Aerodrumming Along (Tommy Igoe's JAZZ WALTZ - FAST)

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Tao 3.14
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:35 pm

Aerodrumming Along (Tommy Igoe's JAZZ WALTZ - FAST)

Post by Tao 3.14 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:35 am

Salut !

I'm having a lot of fun with Aerodrums (I can't believe I've slept on it for so long) :mrgreen:

I haven't heard many jazz demos around while checking out this system
after I finally discovered its existence, so here's a freestylee jazz play along demo
that I edited by selecting the best parts from 2 takes/recordings,
playing a slightly customized version of Aerodrums' awesome Bop Kit,
I hope you'll appreciate it 8-)

https://soundcloud.com/taotekid/aerodru ... XNPdtOM4N0

Here's a link to the (free) play-along track (+ its chart, which I didn't use :)

https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education ... -fast.html

Also, I'm in the process of mixing, converting & importing a minimalist Aerodrums-ready version
of Versilian Studios' and Karoryfer Samples' awesome free jazz drum samples, Virtuosity Drums
(which I'be happy to share with the community as it's open-source/Creative Commons 0 :mrgreen: )
& I've been trying to get the most out of the available samples in terms of velocity (snare & toms)
& round-robins (kick & cymbals) so as to make it as playable - with as little repeated samples - as possible,
but, if I'm correct, I found that only a few elements (like the kick & the hi-hat pedal & splash)
support alternate samples (using sub-folders \a & \b), which makes me wish that all elements
could use the same functionality ... in fact, I think it'd be awesome if an \a & \b sub-folders system
could replace the \l(eft) &\ r(ight) one, in the sense that it'd make twice the number of available samples
per hand, which would greatly improve Aerodrums' playability & realism (especially in jazz settings)
regardless of which hand is playing :idea: ...

or to put it another way, with the current \l(eft) & \r(ight) subfolders system,
the anti-"machine gun" effect only works when both hand are playing on the same element,
while an \a & \b sub-folder system could allow the implementation of a basic round-robin
("no same sample played twice in a row") policy, which could go even further with a borrowing of samples
from neighbouring velocity layers (& dynamic volume compensation) for added variations & realism ...

so, in the meantime, instead of dividing the sample pool in half by placing the snare's & toms'
even numbered samples in folder \a & their uneven numbered samples in folders \b,
I've placed an exact copy of all the samples
(36 center hits + 36 off-center hits + 4 high velocity rimshots for the snare,
letting Aerodrums analyze & sort the samples by increasing loudness - assumed to reflect hit strength - is great :D )
in both folders , my thinking being that, the larger the number of samples available per hand,
the smaller the chance that the same sample will be triggered twice in a row,
but it's not ideal in terms of sample-handling & disk space usage :lol:

Also, it sounds to me like the 13" Hi Hats' splash samples are panned to the right compared to the rest of the hat,
it's only a detail, & it can be solved after recording when exporting "one wav per element",
but it'd be nice if you could check that & maybe fix it in a future update 8-)

Keep up the great work ! :mrgreen:

Peace,

Richard
Posts: 1014
Joined: Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:45 am

Re: Aerodrumming Along (Tommy Igoe's JAZZ WALTZ - FAST)

Post by Richard » Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:33 pm

That jazz play-along sounds great. Do you mind if we share it on social media?

I see your point about wanting variations within each velocity layer for elements hit with the sticks. The built-in Aerodrums samples have a ton of velocity layers so it's unlikely you'd make consecutive hits with exactly the same strength which would result in the same sample being triggered twice. It is possible of course and would become more of an issue the fewer velocity layers you use.
...by placing the snare's & toms' even numbered samples in folder \a & their uneven numbered samples in folders \b"
Be careful here! I believe the l\ and r\ folders are used for elements hit with the sticks and \a and \b are not used here. \a and \b are only used for foot elements in which case it will alternate (round-robin) between the a and b sets. So for snare and toms you should use subfolders named \l and \r.
I've placed an exact copy of all the samples
Rather than duplicate the same samples in the \l and \r folders, you can place them all in the base folder (without any \l and \r subfolders) and this will give the same result but at half the memory cost! Basically, if samples for only one hand are available then it will use those samples for both hands which sounds like what you want.

I wasn't aware of the Virtuosity Drums sample library you're working on converting. It sounds very high quality. I would love to hear a demo of it when you have it up and running.

Thanks also for the hi-hat splash bug report - we'll look into it. Cheers!

Tao 3.14
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:35 pm

Re: Aerodrumming Along (Tommy Igoe's JAZZ WALTZ - FAST)

Post by Tao 3.14 » Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:36 am

Thanks for your response,

I got mixed up regarding the placing of both even & uneven samples in folders,
I did mean placing them all in the \l and \r subfolders, but I soon figured out that, as you explained,
I could get the same result by just putting at the root of the folder, instead of duplicating them in both folders :D

but I still think implementing the \a and \b alternate/round robin subfolder system
for all elements (making every sample available to both hands) would greatly improve Aerodrum's realism,
especially while 'comping', which makes it quite likely to make consecutive hits with exactly the same strength,
& the repeating samples sound quite evident while performing single-handed rolls,
which I found is quite doable by performing a fast "jazz hands"-ish back & forth horizontal movement of the ball
- which is easier when using finger-action & traditional grip - while holding the stick vertically on top of the snare,
for instance :mrgreen:

& yes, Virtuosity Drums is great, there's no round-robins on the snare & toms, but enough velocities
to avoid too many repeated samples (an \a and \b alternate/round robin subfolder system would solve that 8-) )
& only a few velocities but 4 round-robins for the cymbals & the rest, but it really sounds great,
I haven't put together the kit in Aerodrums yet but I integrated its bass drum, toms & cymbals in my custom Bop kit,
it works great in terms of tuning using the 10in jungle snare as my main & the Bop snare (snares off) as an extra tom,
I recorded an improvisation yesterday, edited some parts & looped some others, then recorded some sort of jam on top of it today using a bunch of VSTis (played on MIDI keyboard - except the synth that I played using my mouse using Quilcom's Midimus, then edited a bit) to place the drums in context, here's how it sounds 8-)

https://soundcloud.com/taotekid/aerodru ... BALTdb4o5l

& yes, of course, feel free to share that jazz play-along, I'm glad you like it :mrgreen:

& speaking of hi-hat related bug report (thanks for looking into it),
I've also noticed that the hi-hat works & sounds great during gradual openings,
but something isn't quite right during gradual closings, open hi-hat samples still ring when they shouldn't,
the more open samples should be muted by the newly played more closed ones, not just when the pedal is fully down,
(not sure if I'm explaining it the right way, je suis français :D )
the issue is quite evident when performing a light but steady roll on the open hat while slowly closing it,
(but the pedal hit & splash system responds very well, it makes playing Aerodrums a real pleasure :mrgreen: )

Peace,

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