Aerodrums and Aered forums

Hello Support people,

Version: Aerodrums v1.1.2 on Windows 11. Runs fine.

I'm running into a problem with it tracking which hand is which.

The colors for the hand markers are switching back and forth often, between fuchsia and purple and back again. If it switches while I'm hitting a drum, it'll double hit the drum.

This usually occurs when I've been playing the toms and then move to hit the snare and a cymbal at the same time. Yet, it can also occur when I've done a fill on the toms and then gone back to the hi-hat and snare; then at some point, it'll double hit the snare as it switches the colors back.

I'm using Aerodrums set to MIDI-only and running the MIDI into Ableton via LoopBeMIDI1. Aerodrums is definitely sending two snare hits via MIDI into Ableton.

This is really negatively affecting the playing.

I'm also practicing for a talent show happening in a few months and this is something I somehow need to stop before the show; it definitely doesn't sound right and I want everyone to see how awesome Aerodrums is.

Is there a way to stop Aerodrums from detecting which hand is which? I suspect that will solve the problem. Perhaps something I can tweak in a configuration file?

Thanks very much for any help you good folks can provide.

Best,
C

The problem with it tracking which hand is which, is well-known and even appears in Aerodrums 2 (except if you're playing with the Meta Quest 3/3S ). But with Aerodrums 1, it's just a visual issue, who cares if your right hand is fuchsia or purple. But under no circumstances should this be an audible problem and I haven’t heard about something similar.
I’ve seen that you have published “How I tweaked my laptop for MIDI from Aerodrums into Ableton”. Have you tried with Steven Slate Drums standalone (if you have it)? Or with another VST host? Do you have this problem without MIDI?
Btw., make sure LoopBe isn’t set as MIDI output device in Ableton.

This usually occurs when I've been playing the toms and then move to hit the snare and a cymbal at the same time.

This reminds me of something happened to me a long time ago and only with MIDI. It wasn’t double hits, but very loud hits, sometimes, with no reason, each time when hitting even softly the snare together with a cymbal. But I haven’t had even the idea to verify if the hands had changed, so I cannot say if this is related with your problem. For me I tracked it down to a performance/computer issue and I changed the computer. And the fact that you have all this things to do to optimize your laptop for Ableton makes me wonder if it's not also a performance issue.
If you have Steven Slate Drums version standalone, try it with Aerodrums without Ableton. If not, you could use a lightweight VST host like:
https://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm
or
https://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm
If the problem is still present without Ableton, Richard or Yann need to look into this.

Is there a way to stop Aerodrums from detecting which hand is which?

Normally it’s a feature, no other electronic drums can play different samples for each hand.

Btw. Which ASIO driver you use for your UR22C?

Thanks very much for your reply, Wolfgang!

I haven't tried it with another VST host and, unfortunately, Steven Slate Drums doesn't have a standalone application.

"Driver version?" The Yamaha Steinberg driver version is USB Driver v2.1.7. This is the latest driver as of a few months ago.

"Make sure LoopBe isn't set as MIDI output." Good point to check. I double checked and it is only an input device in Ableton.

As a note, this laptop's processor only was a problem due to audio distortion that was caused by Intel and Microsoft not yet having the technology fully solved for running low-latency applications exclusively on the Performance cores and keeping them off of the Efficiency cores. By disabling Hyperthreading and telling Windows to ignore the efficiency cores, the audio distortions disappeared and there's plenty of CPU to spare with Ableton and Aerodrums running.

--

More information on the issue.

I can readily reproduce the issue when Aerodrums is set to MIDI Only, using LoopBe and Ableton.

It happens almost always ONLY after I do a high speed flam on the snare drum (leading with the left hand). The markers can then get reversed. They stay reversed until I hit a cymbal with my right hand and the snare with my left hand simultaneously. At which point, the markers reverse and there is one of two things occurring, either:
1. There is a double hit on the snare.
2. There is a muted hit on the snare (no sound is heard).

It looks like hitting the snare causes an evaluation of which hand is which. (I personally have no need for this particular feature and it would be fantastic to have an option to disable it.)

I did a screen recording with OBS studio (computer screen recording software) while recording the MIDI with Ableton. I got the phenomenon on video and recorded to an Ableton MIDI track. Exactly when the markers change on hitting the snare, the double hit is recorded into Ableton as two MIDI strokes. I can play it back in Ableton and hear it.

I began trying what Wolfgang suggested. I tried turning off the MIDI and seeing if this phenomenon will occur with Aerodrums generating the sounds. I _think_ I got it to do the muted sound once, but I couldn't get it to do the double hit. I am playing differently - rather unnaturally now while trying to reproduce it - so I'm going to do more testing.

The part that makes me think it's Aerodrums sending another MIDI Snare hit is that the markers are switching at exactly the same time as the double snare drum hit. And this double snare hit doesn't occur when the markers aren't switching.

I could throw the video and Ableton file into a zip file with some notes as needed. Or could probably make a video with the audio matched up and send that; that would actually be better if anyone wants to see it.

I'll test this is any other way needed. I really need to nail this down. I could try another MIDI linking software. I could also try Reaper (DAW) which I also have installed.

Thanks for reading.

Best,
C

I haven't tried it with another VST host and, unfortunately, Steven Slate Drums doesn't have a standalone application.

Just for information, the second link I posted converts any VSTi to a standalone application.

"Driver version?" The Yamaha Steinberg driver version is USB Driver v2.1.7. This is the latest driver as of a few months ago.

It was to make sure you aren’t using ASIO4All, and apparently it’s not your case.

As a note, this laptop's processor only was a problem due to audio distortion ...

Another question, are you using the Yamaha Steinberg ASIO or WASAPI driver with your DAW?

I personally have no need for this particular feature, and it would be fantastic to have an option to disable it.

Me too. Just to find out if it would change something in playing.

It looks like hitting the snare causes an evaluation of which hand is which.

It’s a bit what happened to me in my case, I had the impression as if something was hanging for some microseconds followed by a very loud hit.
But it happened with just ONE computer, and I have a bunch of them. I’m recycling computers for 3 decades now. For me, it was a sort of bottleneck problem inside the computer. I hadn’t the idea to verify if it was the sticking. And not the time to look more in this, I just changed the computer.

I am playing differently - rather unnaturally now while trying to reproduce it

Don’t do it too much. You will learn bad habits.

The part that makes me think it's Aerodrums sending another MIDI Snare hit is that the markers are switching at exactly the same time as the double snare drum hit.

I think the only way to find out what happens is to use a MIDI monitor to see which notes are sent.

I’m afraid you will not get much help, this is a very rare problem. I’m following this forum for about ten years, and I’ve never read about a similar case. When it happened to me, I didn’t even speak about it here, because no one else was.

You could still verify if:
1. powersavings are set to maximal performances
2. don’t run on battery
3. best performances is set to background services
4. if you are using SSD’s MIDI map in Aerodrums, try instead Aerodrums’ MIDI map in SSD.
5. if you use WASAPI, try to switch to ASIO and set the buffer size to 128 (something between 64 and 256) samples.
6. try to cycle through less demanding graphics modes by pressing control + g
7. "Use MIDI note scheduler" is set to no
8. yes, try it with Reaper, my preferred program for any audio and video editing. Reaper is certainly less resource-hungry than Ableton.

Btw.
If you have Reaper, have you ever played with ReaRoute? It’s a virtual audio cable (like loopbe for MIDI). Even if it’s not MIDI, it can be very handy being able to record Aerodrums directly in Reaper without using a physical cable.

Dear Wolfgang,

Thanks for your last reply. I'll reply very soon. I spent some time cooking up this video and wanted to upload it with the little time I have.

It's a screen capture video of Aerodrums at 60 FPS with an MP3 of the drum part exported from Ableton. I matched them up with Clipchamp. The total length is 8 seconds.

In this case, the hand markers switched when I was not doing a flam and when my left hand was hitting the snare with my right hand on the hi-hat/cymbals.

The second snare hit was captured into the MIDI track in Ableton and exactly coincides with the change in hand marker.

I don't know if it's possible to make something of an undocumented feature where the config file has a toggle called "DoNotDetermineHandMarkers = True" and, if this TRUE, it would disable the code that tries to figure out which hand is which. I personally don't have a use for finding which hand is which and I would definitely leave it set to True.

Best,
C

I slowed down your video, and now it's not as obvious. I hear your problem twice, but the hands are reversed only the first time. Furthermore, I also see in Reaper, that the two hits are the loudest, which reminds me of my personal experience.

Btw. have you tried the MIDI filter in Aerodrums? If not, try to set it to the maximum value for the snare, maybe it helps.

Greetings Wolfgang!

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm using the MIDI filter on some of the drums, but not the snare. I'll give it a try to tonight!

Also, going to give Reaper a shot in the next few days.

All the best,
Christopher

Hi Christopher,

Also, going to give Reaper a shot in the next few days.

Yes, give it a try! It’s my favorite tool for any audio and video editing for years. There are so many features under the hood and you can find tonnes of instruction videos. All my videos in my YouTube channel are made with Reaper.