We were among the first to review Aerodrums, the virtual drum kit launched at the NAMM Show in 2014.
The system, a camera-based airdrumming solution, turned virtual drumming into a real performance option, and was the forerunner to a number of other airdrumming solutions.
While the rivals, mostly toy-like offerings, have stood still, Aerodrums has continued to refine the system, addressing a couple of major challenges associated with Aerodrums 1: namely, the need for a computer to drive the program and also the limitations of the original PlayStation 3 cameras used to capture the gestures.
This time, the Liverpool-based developers took to Kickstarter, raising £160,000 on its first day and pre-selling almost 400 units.
Now that production is well under way and the kits are shipping globally, digitalDrummer managed to secure a review sample.
What’s in the box
The main upgrade from Aerodrums 1 is the self-contained “sensor”, an 8.5 cm x 8.5 cm box containing the tracking camera, MIDI controller, sound source and pre-amp.
You also get two sticks with reflective balls on the end, two foot markers (reflective balls on elastic straps), a custom stand with a tripod base and an optional beater for those wanting to use a regular kick pedal instead of sticking a ball on their foot.
The ‘unseen’ component is the Aerodrums 2 app, which you’ll need to configure and fine-tune the ‘triggering’.
Setting up
There’s a little bit of assembly required after opening the funky box: you need to attach the stand to the tripod and then mount the sensor.
When it’s fired up, the box projects two red dots onto the floor, indicating where your pedals should be positioned.
Then, you need to connect the sensor to your mobile device or computer by joining its WiFi network. You also need to download the app, which worked fine with my older iPad as well as my new iPhone.
If you’re lucky (or skilful), I suppose you could get away without accessing the app and you could just start thrashing around until you locate the virtual drums and cymbals, but the app allows you to hone in, adjusting the snare height – and thereby, the positions of all the instruments. There’s also a setting for left-handed players.
In action
Before getting to playing technique, which probably requires a full article on its own, it’s worth running through the options in the app.
My first pleasant surprise was that the Aerodrums 2 was far less sensitive to ambient light than its predecessor, and where I previously had to try different positions in the room to get it to work, the new unit responded better in most lighting conditions.
Set-up is also aided by two red laser dots projected onto the floor, indicating where your virtual pedals should be positioned.
Once you’re seated and ready to start playing, using the ball-ended sticks and the foot markers, you need to select a kit. The unit comes with 24 preloaded ‘kits’ (combinations of various drum and cymbal configurations and sample packs) ranging from a single practice pad to monster kit with five toms and six cymbals. The genres span a broad spectrum from jazz to metal.
Theoretically, Aerodrums 2 is plug and play, but the ‘play’ element does take a bit of getting used to.
The app provides a player-perspective view of the kit, with your sticks and pedals clearly indicated. Not only can you see your sticks hitting, but the drums and cymbals also move on impact.
The standard kit piece placement is fairly realistic and, over time, muscle memory kicks in, so you no longer need to keep looking at your phone or iPad to see where you’re hitting.
The response feels crisp and live and while I was not able to measure latency using our standard procedures and tools, playing didn’t feel too ‘laggy’.
The sounds were VST-quality – and a joy to play. But if you’re particular about your drum tones, it is fairly easy to connect Aerodrums 2 to a VST.
I connected the unit via USB C to my MacBook, which instantly recognised the new MIDI source. Depending on your VST, you need to select the appropriate MIDI map. Superior Drummer 3, for example, has Aerodrums as a MIDI preset, so it really is plug and play. For Addictive Drums, meanwhile, you need to select the AD preset within Aerodrums 2, and then use the default map in the VST.
I did find the performance a bit more sluggish when testing Aerodrums 2 with VSTs, but the sound quality more than compensated, and I soon forgot about the latency. Overall, while the VSTs sounded nice, I wouldn’t really be able to justify the extra effort if I were using the rig purely for practice, which, in all likelihood, will constitute 90% of Aerodrums’ application.
Advanced features
Besides hitting virtual drums and cymbals, Aerodrums 2 has an array of advanced features which allow you to further customise your playing experience.
The onboard metronome allows you to set your BPM, time signature and amount of swing, while you can also deploy a training mode.
Since the device is basically a self-contained computer, you can load your own songs and play along with them, record tracks, and change your sounds by adding virtual reverb.
The manufacturers have thought about pretty much everything, down to the extender cables for headphones and Aux In signals, realising that drummers will be sitting a couple of meters from the main box and most headphone cables are not overly generous.
Overall
Aerodrums 2 took just one day to reach its funding on Kickstarter, which is quite an achievement for an instrument which could easily have been dismissed as a gimmick. Sure, Aerodrums 1 had notched up sales of 30,000 units, but there are significant differences between the two products – not least a $500-plus price gap.
Where Aerodrums 1 (at $249) battled to be taken seriously, the price tag of the new unit ($799) puts it in the same range as beginner e-kits.
But, as the developers argue, “Aerodrums 2 is a self-contained musical instrument … that contains a computer (and is ready to play)”.
For home-bound drummers looking to learn or play totally silently (no mesh head/rubber cymbal taps!), Aerodrums 2 is a compelling offering.
But – and it’s a big but – there is a learning curve involved in playing “non-rebounding” drums. We detailed the challenge of playing without the comforting contact of a drum or cymbal in our original Aerodrums 1 review.
We’ve also reported the experiences of drummer Mitch Deighton, an Aerodrums early adopter, who tried it “for a bit of fun” and classed Aerodrums “a total game-changer”.
Deighton demonstrated the new system at the digitalDrummer E-drum Labs at both the UK Drum Show and the Europe Drum Show, and he told audiences he overcame the lack of direct tactile feedback by using the back of the hand to create a kind of a ‘reverse rebound’ stroke.
“Double strokes are very hard to pull off, but totally possible. Everything else, to me, is just the same as having a ‘real kit’ in front of you,” he says.
This time around, armed with new stick reflectors, my experience was way better and I suspect that, with practice, I will soon overcome the rebound issue. In fact, practising without rebound helps to build control and technique.
As I’ve said, air-drumming is no joke. And now, with Aerodrums 2, it’s a serious option for those who want nothing more than to thrash about and kick the floor. (On that score, the new kit includes a kick pedal adapter so that those who really feel the need to use a traditional kick pedal can do so with Aerodrums 2).
In short, Aerodrums 2 is more than Aerodrums 1 on steroids – it’s a genuine drumming solution.
Ron Thaler: An Artist’s Impression
My Aerodrums 2 testing coincided with a visit to the digitalDrummer offices by American drummer/producer Ron Thaler. Ron has worked on Grammy-nominated tracks and picked up a string of awards via the likes of Alicia Keys and Darren Dobson.
Ron was a “natural” and didn’t look at a screen. He picked up the sticks and started smiling!
Here’s his account:
Sometimes the unexpected happens: you visit with a friend, you circulate among all the electronic kits and gear at his place, and then find out the juiciest, most “physically connective” one is actually the one that is, well, invisible.
With 450 albums of acoustic drums under my hands, my integration and needs of electronics are specific – whether live or in studio, but my true connection to electro kits has been hit and miss, given that for me feel and character outstrip the promise of electro packs, kit replicas, and managed tone generators.
I like a little bit of the dishevelled, the unexpected, the vibe and lope that overlapping decaying tones and my personal pocket create. So here come Aerodrums 2, where all you feel is the wind beneath your wings. You get to hold wood sticks, feel the wrists and forearms apply their years of development, flail about like there’s no tomorrow, and remind yourself of those moments of natural enthusiasm jamming as a kid – a time of pillows and air swatting and the freedom of rocking out tethered only to headphones and your dreams.
I was truly surprised by the response of the Aerodrums 2, how easily my parts translated, and how tonally the selection of kits felt closer to what I am used to when I’m playing on stage with my acoustic barrage of Pearls, as toms and cymbals vibrate and energise the space even when I’m just playing the bass drum. While contact triggers or octapads are fantastic to trigger secondary additives like percussion or as reinforcement in copying sounds from albums that need to be replicated live, what Aerodrums has over others, in my humble opinion, is that it doesn’t feel transactional, i.e. I’m not having to give anything up feel-wise to achieve the pocket I crave, or elicit the tones I treasure. It’s all right there. With mesh-head kits and pounder rubber pads, in many ways I biophysically feel closer to the practice room than to Madison Square Garden.