[SOLVED] Aeros Gold Edition : level/volume issue

Aeros Loop Studio Help, Questions and Bugs
1

Hello everyone, new Aeros Gold Edition user.

User of a TC Electronic Ditto+ for three years, I replaced it a month ago with the Aeros.

I am very satisfied with the quantization and the possibility of being able to arm the start and end of recording, this allows me to obtain - finally - loops of perfect length without drift.

On the other hand, I am very disappointed with the impact of the Aeros on the sound. I am up to date with the 5,4,5 firmware.

Regarding the signal passing through the Aeros, without recording (and without changing anything else in my configuration or in the settings of the other pedals):

  • I have a general volume boost
  • the sound loses dynamics
  • midrange frequencies are much messier
  • frequencies are less separated in my overdubs than with the Ditto+ (for example, high mids with a tube screamer and lows mids with a bluesbreaker overdrive)

Regarding the output volume of the Aeros:

  • when I want to reduce the volume of the loops a little to leave more space for what I play on top, I notice that the master volume fader (in the mixer) is not linear. If I go from 100% to 90%, the volume drop is already drastic. On my Ditto+, the loop volume knob was set to 60%, and it was perfect. On the Aeros, the volume variation is very large over a very small adjustment range
  • I observe the same thing that I want to adjust the volumes of each track

Am I the only one who has observed these problems?

For all intents and purposes, here are the main points of my configuration and signal chain (all mono and instrument level) :

  • Guitar (Fender Stratocaster American Pro II, 3 single pickups)
  • some pedals
  • Strymon Iridium (buffered bypass, OUTPUT LEVEL TRIM on ±0 dB, Round simulation, volume at noon, drive at 1 p.m., slight breakup to let my overdrives produce the dirt)
  • Singular Sound Aeros Gold Edition (all audio settings left at default, except those I had to switch to mono)
  • Motu M2 Sound Card: gain at 9 o’clock, volume at 100%
  • Active monitoring speakers, neutral volume at noon (neither boost nor cut)

Very happy with the looping features of the Aeros, I am so far very disappointed with its impact on the sound.

I will read with interest your insight and kind advice.

2

Due to the complexity of your issues, I am thinking that Support, support@singularsound.com is going to ask you to send a video of the issue you are experiencing.

You may have already tried this but in case you haven’t, you may want to try isolating the issue by testing each pedal separately, starting with just your Strat thru the Aeros directly to your amplifier (if you have a separate amplifier use that instead of the Iridium). This is probably how Singular Sound is going to ask you for the video—with the Aeros separated from your signal chain.

If the issue still happens with just the Strat > Aeros > amplifier, no need to continue testing however, if it doesn’t, continue testing by adding one pedal to your chain with the Aeros.

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3

Thank you for your detailed message!

I can see that you’ve reached out to us via email. I’ll assist you further there so we can go over your setup and the issues you’re experiencing with the Aeros.

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4

Hello again @DanielSingularSound, I think my message here is more developed than my email because I have conducted additional tests.
I’ll let you respond to me here or by email as you wish. The looping is excellent in Aeros, I really hope we find a solution to the audio problems I describe.

5

Hi everyone,

After further tests, here is a quick follow-up covering:

  • a few bugs/inconsistencies I encountered during my tests,

  • and the solution I found for the level issue.

1 / Bugs and inconsistencies (firmware 5.4.5)

Looping features are excellent : quantization, synchronization, arranger workflow, and precise record arming. That said, I noticed a few bugs/inconsistencies:

  • After a factory reset (and automatic reboot), the Aeros can appear frozen in Loop Studio (missing buttons / unusable UI). An additional manual reboot fully restore functionalities.

  • Some settings did not seem to fully reset to factory defaults.

  • Reproducible issues navigating the mixer in 2x2 mode.

  • Some UI inconsistencies (audio format in mono but two faders L & R for example).

  • Track/master faders feel very non-linear (and hardly usable) compared to the metronome volume fader.

A detailed email has been sent to @danielSingularSound.

2 / My workaround

Lowering the Aeros Main Input Level (to around 80 in my case) significantly improved the situation:

  • volume jump mostly gone and improved overall dynamics.

I also tested the Strymon Iridium output at Line level (Output Level Trim at -10 dB) with the Aeros Main Input Load to Line level. This improved my situation. But in practice, I found it less practical (need to increase the gain of my sound card, and the fixed Line setting is less fine than the Main Input Level fader).

So in my setup, the Main Input Level adjustment improved my issue. I still feel the Aeros alters the sound more than my previous Ditto+ (midrange frequencies are still messier), but the situation is now much more usable. Aeros buffered bypass vs Ditto+ true bypass may be an explication ?

Question to amp modelers and Aeros users :

  • Have you experienced similar level issue?

  • Do you also lower the Aeros Main Input Level when using an amp sim/modeler before the Aeros?

  • Would you say the Aeros lacks headroom?

I will read with interest your insight and kind advice.

6

After several days of testing, the output volume was controlled with my previous solution (Aeros: input at 89%, output at ±0dB)

But there was still something missing in my sound: It lacked depth, brilliance and biting mids.

I quickly recall my guitar reference sound → Iridium → sound card → active monitoring speakers.

Iridium light breakup (instrument level, drive at 1 p.m., level at 12 p.m., LEVEL TRIM at ± 0dB);

Motu M2 sound card (gain at 9 o’clock, volume at 100%) and active monitoring speakers: neutral volume at 12 o’clock

I finally managed to find my reference sound by setting the Aeros input level to 100% and the output level to -10 dB. -10 dB, it’s crazy!

Very sincerely, @SingularSound, having tested guitar-iridium and guitar-iridium-aeros, it is obvious that the Aeros boosts the signal.

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8

I finally solved the “Aeros changes my tone and increases my volume” issue.

With firmware 5.4.5, the default value of Settings > System > Main Input Level is 89, not 100.

My mistake was assuming that 89 meant “89% of my signal”, so I changed it to 100, believing I was preserving the full signal.

In fact, 89 corresponds to unity gain (0 dB). You can verify this in Mixer 2:

  • at 89, the Main Input fader head is blue, meaning the signal is neither attenuated nor boosted;

  • at 100, the fader turns white, meaning positive gain is being applied.

The meaning of these colors was confirmed to me by support.

Once I restored Main Input Level = 89, the volume jump, clipping, and artifacts disappeared. The Aeros finally became completely transparent in my setup.

I would like to thank Singular Sound support for their patience. I had forgotten to mention that I had changed the default value from 89 to 100, so they understandably investigated other possibilities.

I discovered the significance of the value 89 almost by accident thanks to the blue fader in Mixer 2. In my opinion, this relationship between the numerical value in Settings and the blue unity-gain indication in Mixer 2 deserves a clearer explanation in the documentation.

I hope this will help !

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