SINGULAR SOUND BeatBuddy BETA Drum Machine Pedal User Guide

SINGULAR SOUND BeatBuddy BETA Drum Machine Pedal

Specifications

• Emulator of the BeatBuddy’s round-robin, multi-velocity playback
• Can load any BeatBuddy DRM drum set file
• Features a full mixer with instrument names, MIDI notes, mute, solo, and level adjustments
• Can create or edit drum sets using the free BeatBuddy Manager Online

Product Usage Instructions

1. Create a Stereo instrument track in your DAW.
2. Write MIDI notes, import MIDI files, or record MIDI from a MIDI instrument into your DAW’s track.
3. Adjust instrument levels and drum set using the plugin mixer and master fader.

Using BeatBuddy Manager Online

• Create or edit drum sets using the BeatBuddy Manager Online application. Customize samples, instruments, and drum settings for playback.

Product Anatomy

1. Collapse/Open Mixer button – Opens/collapses the mixer
2. The Mixer – Collection of all instruments inside the Drum Set separated into individual channels
3. Instrument Fader – Sets the volume of the instrument
4. Instrument Meter – Measures the output level of an individual instrument
5. One-shot button – Plays the instrument at a value of 100 velocities (good for testing)
6. Mute – Mutes the individual instrument
7. Solo – Soloes the individual instrument

FAQ

• What are the supported formats for the BeatBuddy Plugin?
• The BeatBuddy Plugin supports loading any BeatBuddy DRM drum set file. It can also work with MIDI files for playback.
• How can I start using the BeatBuddy Plugin?
• To start using the BeatBuddy Plugin, create a stereo instrument track in your DAW, write MIDI notes or import MIDI files, and adjust levels using the plugin mixer.

BeatBuddy BETA Plugin Quickstart Guide

• Welcome to your new favorite e-drummer, the BeatBuddy Plugin. This plugin is an emulator of BeatBuddy’s round-robin, multi-velocity playback and can load any BeatBuddy DRM drum set file.
• Find our social Drum Set and MIDI File Library here: https://www.singularsound.com/pages/premium-library.
• Check out the Hardware version of the BeatBuddy on our website!

How to use

• The BeatBuddy plugin features a full-on mixer that shows all of the names of the instruments, and the associated MIDI note, and gives you the ability to mute, solo, and/or adjust the levels to your liking.
• The entire drum set can also be muted, and the master level can be adjusted.
• Edit your drum sets using the free BeatBuddy Manager Online, or create your own!

How to Set the Drum Directory Folder

1. Click the Set Drum directory Button on the plugin
   • If the button is greyed out and cannot be clicked, you do not have access to the full plugin, please reach out to support@singularsound.com for more assistance
2. Choose a folder that has DRM files inside of it
   • This can be any folder OR you can use the DRUMSETS folder inside of an existing BeatBuddy Project. We suggest using a folder that you will not move and is saved to your computer.
3. Hit enter on your keyboard or confirm using your File Browser pop-up window
4. Use any drum set in the folder by selecting from the dropdown list on the right-hand side of the plugin

How to Use the Plug-In to Play Your DRM

1. Create a Stereo instrument track in your DAW. This is a track that can use virtual instruments and MIDI files
   • Another method would be to create a stereo Auxiliary track with the plug-in loaded and a MIDI file that is sending MIDI notes to the MIDI node of the Auxiliary track. There are a lot of videos showing how to do this in specific DAWs on YouTube.
2. Write MIDI notes, import MIDI files, or record MIDI from a MIDI instrument into your DAW’s track
3. The instrument that corresponds to the used MIDI notes will play back just as it would if assigned to the real BeatBuddy.
   • Edit the level of the instrument and drum set using the plug-in mixer and master fader.

BeatBuddy Manager Online

Create or edit drum sets using the BeatBuddy Manager Online application. There you can tweak what samples are used, the instruments, and all of the drum settings that affect how the DRM file plays back. You can even start your own drum set from scratch. Limitless creative possibilities at your fingertips!

Use Cases

• Hear the Drum Set in your DAW as it will play back on the BeatBuddy
  • Makes editing MIDI files in your DAW much easier to use later on your BeatBuddy (hardware version).
  • No more guessing on velocities and avoids the need for using the BeatBuddy Manager to edit or create MIDI files on a large scale, just use the editor to refine as you package your content.
• Produce your songs with the famous BeatBuddy sounds
  • Instantly humanize your MIDI track without needing to spend a bunch of time editing MIDI files. The BeatBuddy’s famous round-robin algorithm will take care of the human element.
  • Mix your drum set in the plugin mixer or create multiple instances with individual instruments soloed on each instance. Freeze and commit these tracks as .wav files to mix and produce further using your DAW.
  • No added noise of using the Hardware version
  • Works in any sample rate or bit depth
  • Sounds like you gave your MIDI file to a real drummer!
• Large free access to a treasure trove of content available on the Singular Sound Forum
  • Access 10 years of user-generated DRM files
• Edit all of the content quickly using the BeatBuddy Manager Online application
  • Tweak or create your own drum sets starting with our library of sounds or import your own!

What it isn’t

• This is not a sequencer plugin, it can only play MIDI notes that are fed to it by a MIDI track or by using a MIDI pad/keyboard to trigger the instruments.
• The MIDI/pad must be connected to your computer and be read by your DAW to work
• This is not a standalone app, you must use a DAW to load it

Supported Formats
The BeatBuddy plugin can be found as:

• VST3
  • VST3i in Reaper
• AU
• AAX (PC only)

This version was built and tested for

• Mac ARM (M1, M2, M3), MAC Intel (Sonoma [14.3.1] and Catalina [10.15.7]), Windows 10 and 11
• Ableton 11, Ableton 12, Reaper, and Logic
  • BeatBuddy Plugin sometimes does not show as a VST3i when using Reaper on ARM Macs (M1, M2, M3, etc), this is a Reaper bug.

Anatomy

1. BeatBuddy Icon – Shows playing versus idle states, no other audio or interactive function
2. The Master Channel – This has the master controls for the plugin, affecting all instruments identically
3. Master Fader – Controls the master output level of the drum set, adding up to +4dB of gain
4. Master Meter – Peak/Avg digital meter that measures the master output level of the BeatBuddy plugin
5. Master Mute – Mutes the entire plugin
6. Select Drum Set Directory – Choose the folder that will house the drum set files (.drm)
7. Drum Selector – Choose the drum set from the list of folders found in your Drum Set Directory folder using a dropdown.
8. Collapse/Open Mixer button – Opens/collapses the mixer
9. The Mixer – A collection of all the instruments inside the Drum Set separated into individual channels that can be set and edited independently. An ‘instrument’ refers to the group of samples meant to be played by one specific note on the keyboard/midi file.
10. Instrument ID – Instrument name and note name
11. Instrument Fader – Sets the volume of the instrument. No gain can be added, only removed.
12. Instrument Meter – Peak/Avg digital meter that measures the output level of an individual instrument plugin
13. One-shot button – Plays the instrument one time at value 100 velocities, good for checking audio and testing that the plugin is set up in DAW correctly.
14. Mute – Mutes the individual instrument. More than one instrument can be muted at once, if an instrument is both muted and soloed it will not be heard.
15. Solo – Soloes the individual instrument. More than one instrument can be soloed at once, if an instrument is both muted and soloed it will not be heard.

Afterword
This BeatBuddy Plugin is a way to easily produce using the BeatBuddy audio engine without the added noise of using cables, no need to add any gain to reach pro level, plus instant conversion to all supported sample rates and bit rates. Not to mention easy conversion to an audio file in your DAW.
Using the BeatBuddy plugin alongside an editor, you can hear back your edits while you’re working on your midi files in a much more powerful ecosystem. No more guessing about what your DRM is going to sound like or having to export and re-import after plugging your SD back into the BeatBuddy. Now you can do it all on your computer seamlessly by going back and forth between the plugin and the drum editor. You can mix the sounds, adjust them, and even load them back into the BeatBuddy DRM using the editor. You can even load that DRM back in the BeatBuddy plugin again. An endless cycle of creativity.

Enjoy your new favorite drum plugin!

Known Bugs

• Drum sets do not show when browsing for the drum set folder on PC. Do not worry, you have to select the folder that holds the drum sets, not the DRM itself
• Multiple instances of the plug-in change to the same drum set in different sessions
• For example, if you:
  • open the BeatBuddy plug-in in one song session
  • save it and create a new song session
• Change the BeatBuddy plug in any way, especially changing the drum set loaded
  • close that session and reopen the original session.
• The original version of the drum set will also be altered.
• We are working on a fix for this and will be ready soon
• Sometimes the plug-in can be too large for smaller low res laptop computers that have recommended scaling options larger than 100%, we are working on the ability to scroll if the window is too small
• Sometimes having multiple instances of the plug-in open at the same time will crash the DAW. Try to open one instance of the plug-in at a time if you have multiple tracks with the plug-in on it.

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