MIDI Out
Taiko Drums can send MIDI while you play. Every hit goes out as a note to the device or computer you choose, so you can use the app's drums to play a virtual instrument (VST), a drum module or any other MIDI receiver.
MIDI is sent in addition to the app's own sound: the drums keep sounding on your iPhone or iPad. If you only want to hear your external instrument, lower the drums fader in the Mixer.
Open MIDI Settings
In the column of buttons on the left side, tap Settings (the second button, with the gear icon). The MIDI Settings panel opens.
The panel has two columns:
- On the left, the list of MIDI destinations and a note about iDAM.
- On the right, the channel (MIDI Channel: 10, with − and + buttons), the MAP MIDI NOTES button and a tip about latency.
To close it, tap × in the top-right corner of the panel. Opening Settings closes the mixer, the recordings list, the track bar and About.
Choose the destination
The list on the left is a wheel. Spin it to the destination you want; the choice is applied as soon as the wheel stops.
- The first option is No MIDI Output: the app sends nothing.
- Below it are the MIDI destinations your device has available at that moment, with the name the system gives them. If a destination has no name, it shows as Destination 1, Destination 2, and so on.
- The list updates by itself when you connect or disconnect a device.
Taiko Drums remembers the destination you chose. If that destination isn't connected when you open the app, or you disconnect it while you're using it, the output switches to No MIDI Output. When you connect it again, choose it again in the list.
Choose the channel
Use − and + to choose a channel from 1 to 16. The default is channel 10, the usual drum channel in General MIDI. The app remembers the channel you choose.
Make sure your instrument listens on the same channel.
How to connect
To a MIDI device or interface by cable
Connect the receiver (a USB MIDI interface, a module or a keyboard with USB input) to your iPhone or iPad, using the adapter your device needs. When it shows up in the list, choose it.
To a Mac by USB cable (iDAM)
You can connect your iPhone or iPad to a Mac with a USB cable and use it as a MIDI controller for your DAW or virtual instrument:
- Connect the device to the Mac with the cable.
- On the Mac, open Audio MIDI Setup and enable your iPhone or iPad in the audio devices window.
- In Taiko Drums, the iDAM destination is chosen automatically: you don't need to look for it in the list.
- In your DAW, use that device as a MIDI input.
While an iDAM destination is connected, the app chooses it automatically and goes back to it even if you select another destination. To use a different destination, unplug the cable from the Mac first.
When iDAM is on, your device's audio may stop playing through its speakers. The panel reminds you with this note: If you connect Taiko Drums to macOS via iDAM (USB), enable "Monitor" in Audio MIDI Setup to hear your device speakers again.
Other destinations
Any other MIDI destination the system makes available also appears in the list, and you choose it the same way.
Latency
For notes to arrive as fast as possible, use a wired connection and connect your device directly to the receiver, with nothing in between. The panel sums it up: For lower latency, connect your device directly to your MIDI receiver or computer with your VST instrument.
What is sent
| Message | Details |
|---|---|
| Note On | When you hit a drum, with the note assigned to that drum in the current layout (see MIDI notes). |
| Velocity | Always 100. |
| Note Off | Automatic, about 180 ms after the Note On. On some drums it is also sent when you lift your finger. |
| Channel | The one you chose (10 by default). |
Keep in mind:
- There is no sensitivity to how hard or where you hit. Every hit goes out with the same velocity, wherever you touch the drum.
- In Flam mode, a single note is sent per hit, just like in simple mode.
- If you repeat the same note very fast, each hit sends its Note On and the Note Off is pushed back to 180 ms after the last hit.
- When you play back a recorded take (see Takes and versions), its hits are sent over MIDI too.
- The app only sends notes: it doesn't send controllers (CC), program changes or MIDI Clock, and it doesn't receive MIDI.
If the destination stops receiving
If sending to a destination fails, the app stops sending MIDI to it and shows no message. To get it back, open MIDI Settings, choose No MIDI Output and then choose the destination again.
More cases in Troubleshooting.