Howdy Aerosnaughts!
We are excited to release Aeros firmware 5.2.0! It has a lot of improvements, including awesome things like:
- Input level controls
- One Shot Parts
- Output metering
- Song Settings redesign
- Backing Track Import expansion
- And more
This firmware will be designated as beta for the next week or two while the community tests it. If no major bugs are found, it will be released over wifi as an official version.
How to Update to Aeros Firmware 5.2.0
- Download the 5.2.0 update file here and place it on your SD card
- Rename the 5.2.0 update file to āaeros.binā once it is on your SD card.
- Insert the SD card into the Aeros SD card slot while the Aeros is off, and turn the Aeros on. The Aeros will take about 10 minutes to update.
If you see any bugs , please report it to us so we can fix it! Please send logs to support@singularsound.com along with a video and/or a description of the bug. To learn more about useful information you could give us to better help you, please read this post on bug reports.
Song Settings redesign
Song settings are split into 3 tabs and can now be fully accessed hands free.
The tabs are:
- Song
- Parts
- MIDI
The Song tab has the following settings:
- Song Name
- Song Saved to
- Record
- Parts x Tracks
- Song Grid Mode
- Auto BPM Range (Auto only)
- Sync Tracks
- Count in (Quantized and Auto only)
- Settings Template
- Loop Decay
- Loop Decay Rate (if Loop Decay enabled)
The Parts tab has the following settings:
- Song Part Tempo
- Tempo (per part if Song Part Tempo set to Multi)
- Multimeter
- Time Signature (per part if Multimeter enabled)
- Set Length (Global or Per Part/Auto only)
- One Shot Parts (per part if enabled)
The MIDI tab has the following settings:
- MIDI Song Select
- MIDI Out Control
Use the Song Settings page hands free. You can highlight the toolbar to interact with the tabs and/or save the song. While the toolbar is highlighted, tap the middle Aeros button to toggle the selected tab or tap the right Aeros button to Save/Create the song. The individual settings can all be interacted with hands free. Read more in the manual. Cancel your current edit or return to the Loop Studio by pressing the bottom left or top left Aeros buttons.
Mixer 2
There are multiple ways to access Mixer 2:
- Access the mixer from the Handsfree slideout menu in the Loop Studio
- If the handsfree slideout is disabled, you can set the press and hold of the bottom left Aeros button to open either Mixer 1 or Mixer 2.
- Edit the contents and order of your slideout menu in the Hands Free device settings.
- Send MIDI CC:35 value 7
- While in the Mixer 1 screen, press and hold the bottom left Aeros button to open Mixer 2. This works similarly when Mixer 2 is open, pressing and holding the bottom left Aeros button will open Mixer 1.
How to use Mixer 2 handsfree:
- Tap the middle Aeros button to toggle between selections, you can select any of the inputs or the click level.
- Tap the right Aeros button while selecting an input to toggle between mono (independent L+R) and stereo (linked).
- When the L/R input pair is set to mono, you can independently select each input and control the input level.
- When set to stereo the L/R input pair is controlled by a ganged fader, matching the levels. This is the recommended setting for users recording stereo signals.
- These settings are global
- Tap the bottom left Aeros button to exit the mixer and return to the Loop Studio
- Press and hold the bottom left Aeros button to switch between mixers
- This also works in Mixer 1
Input Controls and Meter
Sets the input level for the Aeros, this is a Global setting. You can also set the input levels in the device Routing settings. The inputs can either be Linked (or ganged) into L+R stereo inputs or unlinked as individual mono inputs.
To link or unlink the L and R inputs, use the stereo or mono button on the touch screen, or tap the Aeros right button while the input is selected to toggle the state.
Use the wheel or your finger to edit the selected fader levels to your liking. 0dB on the inputs is notated by a thick white line and the fader head will turn blue when it is at 0dB, like the individual track level faders do in mixer 1.
Output Meters
Monitor the Aeros output levels from each output individually.
Click level control
Set the click level quickly using the Aeros wheel. This can also be set in the device Behavior settings
One Shot Parts
One Shot parts are parts that only play back one time once they are started. The Aeros has a bit of a fun twist on this widely used setting: The Aeros one shot part will return to its previous state once it plays the part one time according to the length of the longest track. If the Part is played from a stopped state, it will stop itself automatically. However, if the part is switched to from another part, it will switch back to that other part automatically. Canceling the set up auto stop or auto transition will let the loop play back normally.
If you have a one shot part switch into a one shot part, the Aeros will switch parts back and forth automatically and indefinitely.
Howās that for a fun backup band!? Pro tip, to use for an AABA jam, record AA in part 1 and BA in part 2 and you can have a full-on Jam with the Aeros doing most of the work while you solo away. Turn on the Next Part Record device Behavior setting to get the Aeros to automatically set up and close new tracks as it switches back and forth.
How to enable One Shot Parts:
- Edit the song and go to the Parts Tab
- Highlight the setting and edit it hands free or use the touchscreen.
- Once on, you can set how the individual parts will behave.
- One Shot Parts can be turned on/off at any time, only requiring a save to do so.
Backing Track Import Expansion
Backing tracks are supported in all Song Grid Modes (Auto, Freeform, Quantized) and also when the Sync Tracks song setting is enabled.
How to get backing tracks onto the Aeros using the SD card
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After updating to 5.0.x, 5.1.x, or 5.2.x, the SD card will have a new folder on it called ābackingtracksā.
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If the folder is not there, insert the SD card into the Aeros while powered off and boot the Aeros up, this will generate the folder.
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If you have not converted from pre 5.x.x format, you must convert your SD files, the Aeros will prompt you to convert if they are not already converted. Read more here.
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Add your backing tracks files to the ābackingtracksā folder using your computer. The Aeros will only support .WAV (PCM) files that are 44.1kHz and 24bit. They can be mono or stereo.
How to add a backing track to your song
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In the Loop Studio screen, go to the song settings and select the Backing Track option using the touchscreen or the right Aeron button.
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Select a file from the ābackingtracksā folder on your SD card. Use the wheel to scroll through the options and the right Aeros button to select the highlighted option.
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When importing, a pop-up window will ask if you want to:
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Add 360 samples to the end of the file (to prevent sync issues)
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Add a fade out (prevent pops)
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Press right Aeros button to import the file
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Hit Save to finalize the import
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Repeat step 2-5 to import backing tracks into multiple tracks, and/or manually switch the part while stopped to import backing tracks into other song parts
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While importing to tracks other than track 1, if your track is too short for minimum requirements and the song is set to Auto/quantized mode and/or Sync Tracks setting is on, the Aeros will ask if you wish to add silence to make the track fit the minimum requirements so as to not break sync.
Note: if your imported file exceeds the maximum limit for the file size. It cannot be imported. Please edit the file on your computer to fit the requirements and try again.
Importing into songs that have Sync enabled or are (auto)quantized
When importing into a song that has sync of any sort across the tracks, you will need to make sure you are importing tracks that are of equal length. Backing tracks of unequal length will have silence added to the end of them to meet the length requirements of the song.
Autoquantized songs will be able to quantize the song BPM to the very first imported track length using the Autoquantize algorithm. All subsequent tracks will be imported like in any quantized song.
Backing Track Options
Add Fade Out - Adds a 360 sample fade out to the file being imported. This prevents clicks and/or pops from occurring at the loop seam for the imported file. Enabled by default, you should disable it if you already are adding fades to your files as you export them in your DAW.
Add 360 samples - Adds 360 samples of silence to the end of an imported track. This is to prevent desynchronization when importing tracks made in a DAW. This is necessary because the Aeros normally needs these samples to crossfade correctly. It always records an extra 360 samples of audio after each loop is closed to allow for crossfades to be made smoothly. Enabled by default, warning disabling could cause desynchronization.
Why 360 samples?
Crossfades!
The Aeros normally records an extra ~8ms (360 samples) of fade out material for every recorded track to allow for clean crossfades between song parts when transitioning and to avoid pops on the loop seam.
Since we donāt expect users to add these 360 samples themselves when importing, we have added the option to add silence. Having the extra 360 samples of silence will prevent desynchronization without making you lose your hair trying to figure out how to export an extra 360 samples at the end of your DAW track.
If you find your loop import is not perfectly seamless while the Add Silence option is selected, try using your DAW to manually add an extra tail of 360 samples to the file youāre exporting. This will allow you to create your own tail which allows for an actual crossfade on the Aeros. If you manually added 360 samples to your imported file, you would turn the add 360 samples option off while importing.
Aeros Start Screen Setting
Set what screen opens when the Aeros powers on. You can set the Aeros to open on the: Home screen, the last open song, a new 2x2 song, or a new 6x6 song.
Set the Start Screen in the Device Settings under System Settings.
Improved VIsuals and Font sizes
We have spent some time improving the look and feel of the Aeros UI, including changing some font sizes and changing the highlight color for better visibility.
Expanded EXP controls
Set the behavior of the EXP pedal to control various other functions including:
- Master Volume - Adjusts the Master Volume of the Loop Playback output level
- Currently Selected (6x6)/ Last Used (2x2) Track Volume - Adjusts the playback level of the currently selected track in 6x6 or the last used track in 2x2.
- Track N Volume - Adjusts the playback volume of the track.
- track 1-6
- Click Volume - Adjusts the click playback volume
- Input Level
- Main - Adjusts the volume of the Main Input
- Aux - Adjusts the volume of the Aux Input
- Main L - Adjusts the volume of the Main L Input
- Main R - Adjusts the volume of the Main R Input
- Aux L - Adjusts the volume of the Aux L Input
- Aux R - Adjusts the volume of the Aux R Input
Use the Logarithmic and Exponential options to improve the smoothness of your pedal when editing values at either the min or max extremes of your EXP pedal range. Different pedals may give different results.
Custom Click Track
Set your own click track sounds for the Aeros to use.
How to add your own click track:
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After updating to 5.2.0 or later, the SD card will have a new folder on it called āclicktracksā.
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If the folder is not there, insert the SD card to the Aeros while powered off and boot the Aeros up, this will generate the folder.
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If you have not converted from pre 5.x.x format, you must convert your SD files, the Aeros will prompt you to convert if they are not already converted. Read more here.
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Turn off the Aeros and remove the SD card, insert the SD card into your computer
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Go to the SD card in your file browser, and drag and drop/copy and paste at least 2 WAV files into the āclicktracksā folder, one for the stressed beat and one for the nonstressed beat
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They must be mono, 44.1kHz 16 bit .WAV files in a PCM format
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Eject your SD card and insert it into the Aeros while off, power on your Aeros
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Go to System in the Device settings, and select the Click Track (Stressed) option
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Choose the File for the stressed beat
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Similarly, select the Click Track (Unstressed) option and choose the file for the nonstressed beat
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Turn on the metronome and test it out!
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Make sure that the click level is at an optimal level, check out the Mixer 2 screen or the device Behavior Settings to set the level of the click
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Make sure that the click is routed to the output(s) you are monitoring
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Check that the click is turned on in the settings (can also be set in the Loop Studio using the Song Dashboard)
Loop Decay (redesigned)
When enabled, the Loop Decay will decay the audio of the base layer by a percentage amount (which can be set using the Loop Decay Rate setting) every time a new overdub layer is added to the track. If the overdub is left open, the overdub will automatically commit and reduce the audio level at the overdub start point, this only happens when Loop Decay is turned on. Turn on ROP mode to get an instant frippertronics style effect while the overdub stays active. ROP mode, or Record-Overdub-Play, refers to the order of actions that happen when tapping the Aeros Track buttons)
Turn on Loop Decay in the Aeros Song Settings under the Song Tab.
When enabled you will get the following pop up:
Loop decay is a destructive process, the original WAV file gain will not be saved once decayed. We suggest copying or backing up any songs you wish to decay to not lose or degrade previous layers of recordings.
Tap any Aeros button or use the touchscreen to dismiss the pop up.
Set the Loop Decay Rate once the Loop Decay is enabled. Higher rates mean the audio decays more, lower rates are more subtle. For example, 100% will decay the base layer completely which means you will not hear it once starting a new overdub layer. We suggest a rate of 5-20% for the smoothest sound here.
Loop decay can be enabled or disabled at any time, it requires saving the song to do so, however.
There is a catch to using loop decay mode, we have indefinitely removed all double tap and hold behaviors from the Track (RPO) button(s) while loop decay is engaged. This was to be able to smoothly apply loop decay and also undo loop decay without considering all of the corner cases for the immediate tap starting a new overdub layer.
To have the best experience, we suggest:
- Turning on the Cancel Recording Behavior setting in the device settings menu. This allows you to undo the current recording or overdub by tapping the Play/Stop All button. This will allow you to cancel current recordings without the ability of tapping and holding to undo the track.
- Using the slideout menu to apply undo/redo, the slideout menu will still work when Loop Decay is applied
- Using MIDI to apply undo/redo and/or cancel the current recording/overdub
Noteworthy Changes
- Pops have been fixed in all reproducible cases, high potential all reported pops are fixed. Please report all pops to support@singularsound.com with all the steps needed to get the issue and any video/audio you can provide of what happens.
- There is one notable exception: Loop Decay is missing logic to be able to correctly write the decay to avoid pops on consecutive overdubs if the overdub is left open with Loop Decay enabled. On the second revolution of a loop, you will be able to hear an audible bloop where the audio changes level instantly. The bloop is less or more audible depending on the level of the audio playing back at the seam and the amount of decay applied. This will only be noticeable if audio is recorded at the overdub seam. We apologize for the inconvenience this bug brings. This pop is not written to the decayed file.
- The Aeros has a new setting that fixes the Loop Playback being louder than the live signal. It is automatically fixed when you update your looper.
- Playback Level Calibration - Sets the level of the Aeros Loop Playback signal. When set to 80%, this avoids a disparity between the level of the live signal as you monitor it and the level of that same signal once it is recorded, committed, and played back. If you do not monitor your live signal on the Aeros itself, this will not be a notable change for you.
- 80% is the default setting
- Added Immediate/End of Measure/End of Loop options to the playing handsfree slideout menu. Edit the contents and order of your menu in the Hands Free device settings.
- Weāve greatly increased the font size in several critical areas for better visibility
- Cursor will always start from right end of text when reactivating the edit state for text
- All editable text fields now align left
- Aeros will now always select the first album in the Albums screen when accessing the albums screen. This allows you to easily scroll up to highlight and create a new album handsfree if you would like to. This removed the need to manually scroll to select the first album on opening the Albums screen.
Version 5.2.0 Changelog
- Implemented one shot parts (song parts that play only once) in song settings
- Added support for backing tracks when sync tracks is on and/or in quantized or autoquantized Song Grid Mode
- Allows options for what the expression pedal controls, as well as the shape of its curve (linear, exponential, logarithmic)
- Created a second mixer page for click volume, output meters, and input level control. Switch between mixer pages by long holding the left hardware button while in the mixer
- Added ability to get to mixer from the hands free slideout
- Added option to slideout for settings menu
- Implemented specific timing commands for mute, stop, and change part into playing hands free slideout (Immediate, EOM, or EOL)
- Implemented reverse track from stopped slideout
- Added new option to stopped screen to show midi song select
- Split song settings into sections for better organization: Songs, Parts, MIDI
- Implemented new startup pages (Home, Last open, New 2x2, New 6x6 - in system settings)
- Turned off song select settings when copying a song that has it, to ensure uniqueness
- Always highlight last loaded song when sorted by custom
- Added playback volume level setting (in system settings)
- Allowed custom click track sounds (see info for file requirements)
- Made font size bigger
- Updated settings text with correct defaults
- Changed song parameters button to say ācreateā for a new song and āsaveā for an existing song
- Added setting for popup notification system
- Improved scroll behavior of the wheel on home and settings screen
- Brighter highlight and green text for easier visibility of the selected item on all screens
- Moved clear song confirmation to system settings
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed pops
- Applies loop decay on every overdub seam (so the active overdub gets decayed as well, even if itās never committed)
- Fixed active logger toggling visually when popup is canceled
- Fixed muted tracks showing the flashing red track circle on transition
- Fixed muted tracks remaining muted when a song is cleared
- Fixed cancel not canceling for sliders on system settings
- Improved visual performance of using MIDI to change a tracks volume in the mixer
- Ignores screen change midi commands if popup is open
- Fixed fade to mute MIDI commands (CC38:71-76 and 81-86) not respecting global settings
- Fixed MIDI commands for ROP/RPO not working as intended (CC45:0 and 1)
- Fixed issue with rapid successive MIDI transition commands causing an immediate transition
- Made Aeros more responsive to large amounts of volume change MIDI commands (CC20-26)
- Visual and audio improvements to mute pause
- Resolved issue with backing track songs failing to load when song is moved
- Fixed bug where adding backing track doesnāt allow changing other song parameters
- Made popup warning you that you are trying to move a song to the album itās currently in hands free
- Fixed button lockup bug on exiting the mixer
- Fixed output level text in system settings
- Fixed output level resetting to default each time unit is powered on
- Fixed duplicate song select error popping up when it shouldnāt
- Fixed edge cases with locked tracks not automatically queuing a recording based on record next part setting
- Fixed locked tracks disappearing when renaming the song
- Fixed issues with Time Signatures
- Changed āMain In Levelā setting to āMain In Loadā in system settings, this was done to avoid confusion with the new Main Input Level settings
KNOWN ISSUES:
- There is a rounding error in mono with both import option boxes unchecked (both must be unchecked) when importing a 100 BPM, 4/4 backing track into a quantized song set to 297 bpm.
- Issues with undoing the first track and trying to import a file after. Song may get stuck loading forever. There are several cases:
- undoing first track in quantized
- undoing first track in auto via holding right HW
- undoing first track in auto via pressing the upper HW (that undoes currently recording track depending on your setting)
- Issues when recording to the second track first in a 2x2 song and then trying to import a backing track.
- For example, if you record to the 2nd track in a 2x2 without recording to the first track, and then try to import a backing track without saving the song first, it corrupts the song
- Loop Decay is missing logic to be able to correctly write the decay to avoid pops on consecutive overdubs if the overdub is left open with Loop Decay enabled. On the second revolution of a loop, you will be able to hear an audible bloop where the audio changes level instantly. The bloop is less or more audible depending on the level of the audio playing back at the seam and the amount of decay applied. This will only be noticeable if audio is recorded at the overdub seam. We apologize for the inconvenience this bug brings.
