Common issues & fixes

Beat Studio opens with black windows (Windows)

You are not doing anything wrong. Black windows that you cannot use or close are a graphics compatibility issue with the way Beat Studio draws its interface. To switch it to a more compatible drawing mode:

1. Close Beat Studio completely. If the black windows will not close, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, select Beat Studio and click End task.
2. Press Win+R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Beat Studio and press Enter.
3. Open app_settings.properties with Notepad.
4. Add this line, or change it if it is already there: java2d.opengl.enabled=false
5. Save the file and start Beat Studio normally.

If the windows are still black

• HDR displays. If your monitor has HDR turned on (for example an HDR10 profile), that can also cause black windows — the Java runtime bundled with Beat Studio does not handle HDR displays properly yet. Move the Beat Studio window to a monitor without HDR, or turn HDR off under Windows Settings → System → Display → Use HDR.
• Antivirus sandboxes. Do not run Beat Studio in an antivirus sandbox, such as Sandbox Mode in Norton 360. The app may start there, but the sandbox blocks access to your audio device, so you will hear no sound. If your antivirus warns about or blocks Beat Studio, add its installation folder as an exclusion instead.

Send me a log

If nothing above helps, a detailed log lets me see what is going wrong:

1. Open Beat Studio wherever it does display — on a monitor without HDR, or in the sandbox just for this step.
2. Go to Settings → Advanced, set Log detail to Debug and save.
3. Restart Beat Studio normally, outside the sandbox, so the problem is captured in the log.
4. Email the log file from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Beat Studio\logs to contact@beatstudio.io, together with your graphics card model (Start → Device Manager → Display adapters).

Beat Studio does not detect my drum kit

Work through these checks, starting with the most common causes:

• Make sure your drum kit is connected via USB and powered on before you launch Beat Studio.
• If you connected your kit after Beat Studio was already running, open Settings → Device & input and click Rescan — you do not need to restart the app.
• Check that the USB cable is firmly connected at both ends. Try a different USB port on your computer, preferably one directly on the machine rather than through a hub.
• Confirm your drum module is set to USB-MIDI mode. Some modules require you to select a MIDI output mode in their own settings menu.
• Check that your operating system sees the kit:
  • Windows: check whether your drum kit needs a manufacturer driver. Roland modules in particular sometimes require a driver before Windows exposes them as a MIDI device.
  • macOS: open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications → Utilities) and check whether your device appears there.

If the kit does not show up at the system level either, the issue is with the operating system or driver, not Beat Studio.

I get no sound or the wrong sounds

Start with the basics:

• Check your audio output. In Settings → Device & input, make sure Output device is set to the speakers, headphones or audio interface you are listening through, and that the volume is not muted. Versions before 2.1 always use your system default audio device.
• Check that the kit you expect is selected under Kits in the library sidebar.
• Switch to a built-in factory kit to confirm the audio engine is working. If the factory kit plays correctly, the issue is with your custom kit.

If only some drums are silent or wrong

• Some pads are silent. Your MIDI mapping may be incomplete — unmapped pads produce no sound. Check the mapping in Settings → Device & input → MIDI Pad Mapping, or run the Mapping Wizard.
• Sounds play on the wrong drum. The mapping has the wrong MIDI notes assigned. Remap the affected pads in MIDI Pad Mapping or the Mapping Wizard.
• A custom kit has missing sounds. If you use a custom WAV or SF2 kit (PRO), check that the sample files are still where Beat Studio expects them. Moving or renaming sample folders after creating the kit can cause missing sounds.
• A sound disappeared after changing the mixer. Extreme effect settings can make sounds vanish or behave oddly. Reset the effects on the affected channel to their defaults and listen again.

Still no sound? Check your cables and output device against the first setup guide.

Every hit sounds doubled or flammed

Your drum module and Beat Studio are both playing your hits. The module plays its own kit instantly and Beat Studio plays its kit a few milliseconds later, so every hit sounds like a flam or an echo. Only one of them should play your hits:

• Using Beat Studio sounds: turn your drum module volume all the way down, and mute any audio interface or mixer channel the module is plugged into.
• Using your module sounds: mute your own hits in the Beat Studio mixer.

The pattern's drums are separate: they are the part you play along to, and you can turn them down in the mixer.

For how to wire each setup, with and without an audio interface, see Step 1 of the first setup guide.

The sound crackles, pops or drops out

Crackles and dropouts usually mean the audio buffer is too small for your computer to fill in time. The audio buffer setting was added in Beat Studio 2.1, so update first if you are on an older version.

What the audio buffer does

The buffer is how much audio Beat Studio prepares in one go before sending it to your speakers or headphones, measured in samples. A smaller buffer means lower latency — your hits are heard sooner — but gives the computer less time to keep up. A larger buffer is more stable but adds a little delay to every sound. Each buffer holds this much audio at 44.1 kHz. The total delay you hear is higher, because the audio driver and device add their own, but the list shows how the buffer sizes compare:

• 64 samples ≈ 1.5 ms
• 128 samples ≈ 3 ms
• 256 samples ≈ 6 ms
• 512 samples ≈ 12 ms

Fix it

1. Stop playback. Audio output changes only apply when you save while nothing is playing.
2. Open Settings → Device & input and find Audio buffer under Audio output.
3. Raise the buffer one step, for example from 64 to 128 samples, and click Save.
4. Play again and listen. If it still crackles, go up another step.

Use the smallest value that plays cleanly — a few milliseconds of extra delay is far less noticeable than crackling.

If it still crackles

• Check that Output device is set to the device you actually listen through. A dedicated audio interface usually handles small buffers better than built-in laptop audio. Bluetooth headphones add noticeable delay and are not recommended for drumming.
• On Windows, try a different Output mode — see Windows output modes below.
• Close other heavy applications while practising. High CPU load from browsers, video calls or other audio software can cause dropouts even with a larger buffer.

For the audio buffer and the rest of your audio setup, see the first setup guide.

Other apps play no sound while Beat Studio is open (Windows)

This is caused by the Windows Output mode, added in Beat Studio 2.1. In Exclusive mode Beat Studio takes full control of the audio device to get the lowest possible latency, and Windows does not let other apps play sound on that device while Beat Studio is open. YouTube, Spotify, browser tabs and system sounds go silent until you close Beat Studio.

Windows output modes

Change the mode in Settings → Device & input → Output mode, under Audio output. The changes apply when you click Save while playback is stopped.

• Auto (recommended): uses Exclusive mode when possible, and switches to Shared if Windows does not allow it. Because Auto usually ends up in Exclusive mode, other apps may go silent with this setting too.
• Exclusive: Beat Studio always takes full control of the audio device for the lowest latency. Other apps cannot play sound on that device while Beat Studio is open.
• Shared: other apps can play sound alongside Beat Studio at all times, but latency is noticeably higher than in Exclusive mode, so your hits are heard a little later.
• Exclusive while training: uses Exclusive mode only while the training view is open, and Shared mode everywhere else in the app. You can play YouTube videos or music while you browse the library, and Beat Studio switches to the lowest latency when you start training.

Which one to pick

• If you only need other audio between practice sessions, choose Exclusive while training.
• If you need another app to play sound while you train — for example a video lesson or a call — choose Shared and accept the extra latency.
• If you have more than one output, such as an audio interface and your computer speakers, you can keep Exclusive mode: set Output device in Beat Studio to one of them and let other apps play through the other. Exclusive mode only locks the device Beat Studio uses.

For how output modes fit into the rest of your audio setup, see the first setup guide.

My hits feel late or my scores seem wrong

Every system has some input latency — typically 5–10 ms — between when you hit the pad and when the signal reaches Beat Studio. Beat Studio includes automatic latency compensation to account for this, so your hits are scored against the adjusted timing, not the raw signal.

• On FREE, latency compensation is always automatic and cannot be adjusted. On PRO, you can fine-tune it manually in Settings → Device & input if scores consistently feel off in one direction (always early or always late).
• A large audio buffer adds delay to every sound you hear. If hits sound late, try a smaller buffer — see the audio buffer section above.
• High CPU load from other applications can cause audio dropouts and timing jitter. Close unnecessary background apps when practising.

For how latency compensation and the audio buffer fit together, see the first setup guide.