Troubleshooting

This chapter collects the most common problems and what to do about each one. Several come from how the app works by design, so it's worth checking them before assuming something is broken.

Sound

I hit the drums and hear nothing

1. Turn up the volume on your iPhone or iPad. The app plays even when the silent switch is on.
2. Open the Mixer and check that the drums fader isn't all the way down. The app remembers where you leave the faders, including at silence.
3. If your device is connected to a Mac via iDAM, its audio may stop playing through its speakers. See My iPhone or iPad went silent when I connected it to the Mac, further down this chapter.

I unplugged my headphones and the sound cut out for a moment

That's normal. When you unplug headphones or an audio cable, the app restarts its sound so it comes out of the device's speaker again. A hit that is sounding at that moment gets cut. The backing song doesn't stop: it keeps playing through the speaker.

Music from another app keeps playing

Taiko Drums doesn't silence other apps: its sound mixes with theirs. If you don't want to hear that music, pause it in the other app.

Songs

I can't import a song

If you see Import Failed, the file couldn't be copied into the app. Check that it's an audio file and try again.

Songs are imported one at a time: if you select several files, only the first one is added. More in Your own songs.

An imported song doesn't play

If the app can't read the file's format, the song won't play and no message appears. Convert the audio to a common format (for example, MP3, M4A or WAV) and import it again.

I can't delete a song

You can only delete songs you imported. The songs included with the app can't be deleted; if you try, you'll see You can only delete songs you've imported.

Keep in mind that deleting an imported song also deletes all of its recorded takes.

The song ended and didn't move on to the next one

That's by design: when a song ends, it goes back to the start and stops. To play another one, choose it in the list or use the previous and next buttons. See Play along.

Recording

I see "Choose a song before recording."

You need a song selected to record. Open the track bar, choose a song and tap Record again. See Recording.

I see "Turn on the switch to listen or manage recordings."

The playback switch (the first button in the right column) is off. While it's off you can't record, listen to your takes, open the recordings list or export. Tap it to turn it on. More in Takes and versions.

I see "Stop recording before turning the switch off."

You can't turn the switch off while recording. Stop the recording first.

I recorded but the take doesn't show up

• Only the hits you play while the song is playing are recorded. If you pause it, those hits aren't added to the take.
• A take with no hits at all isn't saved.

I can't change the layout or the song

While you record, the app locks the layout selector and song changes, so the take stays complete and consistent. The layout selector is also locked while a take is playing back. Stop recording or playback and try again.

Export

I see "Select a recording before exporting."

You need a take selected, and you can't export while recording. Stop the recording, choose a take in the RECORDINGS list and tap Export again. See Export.

I see "Export Cancelled"

You cancelled the export while it was being created. Keep in mind that an incomplete file with that name may be left behind, and if an exported file with the same name already existed, it's gone. Export again to get the complete file.

I see "Export failed."

Try again. If you were exporting the mix and the problem persists, try Drums Only, which doesn't need the song.

Exporting replaced an earlier file

If you export with a name you've already used, the earlier file is replaced without asking. Use a different name for each export you want to keep.

The file name has dashes where I typed accents

File names only accept unaccented letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and underscores. Any other character (accented letters, ñ, emoji, periods, slashes) is replaced with a hyphen. If the name ends up empty, Recording is used.

The exported file sounds different from what I played

• The export comes out without the reverb you hear when playing live, so it sounds drier.
• Every hit is exported with the Flam or simple mode that is on at the moment you export, even if you switched modes during the recording. Before exporting, turn on the mode you want to hear.

MIDI

My instrument receives nothing

1. Open MIDI Settings and check that the right destination is selected, not No MIDI Output. See MIDI Out.
2. Check that your instrument listens on the same channel (10 by default).
3. In your DAW or instrument, check that the MIDI input is enabled.
4. If it was working and stopped, choose No MIDI Output and then choose the destination again. If sending fails, the app stops sending to that destination, without telling you, until you choose it again.

The destination I chose is no longer selected

If the saved destination isn't connected when you open the app, or you disconnect it while using it, the output switches to No MIDI Output. Connect it again and choose it again in the list.

I choose another destination and the app goes back to the Mac

While your device is connected to a Mac via iDAM, the app chooses that destination automatically and goes back to it. To use another destination, unplug the cable from the Mac.

My iPhone or iPad went silent when I connected it to the Mac

With iDAM, the device's audio goes to the Mac. On the Mac, open Audio MIDI Setup and enable Monitor for your device, as the note in MIDI Settings says.

Notes arrive late

Use a wired connection and connect your device directly to the MIDI receiver or to the computer with your instrument, with nothing in between.

Every hit sounds equally loud on my instrument

That's by design: every hit goes out with velocity 100, no matter how hard you hit or where you touch the drum.

A different note plays than I expected

• Each layout has its own note map. Check the map of the layout you're using in MIDI notes.
• If the note name is one octave off from your DAW's, it's down to how notes are named: Taiko Drums calls note 60 C4 and some apps call it C3. The note number is the same.

I changed a MIDI note and the app sounds the same

That's normal. The note map only changes the MIDI that goes out; each drum's internal sound doesn't change.

A note is stuck on my instrument

Each note turns itself off about 180 ms after the hit. If the app closes right at that moment, the note can stay on in the receiver. Stop it with the all notes off (panic) function of your DAW or instrument.