Singular Sound BeatBuddy Reviews

OK but not perfect

Not quite as good as I expected from the adverts!

I will sell this on shortly!

Yes its really amazing!

Not much I can say that hasn't been said a million times, if your thinking about getting one then just get it.....ultimate pedal!

So good..

This BeatBuddy pedal is just brilliant. I bought the footswitch and midi interface too. I play mainly solo gigs and use a Roland RC-300 looper and sync the Beatbuddy to the looper tempo. The drum sounds are really, really good. I have been gigging for 25 years and use/used other drum machines such as a the Boss DR 3, Alesis SR 16 etc etc and this BeatBuddy will take a lot to beat it ;-). The manager software is pretty easy to use and you can literally drag EZ drummer midi clips into the pedal as well. 5 out of 5. Very happy!

Not compatible with Vox amp

I'm really disappointed with Singular Sound BeatBuddy pedal and I had to return it because the pedal that I received was producing constant hiss on the background when connected to my Vox amp. When I contacted BeatBuddy customer support to ask what could be wrong they replied that this was known issue with Voxes and that I had to use this pedal with other amps or connect it to PA.

Split decision

First up I nearly sent this back. Nearly. Why?

A/The software is too glitchy, and also quirky, the manuals do not help. They even refer to things that are not in the software, like say "organize". Some of the things you want are there, but not where you expect them.

B/ It is useless for Jazz swing. If you are into "avant garde" (which I suppose means less than 50 years old) then fine, go ahead. If you play standards or traditional swing, forget it. OK so you can download other sounds at reasonable rates, but when listening to the samples on sound cloud there was nothing there which would please our audiences. I know of a lot of bands that could use something useful in that area. This is not it.

OK you can import your own .wav files. Fine. See A/ above. So far we have only managed it by accident.

So why keep it? Because it is very very good at blues, rock, shuffle country and the Latin folder is quite extensive. Sound quality is OK, not too much hiss and once you are used to the software faults easy to make up new songs. If you want to load up a song into another folder with a new name you have to export it. Change the name, so you remember what it is. When you import it back in to a different folder say with a different tempo, the name of the song reverts to the original name. You have to change it again. Sustituting sounds in songs is easy as long as 1/ the sample is already in and 2/ The drum kit you are using has instruments which respond to the import.

After a long evaluation period we decided it would be useful for our duo sets as long as we don't do our Jazz set. We had to stick a volume pedal in the line from it to makes adjustments on the fly, there is no way we could find to alter volume in the software.

Hopefully updates of the software will become useable before singular sound comes out with the MKII version and makes this obsolete.

Lastly while it will pass input straight through to your PA, we didn't like the extra hiss we gained with our setup.

A lot of money for an imperfect product, but we are sticking with it. We have found nothing better, and we have tried quite a few.

very nice product. good and stable. PRoperly maintained software. good support

good percussion support for live

I use it playing in a duo (guitar and voice only) to add fills and drums to some of our songs. It is very good. It has a great software to add drum lines and edit them on the SD card and then put them on the BeatBuddy. Sounds are very good and not so fake but it is not perfect. It is really easy to use and I'm happy to have it but I'm not going to use it for every song we play in live venues because the global effect resamble too much to a backing track.

The community is already growing large and it is easy to find songs online to add to the device if you want to use a particular rythm.

BeatBuddy

Drum machines have come a very long way over the years. I've done some research and this appeared to be the best available at the present time considering my requirements. 1. Real drum and cymbal sound samples - not synthetic and WITHOUT quantizing. 2. Ready to go instantly and without programming. 3. Small size for pedalboard, but self contained so it can be run through foldback monitors and PA. This thing is really amazing! It meets all my requirements and then blows me away with the other useful and practical features! No need to touch it except with my feet to use it. Exceptionally easy and intuitive to use - I'd never imagined a drum machine could be this easy. MIDI interface, so can be connected to a looper (as master or slave). Computer interface via USB cable if and when I do want to bother to customise sounds.

My New Drummer

I have owned other drum machines but the Beat Buddy is streets ahead of the competition. It is extremely versatile and has a realistic sound. It comes pre-loaded with several music genres and drum sets so starting up is easy. I have 2 small criticisms: learning to programme between my PC and the Beat Buddy takes a while to grasp (I'm no technophobe) and I would have preferred an on/off switch on the machine rather than direct plug in or out for on/off. But these are minor issues. As the man says: the beat buddy keeps better time than a drummer, it doesn't eat the last slice of pizza and it doesn't chat up your girlfriend!

Best Electronic Drum I've tried

Bought the pedal to use in a soft rock/blues guitar & bass trio. Previously tried Alesis, Korg, and Digitech devices, but this one works best for me. To get the best out of it I use it with the 3-button footswitch, and run into a small PA with a sub-woofer. The latter is important if you want to get the thump of the kick drum even at low volume. I find the 3-button pedal essential for live use to scroll thru setlist & pause functions, it would be even better if it could control stop/start with a single hit.(that would also allow the BB unit to be kept within hands reach)

PROS:

Very good clear display (important when it's on the floor!)

Great realistic sound

Good rhythms

Easy hands-on control for quick change to tempo etc

CONS:

High price

Editing Software is difficult to manage, esp for Mac, but they are working to improve that I believe

Better integrated 3-fn pedal needed

Game Changing

This pedal has revolutionised the way I jam and reherse at home. It has also completey changed the way I write and demo songs. Those are all the obvious pro's. The build quality is relatively good and the controls are easy and intuitive. Another crucial pro is that the online community around the pedal is growing and very supportive etc. it will only get better.

As for the Cons:

Its expensive

Its chunky

Its accompanying software is not good...

Given that its the first generation of Beatbuddys its safe to say they will only get better but despite the cost, I'm very happy with my purchase, consider buying an addition footswictch to get more functionality out of it but do your own research on that bit.

(P.S. Check my review on the accompanying footswitch)

studio dream

been waiting for this product all my life.no more getting my beats from a keyboard pattern.so easy to use,sounds fantastic,built like a tank and brillint build quality.use it in my studio all the time so if you want a buddy....go get this one.

shoot your drummer!

I won't waste any words on this; save on booze, naggin' and endless waitin' for your drummer: buy this wonderfull stompbox, use it as it comes or download almost every immaginable (midi)drumtrack and start rockin' !!!

Excellent !

Je possède le BeatBuddy depuis maintenant un mois et je suis ravi. Je l'utilise avec ma guitare électrique et un looper. N'étant pas un pro du rythme moi-même, je suis ravi d'avoir un guide rythmique infatigable, simplissime à utiliser, et au son parfaitement réaliste. La construction et l'ergonomie sont vraiment bien pensés. Bref, je suis ravi et recommande chaudement à quiconque souhaite une rythmique facile à mettre en place et à piloter du bout du pied.

I've been owning the BeatBuddy pedal for the last month or so. I'm delighted. Using it with an electric guitar and a looper. Not being very good at rhythm myself, I particularly enjoy its tireless ability to guide me, its simplicity to use, plus the very realistic sound. Building and user interface are really well thought through. In short, I'm extremely satisfied and warmly recommending the thing to anyone willing to have an easy, yet powerful, rhythm companion.

Great drum machine with lots of uses

I had been looking around for a while for a small, easy to use drum machine. As a guitarist, I needed something I could use in my studio for backing, but also take along to band practise etc. if our drummer didn’t show, or sometimes working on guitar parts with our other guitarist.

I didn’t want to waste time getting into programming drum loops, and a lot of drum machines seemed to be designed for drummers, or people that wanted to spend the time creating loops.

I saw the Beat Buddy, and it is ideal. It’s aimed at musicians who want an easy to use device to provide drum backing. It can sit on the pedal board (put it last in the chain), or can go into a P.A. or monitors, which is what I do (sounds better through FRFR speakers). It’s controlled like a pedal, and if you can dial up a drum style (rock, punk, blues, metal, etc.), put in the tempo and you’re off, so easy to get something quick going, and there are loads of styles, kits and patterns to choose from. There’s a 4Gb SD card included to store the data.

The sounds are real recorded drum kits, so they sound ‘real’ and don’t sound digital or artificially processed.

One touch of the pedal will start the loop, with an intro section followed by the main pattern. Pressing the pedal once will insert a fill, this will synch to the pattern being played so if you hit it a bit early or late it will compensate, so you don’t have to be exact. Press again twice and the outro pattern will play. There’s a colour coded display which will indicate which part is playing.

If you get the additional footswitch you can get another 2 functions, to add additional cymbal crashes, and to pause the drums completely.

This is how I’m using it, but I’m only scratching the surface. There is software included to create drum patterns, or amend any existing ones, the pedal attaches to PC via USB. Also there is an online community who have written drum tracks for many songs, these are available to download and store on the pedal.

So it’s easy to get started with, but you have complete control of the patterns if you need it.

I use mine all the time in various scenarios, it’s very versatile and sounds great.

Your personal expandable drummer in a pedal !

Excellent designed drum machine in a pedal.

It uses standard MIDI files so the possibilities are pretty much endless.

Accepts any time signature. 3/4, 4/4, 9/8, 21/8 etc etc-no problem for the visual beat indicator.

Comes with BeatBuddy Manager where you could edit everything about the BB including building your own songs and drumsets.

You can use any drum samples (wav files) for drumsets (Max 100MB)

The only negative thing I have found about the BB would be the loose connection jacks for the stereo ins and outs that doesn't grab the cable connectors very tightly (Same issue with the external BB footswitch).

It does not affect me very much because I have my BB on a pedalboard but if you have it on a stage there could be a problem if someone was to step on you cables as they come out very easily.

Beat B7ddy

It's got authentic drum sounds. My problem is these devices are still too complicated for me to use to their potential. There just isn't enough information how to use it . However it's easy to use if you want basic beats.

Genius!

This thing is genius!

Finally - I have an easy to use drum machine to support myself live and can pack into my pedal board with no fuss.

The MIDI in/out cable is definitely worth it too - I can now sync my betabuddy to a midi clock (which syncs other pedals), and then connect my looper to the beatbuddy. So everything is synced in perfect time.

This thing is easy to use, and the user forums are helpful. I am limited by my own creativity, rather than anything technological. This means that this pedal will stretch me and help me improve as a musician. Result!

I seriously recommend purchasing this pedal, also with its accessories. I have had it for only a few months, but I am still delighted with it

beatbuddy review

was waiting awhile to get my hands on this pedal . it was worth the wait its fantastic for someone who does not get the chance to play with a real drummer this is the next best thing.great tool to make practising much more interesting for the home alone player.great fun delighted with it