If you’re like me, you love jamming along with a steady drum beat. After all, something magical happens when a driving guitar riff locks in with a heavy back beat. In that instance, the two instruments meld into one, and the groove is born.
And that, Jack, is where it’s at!
But finding a reliable drummer with a rocksteady sense of time under the age of 12 is no simple task!
Enter: the BeatBuddy: The World’s First Guitar Pedal Drum Machine
In 2013, musician David Packouz set out to build the world’s “first drum machine with the simplicity of a pedal.” With the aid of Indiegogo crowdsourcing, Mr. Packouz delivered one of the most innovative and accessible practice tools for guitarists to hit the market in the last two-decades.
Featuring over 200-songs covering 21-genres including blues, rock, country, and jazz, the BeatBuddy is as versatile as it is awesome. The drums sound ultra realistic, the time-signatures are plentiful (including 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, and 12/8 time) and the functions are incredibly easy to use.
In fact, I was able to jam along with the BeatBuddy within minutes of its unboxing because of its simple and intuitive design: Once a genre and a drumbeat is selected, the BeatBuddy provides a intro fill. From there, the first tap provides a drum fill, the second tap a second fill, and the third tap provides a third and final drum fill. Pretty sweet right? Well, there’s more, so hold onto your guitar straps because it gets even better.
When held down, the BeatBuddy transitions to “part 2” with three separate and distinct drum fills! I hope you didn’t drop the old six-string, but I totally understand it if you did because the implications are staggering! With two parts, guitarists will have the ability to perform fully arranged songs in a variety of styles with multiple sections.
So kiss your drummer goodbye because the BeatBuddy is the most versatile, accessible, and realistic drum machine to hit the market in decades.
Without doubt, the BeatBuddy will make you a better guitarist, and I highly recommend it to all guitar students and music teachers.
