We at DML have a buttload of questions and threads for triggers. No sticky though. So here it is. Triggers are

A.Mounted on a hoop of a drum, like so:



B. Mounted on a pedal, like so:


You trigger by; mounting the trigger to where it's going to receive turbulence from a percussive stroke. For example A, you would be triggering the drumhead which would mean that every time you struck the drum, it would send a signal to a drum module. For example B, there happens to be a rotating hammer that mounts on the shaft of your axis pedal and strikes the stationary trigger box mounted on the pedal which sends a signal.

The signal is then received by a drum module, like the ones you would see on any electronic drumset, especially considering that this is the way an electronic drumset works. An example of a module



The module than produces a desired sound (based on how you have it programmed) out through a PA system.

This is very commonplace for most metal drummers of today. The increasingly HIGHHHH speeds have caused many dynamic problems with mic's and such. Playing literally at 250 BPM 16th notes just sounds like mush, unless you have the danmar clickpad and ur bass muffled till it sounds like a wet balloon. Triggers also help in the recording process by allowing the drum to be singled out to be edited, or the sample rather.








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Hi, I'm Brian. I play/use such brands as: Mapex, Axis, DDrum, Yamaha, Pro-Mark, Vic-Firth, Sabian, Paiste, Zildjian, Saluda, Evans, and DW.

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Any questions, comments, concerns, and anything you like to add should just be thrown on in here. This thread is solely for information and not for bashing of a very useful tool in todays drumming.








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Hi, I'm Brian. I play/use such brands as: Mapex, Axis, DDrum, Yamaha, Pro-Mark, Vic-Firth, Sabian, Paiste, Zildjian, Saluda, Evans, and DW.

Kevin's the man

ok to post my blog link here? I've been researching the subject for quite a while and always enjoy anyone's input that wants to share.

trigger blog

good idea on the sticky thread, this is definitely one of those subjects that comes up all the time, but there's still a lot of misinformation and confusion about it.








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you forgto the triggers that are like little pads that you double side tape, or velcro to te drum








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ok here is my question i have triggers for my whole set and i am going to be
buying a Alesis dm5 drum module and my band has a PA system with a mixer
how would i hook my module to the PA system. (im very new at triggers)

PDP9000 wrote:

ok here is my question i have triggers for my whole set and i am going to be
buying a Alesis dm5 drum module and my band has a PA system with a mixer
how would i hook my module to the PA system. (im very new at triggers)

You can Line-out from your module right into your mixer. You can assign a trigger to either the main or aux output so you can have two channels, i.e. one for bass one for snare

xdoseonex wrote:

you forgto the triggers that are like little pads that you double side tape, or velcro to te drum

contact, or adhesive, triggers. I mention them in my blog.

I've got a few of the contact style made by Pintech. Cheap, and problematic, I find. Best used, I think, if you set your parameters for heavy, single hits, otherwise these are very prone to false triggering, especially with loose tension on the head.
I don't use them anymore.








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m wrote:

xdoseonex wrote:

you forgto the triggers that are like little pads that you double side tape, or velcro to te drum

contact, or adhesive, triggers. I mention them in my blog.

I've got a few of the contact style made by Pintech. Cheap, and problematic, I find. Best used, I think, if you set your parameters for heavy, single hits, otherwise these are very prone to false triggering, especially with loose tension on the head.
I don't use them anymore.

thats the ind of trigger that comes with the drumometer. i have like 6 of them made by drumdial. theyre terrible








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I had problems with my "bug" triggers because I was using large diameter heads un muffled and tuned way open
They were over triggering
My latest recording experience showed me how to get the sound I wanted with triggering
My early problems with triggers was getting them to stick to the head
I fixed that with the use of silicone gel
I would like to change over to the rim mounted bass drum trigger now that I have figured out my mistake








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Empyrean Drums wrote:

PDP9000 wrote:

ok here is my question i have triggers for my whole set and i am going to be
buying a Alesis dm5 drum module and my band has a PA system with a mixer
how would i hook my module to the PA system. (im very new at triggers)

You can Line-out from your module right into your mixer. You can assign a trigger to either the main or aux output so you can have two channels, i.e. one for bass one for snare

ok cool thanks for the help.

so in order to use triggers i need the trigger, wires, drum module, and some sort of bass amp...does anyone know a cheap way to do all this? a pack with all of this included maybe?








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Metaldrummer89 wrote:

so in order to use triggers i need the trigger, wires, drum module, and some sort of bass amp...does anyone know a cheap way to do all this? a pack with all of this included maybe?

I don't know how you would hook it up to a bass amp, they're typically hooked up to the PA. I know they sell a trigger amp but it's $600. Other than that just buy a good set of headphones.








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Metaldrummer89 wrote:

so in order to use triggers i need the trigger, wires, drum module, and some sort of bass amp...does anyone know a cheap way to do all this? a pack with all of this included maybe?

the only way to do it as a package deal is to get an E-drum kit, really. Then all you need is a way to amplify it.
If you want to use triggers on your acoustic kit, it's going to be an a la carte approach, unfortunately.
You might be able to find a pack of triggers bundled together on ebay or Musician's Fiend(I think there's a Ddrum pack available)
but I don't know of any prepackaged setups that include everything you'd need to go with triggers.

best bet amp wise is a keyboard or E-drum (Roland makes some) amp for small venues or personal monitoring, or tapping into the PA for bigger venues.








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Howepirate wrote:

Yessir 1/4 inch.

I've never really had any issues with them other than that; you pretty much have to reset them almost everytime you play because the setting will be a little bit off, like with your bassdrum being closer or further away and how the stage is set-up. It takes a total of maybe 15 seconds? to reset the hammer though so it doesn't bother me at all.

Another thing is, you might have to get angled 1/4" chords if you don't want the hassle of having to painstakingly, find the hole and stick a 1/4 from the floor, under your pedal, into the opening on the underside of the piezo box.

If you need to know where to get some from and have any further questions, holler at me.

I understand having to adjust for each venue, but the Ddrums are more temperamental then that. I have to adjust them every time even if I don't move my kit. They seem to be affected by temperature, because when it's cold (since it's been an arctic wasteland here in Denver) the triggers seem dead until I play for about 15 minutes. Any slight change in head tension or trigger position throws it off, and I gotta be damn sure I have the right trigger on the right drum.
You can set the position of the Hammer? All you can do with the ddrms is pull them away or press them against the head when you are tightening them to the hoop (not really an adjustment)
I have a DM5 which has 1/4" inputs, so 1/4-1/4 is preferable because of the limited selection of 1/4-XLR cables (they seem to be either really crappy or really expensive in short lengths)
I know where I can get some now, and I wish they were more readily available when I purchased my gear. I wouldn't say the ddrums are bad (part of the issue I have now is one of my toms is mounted in my bass drum, causing it to false), but I wouldn't really recommend them over a Roland (w/ 1/4" output) or the e-kits triggers

Empyrean Drums wrote:

Howepirate wrote:

Yessir 1/4 inch.

I've never really had any issues with them other than that; you pretty much have to reset them almost everytime you play because the setting will be a little bit off, like with your bassdrum being closer or further away and how the stage is set-up. It takes a total of maybe 15 seconds? to reset the hammer though so it doesn't bother me at all.

Another thing is, you might have to get angled 1/4" chords if you don't want the hassle of having to painstakingly, find the hole and stick a 1/4 from the floor, under your pedal, into the opening on the underside of the piezo box.

If you need to know where to get some from and have any further questions, holler at me.

I understand having to adjust for each venue, but the Ddrums are more temperamental then that. I have to adjust them every time even if I don't move my kit. They seem to be affected by temperature, because when it's cold (since it's been an arctic wasteland here in Denver) the triggers seem dead until I play for about 15 minutes. Any slight change in head tension or trigger position throws it off, and I gotta be damn sure I have the right trigger on the right drum.
You can set the position of the Hammer? All you can do with the ddrms is pull them away or press them against the head when you are tightening them to the hoop (not really an adjustment)
I have a DM5 which has 1/4" inputs, so 1/4-1/4 is preferable because of the limited selection of 1/4-XLR cables (they seem to be either really crappy or really expensive in short lengths)
I know where I can get some now, and I wish they were more readily available when I purchased my gear. I wouldn't say the ddrums are bad (part of the issue I have now is one of my toms is mounted in my bass drum, causing it to false), but I wouldn't really recommend them over a Roland (w/ 1/4" output) or the e-kits triggers

I use a Yamaha Dtxpress and it really works great with it. The adjustments will be minimal on setting the hammer position and whatnot. I usually never hear many misfires coming out of the PA with them, unless a setting is off on my module.








_________________
Hi, I'm Brian. I play/use such brands as: Mapex, Axis, DDrum, Yamaha, Pro-Mark, Vic-Firth, Sabian, Paiste, Zildjian, Saluda, Evans, and DW.

Kevin's the man