imacericg Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 3 seasons ago I upgraded to Basic Plus to take advantage of the beat wizard, and unfortunatly I have never got it to work correctly. It seems to choose everything but the beat - very frustrating.Every season I give it a try to help my sequencing and every season it doesn't work.This is just a fair warning for those thinking of upgrading to Basic Plus for the Beat Wizard - don't do it, as it doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Respectfully disagree. The beat wizard does a very good job with a majority of the songs out there. Now, if you have a song that changes time signature in the middle of the song, or even more than once in a song, then the Beat Wizard is going to have some problems. However, if you isolate the sections of the song that are of the same time signature, the beat wizard will handle those with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have to agree with Don, I use it on pretty much every song. It is not always perfectly on time, but most of the time it is pretty darn on the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imacericg Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have tried to use it for three seasons and have yet to get it to work. I bet I have tried it on 6+ songs. My latest attempt is on a song with a strong beat (bass drum & bass guitar), which should have been easy for it to pickup, but no, it didn't work again. I wasted $$ upgrading for this feature, and I wanted others to know feature doesn't work as advertised "Automatic Beat Detection" Respectfully disagree. The beat wizard does a very good job with a majority of the songs out there. Now, if you have a song that changes time signature in the middle of the song, or even more than once in a song, then the Beat Wizard is going to have some problems. However, if you isolate the sections of the song that are of the same time signature, the beat wizard will handle those with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have tried to use it for three seasons and have yet to get it to work. I bet I have tried it on 6+ songs. My latest attempt is on a song with a strong beat (bass drum & bass guitar), which should have been easy for it to pickup, but no, it didn't work again. I wasted $$ upgrading for this feature, and I wanted others to know feature doesn't work as advertised "Automatic Beat Detection" Would you be willing to send the song to me so that I can look at it? If so, use this link, with password "SendToDon" (no quotes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 imacericg, If that was you who uploaded the file ... 1) Convert it to 128kbps.2) It's 4/4 time, so use the default option in the 'Preview' section. If you want a channel to turn on 'every so many beats' make sure the option is checked, but you will need a beat offset of 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imacericg Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 imacericg, If that was you who uploaded the file ... 1) Convert it to 128kbps.2) It's 4/4 time, so use the default option in the 'Preview' section. If you want a channel to turn on 'every so many beats' make sure the option is checked, but you will need a beat offset of 1.Ok, will give that a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imacericg Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 Well, good news: I got it to work! Thank you Don for assisting me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Well, good news: I got it to work! Thank you Don for assisting me! Very welcome. I would suggest you convert any songs you are using to 128kbps. As you can see this was the difference maker in this situation. The beat wizard does a very good job, wouldn't you agree? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Mitchell Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I use the beat wizard in every song I do. I think it works quite well. For songs that change tempo, you just have to break the songs up into smaller sections in the wizard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I use the beat wizard in every song I do. I think it works quite well. For songs that change tempo, you just have to break the songs up into smaller sections in the wizard.I do 'zactly what Brian does. Every single song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klayfish Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 As a complete novice, I rely on the beat wizard. Perhaps most of the songs I'm picking are simple, but the beat is clearly picked up and it makes my life a lot easier trying to sequence. It's been so long since I've studied music. I know what you mean when you talk about changing tempos but am having a hard time picking it up. Can someone give me a good example of a song that changes tempo where it's obvious to hear the change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryolla Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 how did you know to offseat it by 1? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I have to agree with Don, I use it on pretty much every song. It is not always perfectly on time, but most of the time it is pretty darn on the money.I have yet to master it and usually fall back to tapper wizard. In my case it may just be a matter of not know how to properly use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I have yet to master it and usually fall back to tapper wizard. In my case it may just be a matter of not know how to properly use it. Here's a video showing the basic usage of the Beat Wizard. I hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Here's a video showing the basic usage of the Beat Wizard. I hope it helps.Still don't get it, yes it inserts a beat but then what? Have it flashing a light once every four beats but still don't see how that is practical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Still don't get it, yes it inserts a beat but then what? Have it flashing a light once every four beats but still don't see how that is practical. In theory the cell that is 'on' is going to be the first beat of every measure. With that information on the screen it is possible to program a sequence without having to use a .05 timing grid. You now have the major part of the timing process completed. You might want to go back and mark where the chorus begins, or other events in the music, but you now have everything needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 how did you know to offseat it by 1? ThanksOne part personal preference, one part experience. Those, plus I've got a small bit of a musical background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Respectfully disagree. The beat wizard does a very good job with a majority of the songs out there. Now, if you have a song that changes time signature in the middle of the song, or even more than once in a song, then the Beat Wizard is going to have some problems. However, if you isolate the sections of the song that are of the same time signature, the beat wizard will handle those with no problems.This. You have to compensate for changes in tempo for it to work best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I also use the Beat Wizard for every song. I can't imagine sequencing without it. Mad Russian's Christmas is a fairly good example of a song that will return poor results unless you break it down into segments. What I've also found is that at the beginning of many songs the Beat Wizard will sometimes brain fart for the first few seconds and then all you have to do is manually move the timing marks to line them up with the waveform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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