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YARG drums setup with a MIDI electronic kit

YARG is a free, open-source rhythm game that, in its wiki's words, "natively supports e-kits with USB MIDI output" and plays drums as 4-lane, Pro and 5-lane. Six steps get a MIDI kit playing; then the calibration, the fixes when YARG does not see the kit, and a quick comparison with playing the same charts in WebEDrums. Every statement about YARG links to its wiki.

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What do I need?

  • YARG, installed through the YARC Launcher on Windows, macOS or Linux. Its FAQ is clear on price: open source "and is therefore free".
  • An e-kit with USB MIDI output, or 5-pin MIDI out through a USB MIDI adapter. The wiki names the Alesis Nitro Mesh, the Alesis Nitro Max and the Roland TD-1 as tested and says "other e-kits should work too". The connection guide covers cables and drivers; plastic Rock Band and Guitar Hero kits take the adapters in the Rock Band guide.
  • On Windows, the Microsoft Visual C++ redistributables, the first thing the troubleshooting page lists for a kit that is not detected.

How do I set up a MIDI drum kit in YARG?

  1. Connect the kit and switch it on. Plug the module in over USB, or through a USB MIDI adapter if it only has 5-pin MIDI out. On Windows, close anything else that uses the kit: one program at a time.
  2. Hit a pad before adding the device. The device list does not refresh by itself, so strike a pad once first.
  3. Create a profile and connect it. In Profiles click Add Profile, then Connect; when YARG asks you to Add a Device, choose the kit.
  4. Choose the MIDI Drumkit game mode. It plays 4-lane, Pro and 5-lane charts, each with its own bindings.
  5. Bind the pads. Each profile has two bind sets, menus and gameplay. Bind every zone of a pad to its lane (snare head and rim both to red) and expand an input to adjust its Debounce and Threshold if hits double or drop.
  6. Set the input calibration and play. Leave the profile’s Input Calibration at zero, play a song, then calibrate as described below.

Two more profile options matter for drummers: Lefty Flip mirrors the highway, and Drum Highway Customization lets you reorder or split lanes to match your kit's layout.

Pro Drums, 4-lane or 5-lane: which do I pick?

You pick MIDI Drumkit once; the chart type is decided per song. From the wiki's Instruments page:

  • 4-Lane Drums: four pads and a kick; cymbals and pads of the same colour are interchangeable.
  • Pro Drums: the same four lanes, but "a pad note requires a pad hit; a cymbal note requires a cymbal hit". This is the mode an e-kit is made for, and the reason to bind cymbals and toms separately.
  • 5-Lane Drums: three pads and two cymbals; YARG converts 4-lane Pro charts for a 5-lane kit.

Expert+ adds the double-kick bass notes where a chart has them. Elite Drums, a layout that follows an e-kit (snare, three toms, hi-hat, ride, crashes), is planned and not yet supported.

How do I calibrate YARG, and what if it misses the kit?

The calibration page names three offsets in milliseconds: Audio Offset shifts the sound, lower it if the sound lags the visuals; Video Offset shifts the notes, raise it if they look late but sound right; Input Offset shifts when your hits register, raise it if you feel you have to play early. The automatic test plays a cue, you play along and it measures the delay; use headphones, and save the result. With an e-kit, listen to the module's own sounds, which have no software delay, so only the song needs lining up.

  • Kit not detected: install the Visual C++ redistributables, close anything else using the kit, and hit a pad before pressing Add Device.
  • Extra triggers breaking the combo: some lower-budget kits send extra triggers; raise Debounce and Threshold on that pad in the Bindings menu.
  • Roland hi-hat firing on pedal release: Foot Splash on higher-end Roland modules; the wiki's fix is to reduce the module's Foot Splash Sens parameter.

Where do the songs come from?

The YARG Official Setlist, 86 songs charted by the official team, and the song packs on the launcher's Marketplace, both free; and your own folders, added in Settings through the song folder manager (one slot per folder, then Refresh). The wiki does not encourage pirating: songs you own, Creative Commons or public domain. The drum charts guide covers the community sites.

Sources

Checked on October 16, 2026. If one of these pages has changed and this guide has not caught up, tell us on the contact page.

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