy is not a traditional drum machine:
Drum machines have traditionally been used to create beats. The BeatBuddy is a
performance tool, and cannot be used to create beats. New beats can be created on
the many beat creation software programs available (such as Guitar Pro, Cubase,
ProTools, GarageBand, Ableton, EZ Drummer, etc.) and loaded onto the BeatBuddy
with the BeatBuddy Manager Software (available as a FREE download at https://
singularsound.com/contact/).
The BeatBuddy is not a traditional effect pedal:
Unlike other effects pedals, the BeatBuddy is not intended to modify your
instrument’s sound. It has input jacks only in case you want to put both the BeatBuddy
and your instrument into the same sound system without the need for a mixer. The
beats are not changed by your instrument’s sound. And your instrument’s sound is
not changed by the BeatBuddy. No instrument needs to be plugged into the
BeatBuddy for it to work normally, so the BeatBuddy can be a stand-alone tool used
by any musician.
5
How to plug in
BeatBuddy Manual
Power
The BeatBuddy uses a 9V 500mA center-negative power supply.
If you use a power supply of more than 9V or plug it directly into AC power you
will destroy your BeatBuddy, and your warranty will NOT be valid! This would be
painful for everyone - especially your BeatBuddy. Do not do this!
The power supply must have a minimum of 300mA (0.3 Amps) for the BeatBuddy to
turn on. More amps won’t harm your BeatBuddy. If you use a center-positive
adapter, it won’t harm your BeatBuddy either, but your BeatBuddy won’t turn on.
Using your pedal board’s power supply
If you would like to use your pedal board’s ‘octopus’ power supply (a single power
supply that powers all of your pedals), make sure it is 9V and center negative (most
are) BEFORE plugging it in! To calculate if your pedal board’s power supply has
enough Amps to power the BeatBuddy, add up all of the Amps that your other
pedals require (usually written on the bottom of the pedal. Remember: 1000 mA
[milliAmps] = 1.0 A [Amps]) and add 0.3 Amps for the BeatBuddy’s requirement. If
this total is more Amps than your power supply can produce (for example, the total
of all of your pedals plus the BeatBuddy is 2.5 Amps but your power supply can only
produce 2.0 Amps), then the BeatBuddy won’t turn on (neither will any of your other
pedals), because there isn’t enough power available. PLEASE NOTE: Plugging the
BeatBuddy (a digital pedal) into the same power supply as analog pedals (most
effect pedals) can cause noise
interference in the analog pedal sound. If you
experience this, please use a separate power supply for the BeatBuddy.
SD Card
Compatibility: All SD cards 4-32 GB in capacity (outside that range will not work).
Class 10 is recommended.
All of the BeatBuddy’s content (songs/beats and drum sets) are stored on the SD
card. The SD card must be properly inserted into the BeatBuddy for it to work.
6
How to plug in
BeatBuddy Manual
The BeatBuddy SD card comes loaded with 10 drum sets and 200+ songs in many
different styles. If you lose your SD card, you can download the default BeatBuddy
content to put on a new SD card at https://singularsound.com/contact/.
Check out the BeatBuddy Premium Library Bundles:
https://singularsound.com/product/premium-library-sd-card-the-2020-collection/
for up to 1380+ additional songs and 22+ more drumsets.
Sound System
The BeatBuddy can be used without an instrument plugged into it - it will still
produce sound. The input jacks are there in case you want to put both the
BeatBuddy and your instrument signals into the same speaker without the need for
a mixer. The BeatBuddy will combine any signal it receives in the input jacks with
the signal it produces. The main volume knob just controls the level of the signal
the BeatBuddy produces (the beats), not the signal it receives from the input jacks.
The headphones volume wheel adjusts the combination of the input signal and the
BeatBuddy's signal (the beats).
The BeatBuddy produces ‘line-out’ level analog signal, similar to a standard music
player or computer headphones jack. You can plug the BeatBuddy into any speaker
system that accepts 1/4” (6.5mm) or 1/8” (3.5mm) audio jacks.
7
How to plug in
BeatBuddy Manual
However, like all audio, the better the sound system it is plugged into, the better the
BeatBuddy will sound. The BeatBuddy sounds best when played through a high-
quality full-range stereo sound system. A PA system or a home stereo system is
ideal (you can plug the BeatBuddy’s headphones port into the AUX input on your
home stereo or guitar amplifier, if it has one).
Many electric guitar amps are not full range speakers (they clip off the higher
frequencies), so they muffle the BeatBuddy’s sound. Acoustic guitar and keyboard
amps are full-range. If you’re not sure if your amp is full-range, listen to the
BeatBuddy on high-quality headphones to compare. If there is a noticeable
difference in the audio, then connecting it to a higher quality full-range speaker
system will enable you to hear the BeatBuddy’s full potential. But as always, trust
your own ears and do what sounds best to you.
8
How to plug in
BeatBuddy Manual
If you have the BeatBuddy plugged into an amp, any effects on the amp will
affect the sound of your BeatBuddy (unless the BeatBuddy is plugged into your
amp’s AUX jack, then it is fine). So if your amp’s distortion is on, the beats will sound
distorted. It is highly recommended to have your amp set to a ‘clean’, neutral tone
for the best sound and use effects pedals instead of the amp’s effects if you wish to
have effects on your instrument sound. If you are using the BeatBuddy with other
pedals, it is recommended to place the BeatBuddy after all of the other pedals in
the effects chain so that the BeatBuddy’s sound isn’t affected by your other pedals.
The BeatBuddy will never damage your amp’s speaker through normal use. Though,
if you prefer using your amp exclusively for your instrument, you may use a
separate amp for the BeatBuddy. This will also allow you to enjoy the built in effects
of your main amp for your guitar without affecting the BeatBuddy’s drum sounds.
One additional issue that may arise from using the same amp to play your guitar
and the BeatBuddy’s beats is that on some amps, the sound of the bass drum will
cause the guitar to tremolo, or waver, a bit to the beat. While some people love this
effect -- if you would like to reduce it, lower the Bass (Low) setting on your amp.
MIDI Connection
What is MIDI Sync? It is the transfer of MIDI Clock between two devices allowing
them to become synchronized to the same time reference. The BeatBuddy can
send and/or receive MIDI Clock, MIDI time signature, and MIDI Start, Stop, and
transition (CC:102, see S
ection 8
MIDI and the BeatBuddy
) messages once
connected to another device via MIDI.
In order to connect the BeatBuddy via MIDI, you need 2 cables: A PS/2 to 5-pin MIDI
Sync Breakout Cable, and a standard male to male 5-pin MIDI cable.
The MIDI Sync Breakout cable has 3 ends: the small, singular end which connects to
the BeatBuddy and the two split female MIDI ports (labelled IN and OUT) which
connect to a standard MIDI cable. If the BeatBuddy is behaving as the transmitter
(master) MIDI device, connect the receiver (slave) device to the OUT port on the
MIDI Sync Breakout cable using the standard MIDI cable. If the BeatBuddy is
behaving as the receiver MIDI device, connect the transmitter device to the IN port
on the MIDI Sync Breakout cable using the standard MIDI Cable. You must use the
standard male to male 5-pin MIDI cable to connect the other device to the MIDI
Sync Breakout cable (See Graphics On Next Page).
9
How to plug in
BeatBuddy Manual
A typical configuration using both the IN and the OUT ports on the MIDI Sync
Breakout cable at once. (Beatbuddy set to MIDI Merge see Section 8 MIDI and the
BeatBuddy)
Altri manuali per BeatBuddy
6
Indice
Altri manuali Singular Sound Tamburo
