+1000 on the “boring” management stuff. I’ve been doing music in DAWs with VIs for a looong time. Can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted trying to force BFD to be more informative and consistent in how it keeps track of my library. Can’t recall ever having to open and edit text files for any VI except BFD. Why? Just so I could force the dopy “Library” button to reflect what’s actually in my library. That one inconsistency made me lose all faith that BFD actually has any clue what expansions I own. The buggy “scan” feature (which will consistently hang if it has to scan more than a few folders at once) feels like it could be obviated with a more consistent spec for the way these libraries are built in the first place. I’m no computer programmer, and I use BFD because it sounds amazing, but I know enough to know that computers are rather excellent at supporting and exploiting well formed databases. BFD3 just feels sloppy to me in this regard. I don’t want to edit an XML or go spelunking into my OS’s /Library/ in search of the one true path. Bottom line - I want BFD to be way more clever in how I rummage through the sounds I own.
- With Cubase 11, more options on screen layout/size/scale
- Make it easier to audition and also see what instruments have what articulations (align the old and new content)
- Make it easier to manage/see what mics are available and for what instruments, I often build my own kit and it can get confusing, perhaps allow only mics that all kit pieces have to be used as a selectable option
- More consistency when selecting/auditing kit pieces (volume level in particular), especially as I don’t often use the kit/mixer presets.
- Make it easier to output individual kit pieces (with options to include bleed/ambient mics) as I don’t always use the mixer/included presets (with the option to export unprocessed/unaffected pieces for a stem or to render the audio), owuld be handy to have groups in th eixer to route to seperat eoutpus (e.g. toms)
- Make it easier to see/select grooves that use extended articulations and if any of the current instruments lack all the grooves articulations make it easy to see them
- Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol/NKS mapping on their keyboards (for use with the light guide)
- A bit of work on some interface elements, specifically:
– Key map
– Seeing/deleting extra mics/room and any non-kit direct mic options
– Less tabs to click on, easier to see/edit everything for a kit piece (tech + model)
– Bigger pictures of kit pieces (and mic options detailed for matching kit pieces) - Ability to select multiple pieces and apply changes to them
- More grooves and better database indexing to find them and sets of grooves
First, I think think BFD3 is a cracking bit of SW. But of course there are always things that can be improved.
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I would like to see improvements in Library Management and Installation: the two are very much tied together. Make it clear what the folder structure will be when changing the install location. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up with nested folders because it looked like I should add the actual bottom level install folder, only to have the installer add it as well, or vice versa.
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As far as library, presets, and groove management, it would be nice to have default locations that we could specify, that BFD would then install all content of that type into in an organized fashion, instead of us having to deal with folder by folder management for each expansion and groove pack. Then of course if we decide we need to change that location BFD would allow us to specify the new location and update ALL references. Issues with file location should be dealt with with a expansion specific pop-up dialog (perhaps similar to Kontakt but BETTER) asking for a location that would be scanned, including all sub-folders, and that would update the reference to the expansion automatically (unlike Kontakt).
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The addition of some sort of info line, showing what kit, groove, and presets are loaded, along with asterisks if modified, would be very helpful.
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Consolidated or improved Tech and Model page.
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Seconding @BennyG 's suggestion, a “Tap to Find” function, ala SD3, would be awesome.
Thanks for asking!
BFD3 has great sounds. I’d mostly like to improve work flow in the Groove Editor.
Drum Track:
- Option to “Snap to Bar” when dragging grooves in. (great for when you’re zoomed way out).
- Option to “Insert x Bars of silence”, and would accordingly displace parts to the right.
- Right click menu includes “select all parts to the left” and “select all parts to right”.
Groove Editor
- Edit Menu includes “delete x measures to the left” or “delete empty measures” (say you import midi and it’s 75 bars long and there are only midi events on the last two bars).
- Right click context menu on selected midi events like “Mute”.
- Velocity display larger or in the center. For some reason, sometimes it takes half a second to find it. It adds up and decreases workflow.
Groove Palette
- if a groove is multiple bars long, have an option upon drag (or before dragging) to only drag one bar if you want to. (even one in the middle). Perhaps right click and a menu item called “partial drag” is there and if you click it, you get a dialog box that says “Drag bar(s):__” you can enter “4-6” for ex.
Skin options
- I usually don’t care about skins, but the white one is too bright over long periods of time, and with the dark one, the horizontal scroll bar on the groove editor does not have enough contrast to easily see.
Thank you.
How about this: I don’t WANT a BFD4 until well after BFD3 is fully functional and all the bugs have been FIXED!!
Asking for money again, right after I bought BFD3.4, and suffered this BFD2 to BFD3 migration nightmare, and all the damned BUGS in BFD3… No way am I going to spend more money at inMusic, on the same damned product I already own, if the one I just spent money on is totally BROKEN.
For me the biggest issue with BFD is the hard-wired expectation of the mixer paradigm.
It created havoc with automation (fun fact, at one time BFD3’s [host] automation would not accept anything but the hardwired slots, and my recall is fuzzy whether it would allow a viable host automation map to be assigned at all (It was working for BFD2 but 3 broke it). But for certain, after hihat, if it’s not floor tom, slot 4’s automation deleted slot 3’s.).
It seems like no one uses host automation, no one seemed to know. It was during contact with ROLI support where we got it fixed. This is why VSL cannot make VE Pro automatically take BFD3’s names, there is a conflict of a custom map to the factory map; it sees the latter and any custom map has to be re-upped every launch (by deleting a parameter and replacing it), now VEP has a chance to see the names I make. And unless I save the auto map before saving VE Pro project and quitting, chances are very high it will even with that workaround get the order wrong next launch, certainly if I’ve used a different automap it will get the other one wrong.
So first thing I want to see is the automation tab, which it will not open showing.
The issue itself is so tedious and so not a popular thing, ok, unless I lobby hard it’s going to stay status quo. but I would like to get to the tab right away.
I have mystery instability right now [not BFD’S] and redoing the same things over and over after crashes has become very tiresome.
I had troubles prior to 3.4 so it’s probably not the version
What do we want? We want it to work. Period. For a month this program just hangs and freezes up. Not even a suggestion?
I think this thread is about new features @brad, there’s a separate thread for bug reports.
You’ll be pleased to know the soon to be released 3.4.2 is working fine here and works fine off line too.
It does take a long time to scan contents when you first run it but it only does it once.
Steve
reaction of the hihat pedal on the ui
I have been wondering since ages why you can trigger the kick drum with the respective icon on the drum screen but don’t get a reaction from the hi hat pedal. I would expect that clicking on the pedal of the hihat should trigger the pedal articulation. At least on my system it doesn’t trigger anything.
This is a mildly humorous request, but I think BFD could do with some star endorsement and having just discovered that Al Murray pub landlord is the MD of The British Drum Company then he’d be a great one to go for, BFD meet BDC. 
See if you can record some of their kits as expansion packs.
Although I’m kind of joking I actually think it could be a really good idea.
Here’s the lovable pub landlord at NAM espousing the wonders of his product.
Steve
cant believe your all going through hell with this migration
why is it SOOOOOO unintuitive nothing is transparent
the thing is there comes a time when you got to say enough is enough and walk away
I would second that BFD sounds are excellent but the workflow sucks enormous eggs it needs to be way more intuitive we are musicians not Scientists
I find it really intuitive and a logical follow on from BFD2.
I was less keen on the groove editor but key mapping is so easy, automation’s a faff but that’s the same all over.
What’s issues with the work flow and what are you comparing it with?
Uuuuhhh, some of us are both.
I think that we just want something that works reliably and logically. When BFD3 came out it was a game changer with excellent sounds and a GUI that was basic but very usable. I got used to it and did a lot of work with it. Unfortunately BFD3 was not taken care of in the way of development and time stood still. Many third party contributors developed some fantastic expansion kits, but Fxpansion did not work very hard to integrate them or develop the basic software to better integrate them. Also neglected was the authorisation and kit/part scanning.
A new and relatable GUI is an essential. There mast also be a foolproof ways of integrating new kits/expansions, a more flexible mixer to integrate with DAWs to be able to use the DAW mixer and the BFD3 plugins. Perhaps being able to use third party plugins within the BFD mixer.
I live in a place where it is not unusual to have someone respond, “Well, I AM a rocket scientist…”.
It’s kinda cool to live in a community where most folks are extremely well educated!
I’m still in dysfunctionland. I get 2 e-mails a week from support back and forth with one sentence replies that do not help. Then I get a reply 3 days later. Another few sentences or questions. This goes on and on and on still no one will actually work with me to get this fixed. I was lucky enough to have someone from this forum help me and he fixed a lot of my problems but still I cannot seem to get BFD to see all my expansion packs and data. So frustrating. I have multiple kits that gives me those yellow flags. I just don’t get it.
BFD 4 sound for me like a joke. Please fix before the current version, or provides a version that works and does not want to connect to God and the world first. See als my latest post under this topic BFD3.4.1.11 released
That is not my experience at all. Actually everything else I use has perfect automation from VE Pro’s map with a couple of odd exceptions I don’t remember. I do fairly extensive automation with BFD3, but it’s high maintenance. Presently I’m trying to conform presets to more or less cohere, which takes planning as opposed to ad hoc catch as catch can ‘add this parameter for a new cymbal’ type thing.
It’ll be pretty literally down to me to get anyone to pay attention to it, the only reason it even works as it does.