Beat Wizard - doesn't work, not worth the $$$

[james campbell]

I to had trouble getting the beat wizard, however after several times reading how George loves it and his sequences are awesome I keep trying. I finally got it about a month ago and now I absolutely love it. you have to look beyond the steady beat that it inserts when the tempo changes, I insert timing lines when the speed is faster. keep working at it

[Brian Mitchell]

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?

Lots of tempo changes in this one.

[Dale W]

Lots of tempo changes in this one.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH7ueFvHeic

Nicely done

[Klayfish]

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.

 

George,

Glad you brought up Mad Russian's Christmas.  That's one of the songs I picked to sequence.  I used the beat wizard, but had it do the whole song at once...I don't know any better how to do it otherwise.  I completed the sequence, and I'm happy with the results considering my complete lack of knowledge or experience.  However, I'm sure it could have been dramatically better.  How did you break it into segments? 

[caniac]

George,

Glad you brought up Mad Russian's Christmas.  That's one of the songs I picked to sequence.  I used the beat wizard, but had it do the whole song at once...I don't know any better how to do it otherwise.  I completed the sequence, and I'm happy with the results considering my complete lack of knowledge or experience.  However, I'm sure it could have been dramatically better.  How did you break it into segments? 

I think they refer to the top part where you can set start and stop time for the beat wizard.

[George Simmons]

Chet is correct.  In the dialog box for the beat wizard the top section allows you to set the time - either the entire song or part of it.  If you're doing parts, you can set it for the first range of time, say 0.00:00 through 1.05.00.  And then you can run it again for the next time range, say 1.05:01 through 2.17:30, and so on through the entire song.  Granted, it can be a bit of a chore, especially with the type of tune Brian demonstrated.  But for the musically dis-inclined, like me, it's the difference between good looking sequences and stamp collecting.

[Klayfish]

Lots of tempo changes in this one.

 

That sound you heard is my jaw hitting the floor.  Compared to that, I'd be embarrased to post anything I've done (thankfully I don't have any video of it yet).  Holy smokes.  That's awesome.  I really need more practice...well, more time to practice.  My sequences are so basic...one group of lights blink, then another... type stuff.  I'm learning to sequence megatrees and arches, but only using 8 and 7 channels respectively.  How you're able to come up with all the little nuances in there is what I just can't put my arms around.  Adding something cool with every beat of a drum or pick of a guitar string...that's what's perplexing me. 

 

Thanks for that example, I can hear differences. There's obvious differences from when there's talking to when there's loud music.  I think it's the more traditional songs that I need to train my ear better on.  Sometimes when a song goes from the lyrics to the refrain (I think those are the correct terms), it sounds different, but I'm not sure if it's a different tempo.  Man...I hope my old piano teacher isn't reading this.  I did piano for 7 or 8 years, but it's been almost 25 years since I stopped so I'm just a shade rusty.

[TonyD]

That sound you heard is my jaw hitting the floor.  Compared to that, I'd be embarrased to post anything I've done (thankfully I don't have any video of it yet).  Holy smokes.  That's awesome.  I really need more practice...well, more time to practice.  My sequences are so basic...one group of lights blink, then another... type stuff.  I'm learning to sequence megatrees and arches, but only using 8 and 7 channels respectively.  How you're able to come up with all the little nuances in there is what I just can't put my arms around.  Adding something cool with every beat of a drum or pick of a guitar string...that's what's perplexing me. 

 

Thanks for that example, I can hear differences. There's obvious differences from when there's talking to when there's loud music.  I think it's the more traditional songs that I need to train my ear better on.  Sometimes when a song goes from the lyrics to the refrain (I think those are the correct terms), it sounds different, but I'm not sure if it's a different tempo.  Man...I hope my old piano teacher isn't reading this.  I did piano for 7 or 8 years, but it's been almost 25 years since I stopped so I'm just a shade rusty.

 

Don't feel too bad - we all feel the same way when we watch Brian's stuff (at least I do). He's one of the best for sure. I saw some of his stuff early on which I think got me hooked. Check out his post on how he sequences.

 

Tony

[wmilkie]

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.

 

Don,

dumb question here:

Why do I need the offset?  Is the audio timing I hear slightly off from the actual lights?

[Don]

Don,

dumb question here:

Why do I need the offset?  Is the audio timing I hear slightly off from the actual lights?

One part personal preference, one part experience. Those, plus I've got a small bit of a musical background.

 

While the Beat Wizard is darn good, it sometimes doesn't get it exactly right. The offset is nothing more than placing those 'every so many beats' over by whatever value you choose.

[bob]

The "offset" thing is kind of like this:

 

Let's say you've got a song with a good beat, and you start counting along with the beat, in your head.  So you're sitting there thinking "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four...".

 

Someone else comes along and starts counting out loud.  So you're thinking "One, two, three, four", and they're saying "One, two, three, four".  In all likelihood, you are thinking "one" at the same time that the other person is saying "one" (as opposed to you thinking "one" when the other person says "two", or something like that) - and they're saying it at the same time you're thinking it even though they don't know when you're thinking it.  Humans are good at figuring out which of the four beats should be "one" without really consciously thinking about it.  It's just obvious that this beat is "one", and that beat is "two".  Maybe not always, but at least often.

 

Now let's say you both decide to start counting slower.  You're naturally going to count half as fast.  So now you're counting "One, two, one, two, one, two", and the "one" is at the same time that you used to think "one", while the "two" is at the same time you used to think "three".  You don't think anything when you used to think "two" or "four".

 

The other person starts counting slower too.  "One, two, one, two".  And they're still saying "one" whenever you think "one", and "two" whenever you think "two", even though they still don't know when you are thinking "one" and when you are thinking "two".  Again, this is just something that humans are good at without even thinking about it.

 

But the Beat Wizard isn't as naturally good as a human at this.  So it has figured out where the beats are.  But it has no idea which one should be "one", which one should be "two", and so on.  So when you tell it to count half as fast, whereas you and the other human just magically knew that "one" should go where "one" used to go and "two" should go where "three" used to go, it doesn't know that.  From the Beat Wizard's point of view, putting "one" where "two" used to go and "two" where "four" used to go is just as valid.  It has no clue how to tell which one seems naturally correct to a human.

 

So it just picks one.  And maybe it picked the right one, and if so, that's great.  But if not, then you hit the play button, and the Beat Wizard is obviously counting on beats, but it's not counting on the beat that you and virtually any other human would count on. 

 

So you tell it "offset by one beat".  Now it knows that it should put the slower beats "one, two" on the faster beats "one, three" instead of on the faster beats "two, four".

[bob]

To put it more succinctly, and maybe more clearly: When you hear a song, you somehow know that the beats are going:

 

One, Two, Three, Four

 

And when another person wanders along, they agree with you without even discussing it.  But when the Beat Wizard hears that same song, all it knows is:

 

Beat, Beat, Beat, Beat

 

It doesn't know whether for a human that is

 

One, Two, Three, Four or

Two, Three, Four, One or

Three, Four, One, Two or

Four, One, Two, Three

 

So it has to be told.  And when you and the other human start counting half as fast, you both agree without even discussing it that it's:

 

One, nothing, Two, nothing

 

But the Beat Wizard doesn't know whether it's:

 

Beat, nothing, Beat, nothing or

nothing, Beat, nothing, Beat

 

So it has to be told.

 

The "offset" tools allow you to tell the Beat Wizard that sort of thing.

[wmilkie]

To put it more succinctly, and maybe more clearly: When you hear a song, you somehow know that the beats are going:

 

One, Two, Three, Four

 

And when another person wanders along, they agree with you without even discussing it.  But when the Beat Wizard hears that same song, all it knows is:

 

Beat, Beat, Beat, Beat

 

It doesn't know whether for a human that is

 

One, Two, Three, Four or

Two, Three, Four, One or

Three, Four, One, Two or

Four, One, Two, Three

 

So it has to be told.  And when you and the other human start counting half as fast, you both agree without even discussing it that it's:

 

One, nothing, Two, nothing

 

But the Beat Wizard doesn't know whether it's:

 

Beat, nothing, Beat, nothing or

nothing, Beat, nothing, Beat

 

So it has to be told.

 

The "offset" tools allow you to tell the Beat Wizard that sort of thing.

I never tried offsetting the beat. I'll give it a  try,

thank you gentlemen