When using external drum sounds with Melodics lessons, it’s very important to make sure you have the right settings. Incorrect setups could cause sync issues, volume imbalances, and most importantly, it could affect your learning experience with Melodics.

Having two drum sounds playing at the same time is not ideal. Firstly, the sounds could clash. Secondly, the latency between your module sounds and Melodics sounds may be different, so you may hear two separate drum hits one after the other. This could negatively affect your timing, so make sure you turn down GUIDE NOTES and YOUR NOTES with the mixer built into Melodics, so that you’re only hearing your module drum sounds and the backing track.

Note: because you’re monitoring your drum sounds from a different sound module to Melodics™, there may be differences in velocities and hi-hat pedal thresholds, potentially causing minor discrepancies with scoring.

Make sure you have an even balance between the backing track and your module drum sounds. Melodics drums are already setup to be nicely balanced with the backing track, but your module volume may not be.

If the lesson backing track is too loud, you can turn down the BACKING TRACK with the mixer in Melodics, or you can turn down the MASTER VOLUME in Melodics Settings. If your module drums are too loud, you may need to turn up the auxiliary input volume or turn down the drum sounds on your module. Refer to your user manual on how to do this.

Most drum modules will have an auxiliary input jack. These are designed for plugging in your own music to play along with. You can use this input to plug in your computer and play along with Melodics lessons, too.

Just connect your computer’s headphone jack output to the input jack on your module using a 3.5mm stereo audio cable. Make sure you adjust the volume of Melodics vs the volume on your module to maintain a good balance between the backing track and your drum sounds.

Some drum modules will allow you to send / receive audio over USB. You probably already have your kit connected via USB, so this is a more elegant solution as it only requires one cable for both MIDI and audio. Most Roland kits (except TD-1) will allow you to do this – you may need to refer to your drum user manual to see if it’s possible.

Set your module’s USB Driver Mode to ‘Vendor’. This may require a restart. Next, set the audio output of Melodics to your module. Be aware that sending audio over USB can add latency. If this is a problem, check your device’s driver to see if you can decrease the buffer size.

You will need to set the audio output of Melodics so that it is sending audio to your module. Select your module as the audio output device in Melodics Settings.

⚠️ Note: this option is not available for iOS for V-Drums — only macOS or Windows. Drivers must be installed for 'Vendor' mode.

Melodics lessons cover a huge range of styles, and our drum sounds are designed in house by our content team to suit each lesson. If you’re a beginner or if you’re looking for an authentic experience, we recommend sticking with Melodics sounds for now. If you’re ready to take on a new challenge, using your own module sounds can unlock great new learning opportunities.

Drummers have always been pushing the limits of sonic expression through technique and innovation, and since the invention of electronic drum kits, the possibilities have become endless. Electronic kits give drummers the ability to express themselves with whatever sounds they like, and experimenting with new ideas is a great learning opportunity in itself.

Be aware that using your own sounds can alter the learning outcomes of Melodics lessons, so try our Melodics drum sounds first. Then if you’re wanting some extra learning opportunities, try turning Melodics sounds down and experiment with and develop your own style.