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How to connect and calibrate an electronic drum kit

Plug your electronic kit into your computer with a USB cable, open JamJamz in desktop Chrome or Edge, and allow MIDI access when the browser asks. Check the kit map, using learn mode to assign any pad that is wrong, then run the short tap-along latency check. JamJamz saves both for next time.

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Steps

  1. Step 1

    Connect the kit over USB

    Use the kit module's USB port, not the audio output. Most electronic kits, including the Alesis Nitro Mesh, send MIDI over USB with no driver.

  2. Step 2

    Allow MIDI access

    When JamJamz asks to use MIDI devices, allow it. This is how it reads each hit and its timing.

  3. Step 3

    Check the kit map

    JamJamz starts with a map for the Alesis Nitro Mesh. For any other kit, open the kit map, use learn mode, hit a pad and choose which drum or cymbal it is.

  4. Step 4

    Run the latency check

    Tap along with the clicks for a few seconds. JamJamz measures the delay between the click and your hit, saves the offset, and uses it to judge every note.

Why does JamJamz need a latency check?

Every setup adds a little delay: the kit module, the USB connection, and your computer’s audio output. Without a correction, perfect playing could look late. The tap-along check measures your setup’s delay once, and JamJamz subtracts it from every hit.

Run it again if you change computers, speakers or headphones.

Does JamJamz play drum sounds?

No. Your kit makes the drum sounds through its own module and headphones or speakers. JamJamz plays only the song’s audio, with the drum track muted or kept in.

Which kits work?

Electronic kits that send MIDI over USB. Acoustic kits are not supported, because JamJamz needs the exact time and strength of each hit.