Aeros Gold edition

[steveandrewsad]

Are there any plans to make a Midi Maestro Gold? As in quiet switches?

[lazerdriver]

Why does Singular continue to offer two versions of the Aeros, with the only difference being the silent switches on the Gold edition? I could be wrong but I don’t know of any other hardware where the manufacturer makes two versions of their product, one with silent switches and one with clicky switches. Why not just retire the original version and make the Gold edition the only version? Or maybe that is the plan and they are waiting for the stockpile of the originals to sell off before doing so.

[Verismo]

I can’t answer why we might need two versions, but I think the answer to why we have two versions is that Aeros cares about what its customers want. They made the original, and then when those of us who record acoustically needed a silent version and requested the feature, they made the Gold edition. Maybe some people enjoy the tactile click of the OG? Don’t know, but awesome company, imo.

[lazerdriver]

I haven’t got one yet, but am very interested. I watched one of the Singular demos on YouTube and the clicky sound was pretty annoying, so I will probably get the Gold edition, but it is reported to be out of stock for the next 12-14 weeks.

[b0n3]

@BrennanSingularSound

Hey all,

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but replacements are not an option but even if it was, it would not actually solve the problem fully

The change isn’t something that’s as simple as swapping the switches due to a redesigned PCB to accommodate a different electrical switch on the board as well as a difference in height of some components.

We realized when workshopping these buttons that a good part of the noise came from the click of the switch on the PCB itself.

In addition, I’ll say we generally don’t sell replacement parts due to the complexity of our PCBs and the skill required to desolder and resolder + our warranty will be voided by doing this.

Thank you for the questions and requests

OK. I’m hating the fact that I now have to call out Singular Sound for at the very least, misleading customers, and at the worst, outright lying to us about these buttons for the sake of convenience.

I had necessity to disassemble both my Aeros and my Midi Maestro (ironically to fix buttons that had come loose) and wouldn’t you know it…

1. not a single button would need to be soldered to replace. In fact, replacing the buttons would most definitely be a ridiculously easy and quick fix. Could very easily replace all 6 on the Midi Maestro and the 4 on the Aeros in about 20 minutes total, and only that long because there are so many screws.

2. The PCB is most definitely NOT the reason for the loud clicking when using the button. Not even close. The button itself is without a doubt the problematic noise maker. The buttons on the control board are nearly silent, which is even quieter considering those are all internal, making nearly silent, completely silent.

Now the idea that the “some components have a height difference”, was not a direct referrence that the buttons themselves are a “different height”. In fact, a “height difference” of the buttons themselves would not necessarily disqualify them as a suitable replacement. That really depends on where the “height difference” occurs specifically on the button. And really, also how willing I am to creatively correct the “height difference” with my trusty file and filing (or spacers if they are undersized) away whatever discrepancy.

See you have me completely distrusting you now. Now I’m putting height difference in quotation marks, very much like I do not believe you about these buttons at all anymore. That is what destroying a narrative by seeing with your own eyes does to to some folks, like me.

Why couldn’t we be trusted with the truth? Seriously if you were going to lie, why lie about something that was so incredibly easy to fact check? You could have said that the new buttons are just a completely different button in all aspects and cannot even fit in a non gold edition Aeros. I would have needed to buy and disassemble a gold edition to fact check that.

You could have said that you have no supply of the new buttons and can’t get any because the company that manufactures for you doesn’t make any extra for parts. I would never been able to fact check that either. Noone has a clue what manufacturer makes these parts and devices. In fact, I suspect that you have different manufacturers for your different devices because of the difference in components like card readers, footprint, etc.

Nearly anything would have been better than the greasy feeling I got when I cracked open my devices and realized that it was all BS. Seriously, I cussed Singular Sound as a whole, and Brennan specifically.

I thought very seriously about just sending a DM and calling this out privately, but for real, this was a really big customer service misstep and this deserves a public explaination IMHO. So here you go.

Having said all that, I still want to give you my money and purchase 14 of those gold buttons. And if they don’t fit, and I can’t make them work (impossibru), then sucks to be me…

[BrennanSingularSound]

We completely understand your frustration, and we would feel the same way if this were true (which it is not). We always consult our own hardware team when we answer these types of questions.

We have no issue with answering you publicly, because what you are saying is not accurate in the least, and it is important for everyone to see that.

We do not have spare parts to sell you, so we are not doing that.

That being said, we decided to provide a full in-depth explanation anyway, although it is more for everyone else who may be reading this discussion, since it appears you’ve already made up your mind on this matter.

We are also not going to discuss this further, as your message was posted with the intention of fighting us rather than finding a solution or seeking to understand. Completely unacceptable.

If you continue with this combative rhetoric, we are going to ban you from the forum. You are violating the Forum Rules.

Here is our hardware team’s analysis:

Gold edition and loop studio pedal differences :

Gold edition uses a golden mechanical switch that applies pressure to a Graphite pill type of switch mounted on a PCB through a spring (different from loop studio spring).

• The Golden mechanical switch is mostly silent.

• The Graphite pill switch is silent.

Loop studio edition uses a silver mechanical switch that applies pressure to a tactile type of switch mounted on a PCB through a spring.

• The silver mechanical switch can produce some sound, mostly on the release.

• The tactile switch emits most of the sound. A click sound is produced on press and on release.

Replacement of the PCB switch (tactile to Graphite pill) :

Both switch types use a different version of the PCB, since both switches do not have a compatible land pattern.

Graphite pill has 4 holes for retaining posts. Tactile switch has 4 surface mount pads.

Graphite pill switch cannot be installed on tactile switch PCB.

Requirements for upgrade :

Upgrading to the silent switches would require replacing the two interface PCBs (on which buttons are mounted) and also replacing the mechanical switches and springs of the Gold edition solution.

PCB1 to replace :

PCB2 to replace :