Aerodrums are terrible

Ringowig
Posts: 104
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:54 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Ringowig » Tue Sep 22, 2020 10:00 pm

I still use and enjoy Aerodrums after 5 years of owning them. For some people maybe they can’t/won’t get on with them..much like the debates about various ‘regular ‘ electronic kits....each to their own. To me Aerodrums have been and still are a sense of wonderment and enjoyment...not to mention practical applications for practice and work. I have actually earned money from drum tracks created and recorded using Aerodrums...I think Richard and Yann deserve credit for always trying to answer questions/criticism in a constructive way. I cannot comment about Freedrums or any other similar air drumming system as I have never tried them, but if I did and it was not for me I would certainly not feel the need to criticise the actual product...I am sure many people love those too...and ultimately there has to be some kind of difference or trade-off between these products and physically hitting wood on plastic and metal....it’s all good

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:43 am

You need a LARGE DARK room for them to work properly.

They are useless otherwise

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:45 am

I want to move the pieces by mouse then try them afterwards.

Can this be done?

I can not see the screen with the bright camera light otherwise.

I still cant find where you position the drums.

Technology sucks,always stuffing around more than playing.

Everything today is like that.

Should just hire a studio and set up my acoustic kit instead of all the hassle of setting Aerodrums up.

Sipaliwini
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:40 pm

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Sipaliwini » Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:48 pm

Hello,

I understand how you feel about technology these days, it's been 6 years since we launched Aerodrums, and I still can't get by head around how small companies like ours are meant to use Google and Facebook to reach people, the interface for their tools is mind boggling.

Sorry no it's not possible to place the pieces by mouse. The reason is Aerodrums tracks your sticks in 3D, and to know the depth of the piece you just placed (as opposed to where it is left/right and top/down like a mouse cursor lets you do), it records the size of the marker on the stick you used at the moment when you hit to place the piece.

So if we gave a mouse option, we would still need to have an additional step using the sticks so you can teach Aerodrums where you want the pieces to be in depth,

I am sorry that you are experiencing the vicious circle of lighting issues leading to turning off all lights leading to the light feeling very bright. The best way to work around this is to configure Aerodrums so it works with a normal level of lighting in your room:

It is not necessary for the room to be dark to play Aerodrums. It doesn't like a lot of daylight, but is fine with most artificial lights, except if the camera can see them directly. Even then, you can configure it to ignore small lights.

So here is what to do:

1) turn all the lights on

2) close your curtains or blinds, if daylight is bleeding through, make sure you don't pick a location for the camera where it can directly sees that light bleeding in. In other words, don't face the camera towards these curtains/blinds.

3) make sure your sticks and foot pieces are out of sight of the camera then launch Aerodrums and click setup,

4) if it gets to a screen where it shows you red areas,

-if these areas are small and don't look like they will overlap your drum kit, click the "compensate for bright objects" button then move out of the picture

-otherwise, turn off one light and go back to 4)

5) In case you did end up needing to turn off all lights, move the camera somewhere else and go back to 3)

We made a video about that, here is the link: https://youtu.be/JaaOx-VQa_I

About the light preventing you to see your screen properly. You don't need to put the camera near your screen. In my current set up I use a coffee table to put my laptop near me, so when I look at the screen I can't even see the light at all.

You do need a room that's 2 x 1.5m (6 x 5') to play Aerodrums.

Richard told me he's helping you with the drum piece placement through YouTube comments.

Sorry about the frustration, glad you are getting back into air drumming.

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:31 pm

I don't own a laptop ,only an ipad.

I use my PC screen and it is right behind the camera.

There is no other place I can put it.

I am starting to reallise why I am getting poor results,my screen is behind the camera and not facing to the side out of the way.

Can I turn off my screen?

Laptops are too expensive for me.

I can read on my ipad when it is two inches from my head but a laptop would be a problem.

P.S. Does this software have the illustrated seated drummer on the screen so you can position yourself to match the illustration?

Can't find it on the upgraded version.

Sipaliwini
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:40 pm

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Sipaliwini » Thu Sep 24, 2020 10:24 am

Sorry for assuming you were using a laptop.

You don't need to move the PC screen, just the camera (if possible).

If your room allows, you can place the camera away from the PC screen and drum at an angle. The screen and the camera don't have to be that far for the light not to interfere with looking at the screen (maybe 45cm / 1.5 feet, like in the video I linked, particularly if you are not in darkness, where even a PC screen is a pain to look at).

If that can't work, try to set your screen very bright, use sun glasses to place your pieces, then ignore the screen (yes you could turn it off then) and light once the set up is good (it sounds like you are an experienced drummer, so you probably don't need the display much).

When you say "upgraded version" I think you mean Aerodrums 3D.

No, it doesn't have the set up steps (with the illustrated seated drummer), we mean it to be used only after Aerodrums is configured well (good audio setting, good camera placement). Since you have an iPad, in your case it will help you though, because once you have done the set up, you can run Aerodrums 3D on your iPad and place the iPad near you away from the light. Aerodrums 3D also has a nice alternative interface to adjust the placement of your drum pieces.

So to recap here is what to do:

-don't run Aerodrums 3D when setting up the camera, use Aerodrums' set up screens to help you frame the camera and achieve a good level of light in your room so you don't need to drum in darkness
-install Aerodrums 3D on your iPad (look for it on the App store)
-set up your iPad somewhere comfortable away from the light

Let me know if you need help with the above.

Just one last thing, Aerodrums 3D isn't an upgraded version of Aerodrums, it is a companion program to view the drums in 3D. It is still the main Aerodrums program doing the heavy lifting: motion tracking and sound rendering.

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:32 am

Tried with monitor sideways.

I had a bit more room for the stool.

STILL getting the snare drum in my groin ,UNPLAYABLE,I have to put my elbows back to try to hit the snare drum.

The small tom iswhere the snare should be.

I'm done with Aerodrums,spent too much anyway with the camera stand.

I thought the stand would fix my issues.

Just rubbish.

P.S. Haven't bothered to move the drums ,Should be a simple mouse click to move them ,but no,not with Aero drums.

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:50 pm

Tried moving the camera to the front doorway(only place with room).
Snare is good but cymbals are reacting at the same time and NOW the small tom has disappeared even though it shows on the screen diagram.

I used the old aerodrums with an old PC and they worked fine,the reflective material does not last though,which is why I gave them up.

I remember having to install a CL Driver????

Do I need that with the new Aerodrums?

Seems like you need an expensive laptop and PLENTY of ROOM to use Aerodrums otherwise they are USELESS.

I don't have a big enough room to use them,width ways.

Even my feet only pick up every now and then,it's not my technique,I spend an hour on my foot technique with double pedals.

The reflector material must have a very limited lifespan which increases the price of the product.


Back to practising on a double folded towell on my practise pad sigh.

P.S. I have two ps3 cameras,I will try my other camera and test again but can't see anything improving.

The stand should have adjustment and it's ridiculous ,you can not move the drums around with a mouse.

P.P.S. Used my other ps 3 camera ,turned all lights off,still red streaks on the setup screen and not responsive at all.

Toms are all over the place,SMALL TOM does not even register.

I reckon it could be the reflective coating,what ever is used lasts only a few months.

When I bought my SECOND Aerodrums package ,I stored it until I could getthe stand,so maybe storing it for a long time has caused the reflection material to lose it's reflection?

Anyway,not happy with this product.

The original Aerodrums worked great when the reflective material still worked,I used the original aerodrums on an OLD PC.

I am using the new Aerodrums with a Ryzen 1700 Overclocked and it's way worse lol.

I wanted to use these in a daw for recording sigh.


I used to use the old Aerodrums with Superior Drummer 2 and they worked awesome.

The upgraded Aerodrums are hopeless.

What happened to the seated man diagram where you move to match him?

Sorry for the ranting,just pissed off.

Sipaliwini
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:40 pm

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Sipaliwini » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:11 am

Have you tried ignoring Aerodrums 3D for now?

Without it, Aerodrums is the same as when you last used it with success.

You can play Aerodrums (without the 3D) ok with 5 years old tattered balls (we recommend keeping them in good shape though), as long as you adjust your drum sets from time to time as they get worse.

Please send me private messages if you need specific help configuring Aerodrums the way you had it before.

Once that is done, you can try Aerodrums 3D on your iPad.

Smasha
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Aerodrums are terrible

Post by Smasha » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:34 am

My sticks and foot pads look in new condition but the reflective part may be not working.

My drumset is all overthe place,toms not playing when I move the sticks ,erratic random cymbal triggers,even the foot pads are behavingerratically,I never had this problem on my Ancient PC and the old Aerodrums which required a CL eye driver.

Upgrade my PC to RYzen and Windows 10 and Aerodrums is horrible.

Pissed off.

I have my sound card set to 44.1 khz,should it be 48 khz?

Also I have an Asus hi refresh monitor,is that what is causing the hiccups?

I have it set to 120 hz.

There seems to be a conflict somewhere.


I have 2 midi plugins that auto load when Windows atarts,Autotonic and loopmidi.

Are they causing the issue?

Typing is erratic from anxiety trying to getthis working.

FFS.

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