NPD: Beebo

blobb

Just got back home, this was on the doorstep. I'll let you know what it's like after I've had a play with it.....

ThorpyFX

And the best thing is...... it’s also the digit in the same box

blobb

indeed. I've been dreaming of something like this for years and years and years.

'aint technology amazing!

UnclePsychosis

I'd never heard of this before...but a quick Google suggests that "WANT" is an appropriate response. 

sgosden

These are mad little boxes . You planning on using as as multi FX or for creating mad modulated delays and such ?

blobb

sgosden said:

These are mad little boxes . You planning on using as as multi FX or for creating mad modulated delays and such ?

...bit of both.

First impression: it's gonna take a while to figure out. Potential is mind blowing though. Touch screen is a bit fiddly to use.

Need to spend some serious time with it

darhart

Remember to keep checking for firmware updates, the creator is adding new stuff all the time, really powerful pedal

blobb

Well.....

The touch screen is still fiddly, the modules are a mostly a complete mystery - both in what they actually do and how you control them. You are forever poking the wrong slider or not poking it enough and moving the wrong one. You never get the fine tune and the coarse tune knobs right and zoom away just when you wanted a bit more wobble somewhere.

It's forever telling you that you are stomping a button with nothing attached 'cos you thought you had assigned A but actually assigned B or more likely assigned nothing at all, or possibly something else. 

There's no off button. So you feel like you're killing it every time you power down by roughly yanking out it's oxygen supply.

But I forgive it. Completely.

There is no fx box out there that can do what this can do. The idea that you can take as many 'outs' from a single 'in' as you want means you can create multiple parallel sound chains. On each of these you can add whatever processor or signal generator or controller or boolean operator or calculator (probably) or whatever other mysterious sounding box of unfathomable tricks buried deep in the 'module' list you want. You can bring output lines back together again and keep processing. The layers you can build are breathtaking, and you can link controls together to make it fully interactive with itself. Or not.

and it's a modular synth.

So far I'm sticking with guitar so that means you can use synth modules as processors in the chains. I used to love running my guitar through various hardware synth effects and filters so this is kid in sweet shop territory for me.

And it sounds glorious.

I've tried it two ways:

Into an amp. Guitar>dist>Beebo>Trio+>Amp So I'm jamming with a band sort of thing.

Guitar >Beebo Stereo out into my desktop PC interface then direct out into some decent powered monitors at head height.

Into an amp it sounds great, It's not the most rewarding though. You can't fiddle with it so easily, there is some level matching issues especially when bring in the distortion pedal. It could do with a better level/mixer input for that sort of thing. I'm sure it'll come. 100% sure, if it's not been added already. The pitch detection module has (pitch detection! crikey guitar playable synth modules).

Into the interface I nearly wet myself.  

Talk about stereo.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50182002032_1f4105fea5_k.jpg

BintyTwanger77

blobb said:

Well.....

The touch screen is still fiddly, the modules are a mostly a complete mystery - both in what they actually do and how you control them. You are forever poking the wrong slider or not poking it enough and moving the wrong one. You never get the fine tune and the coarse tune knobs right and zoom away just when you wanted a bit more wobble somewhere.

It's forever telling you that you are stomping a button with nothing attached 'cos you thought you had assigned A but actually assigned B or more likely assigned nothing at all, or possibly something else. 

There's no off button. So you feel like you're killing it every time you power down by roughly yanking out it's oxygen supply.

But I forgive it. Completely.

There is no fx box out there that can do what this can do. The idea that you can take as many 'outs' from a single 'in' as you want means you can create multiple parallel sound chains. On each of these you can add whatever processor or signal generator or controller or boolean operator or calculator (probably) or whatever other mysterious sounding box of unfathomable tricks buried deep in the 'module' list you want. You can bring output lines back together again and keep processing. The layers you can build are breathtaking, and you can link controls together to make it fully interactive with itself. Or not.

and it's a modular synth.

So far I'm sticking with guitar so that means you can use synth modules as processors in the chains. I used to love running my guitar through various hardware synth effects and filters so this is kid in sweet shop territory for me.

And it sounds glorious.

I've tried it two ways:

Into an amp. Guitar>dist>Beebo>Trio+>Amp So I'm jamming with a band sort of thing.

Guitar >Beebo Stereo out into my desktop PC interface then direct out into some decent powered monitors at head height.

Into an amp it sounds great, It's not the most rewarding though. You can't fiddle with it so easily, there is some level matching issues especially when bring in the distortion pedal. It could do with a better level/mixer input for that sort of thing. I'm sure it'll come. 100% sure, if it's not been added already. The pitch detection module has (pitch detection! crikey guitar playable synth modules).

Into the interface I nearly wet myself.  

Talk about stereo.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50182002032_1f4105fea5_k.jpg

This is quite the review... 

I’ve wondering about getting something that covers everything apart from delay, reverb and OD/distortion, and the Beebo keeps popping up. Just playing straight into a Vox AC15 at the moment.

Just to check, is there a list of modules/effects anywhere, and does that list include pitch-shifting and arp?

darhart

@BintyTwanger77 ; it also comprehensively covers reverb and delay (though through the digit side)

blobb

I'm not sure there is a full list, the user manual is on line but it's a work in progress. New modules get added with firmware updates and they are coming thick and fast. All of the 'hassle' things I said at the beginning are not really a problem at all, I think it's even becoming a bit of an in-joke on the user groups. Loki is listening and providing so quickly, that the odd bit of strange logic to select things is character building. None of these are 'bugs' i.e. it all works, you can just see someone else's brain logic at work.

as far as I can tell: there is a pitch shifter and there is a drum sequencer which I guess you can set up to run as an ARP (you can sequence delay repeats!). I haven't delved too deeply into synth modules yet, I haven't hooked up a keyboard to see how good a modular synth it is, but if you ask Loki he'll probably code one for you.

It all works together beautifully as it is - but additional stuff is being added all the time, how long he can keep this up is anyone's guess.

Just to be clear, although there are two 'units' available (digit=pink / beebo=blue) the only difference is the colour. Both units have the same software, you can switch between the two instantly. They share some key modules (like delays / reverbs) but then go different ways when you go deep. Digit is all about IR reverb (you can pop a balloon in your lounge, capture the response and add it to Digit!) / delay / cab sims. Beebo is all about modular synths/filters/LFO's.  They are both brilliant and you will spend about 50:50 between the two.

remember this thing can generate MIDI control and send it out to control other things. So if you buy into both digit and beebo then you will be able to control one from the other. That is going to be mind blowing and I'm watching out for the first youtube vid of someone doing this. But if you just want a simple delay with a squelchy filter oscillating the repeats it can do that too.

It has potential to replace all of your delays & reverbs. There are pre-amps in there somewhere. Here's a good vid by leon Todd, making a Marshall in a box pre-set, straight to PA.

There's loads of scope for development, think of something you can try to make it.

Game changing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTc2UPQD6Fc

Bowks

I had a Digit and had level matching issues. It felt and sounded like it was compressing the initial pick attack, which did my head in. 

@blobb can you set up a patch with no modules between In 1 and Out 1 and let me know if that still colours the sound when active? Again, I had this issue with Digit and hopefully it's been fixed, but for me, wanting a good end of chain delay & reverb with IRs, it killed it for me and I sent it back.

blobb

I'm on firmware 2.39. Looking through the updates list, there was a fix to "input level settings issues" with 2.29.

Can't say I noticed any tone suck type issues. I think I was flicking through presets and as they are all so individual it became clear that each one needed a bit of tweaking to make some of the movements audible. There is a basic input sensitivity type setting in the global settings, but it's -3-2-1 0 +1+2+3. I think my gripe would be resolved with some sort of auto gain for each pre-set or a back end global mixer or something. Building from scratch, not an issue.

You can layer up anyway. So add a direct in/out connection and stick an eq module on it. It sums all the chains so you can add what's missing. ~Unless it's not there in the first place, I'll check tonight.

blobb

@Bowks ; nope. Input is same whether bypassed or not. However you have helped me figure out a part of my own level matching issue: you have to 'set level' after setting the level. If you see what I mean. Still notice that some pre-sets can take the lustre off though, but the solution to that is to dive in and tune the modules to your own gear.

I think there may be some gain loss through the chain. I set up a straight in/out with no modules and input set to -3 (it's-5 to +5) to get the matched bypass. Loading a pretty complex pre-set I needed to bring input back up to 0 to get the 'bite'. you know, like how a compressor needs make up gain. Guess you could do this using level in each module (or just the offending one if you can suss out which).

Dopesick

Been looking at this as well as the GFI Synesthesia. Being able to combine two mod effects is a deal breaker. This looks like it has so much going on I’m worried that it’ll just engulf my capabilities and I’ll end up wondering how to fit certain sounds in different songs just for the sake of it. Main concern is using it live on stage.

blobb

Looks like you could create a Synesthesia in Poly. And some.