Drum Triggers?

[DWdrummer]

Im thinking about purchasing drum triggers for my toms and snare!! I don't want to run effects through them but I want to make them deeper and more Beasty sounding. Can drum triggers do that or do i need just to mic them. Is that what drum triggers are for and also do i need to buy a module to run the drum triggers? Thanks

 

[Tim Brown]

Triggers are nothing more than contact pickups to ativate the sounds in a drum module, like the DM5.

Define "Beasty" sounding.

If you are looking for "deeper" sounding, try running your toms and snare through a pitch shifter, and lower them a few cents, and add that in.

I have a few questions for you:

What kind of kit do you have, and how do you tune it?
What size drums?
What type of heads?
Any Muffling? If so, what kind?
What kind of sticks do you normally use?

Could you post some examples of the type of drumsound that you are trying to achieve?


Tim

 

[Madness]

The main purpose of triggers is to make every hit sound equal 'loud'. Mostly used for fast drummin. And yes, you'd need a module.

 

[mikeh]

Triggers connect your drums to a drum module so that you can "trigger" the electronic sounds.

For recording, the advantage of triggers is that you can get a "bigger" more even sound from the drums without needing several mics, and channels on the board, etc. etc. (although some people get a great drum sound with only 2 or 3 well placed mics).

The disadvantage is that nothing sounds better than a well tuned well miced kit. Even the best e-drums fall short of a well tuned kit (I've got v-drums - and I still prefer to record real drums - if I have the right room, etc.)

Also, keep in mind that even if you trigger the drums, you will be using the live cymbals, so you still need a mic(s) to record the cymbals.

If you plan to use triggers in a gigging situation, you also need to consider the need for a PA that can take the low end abuse - and you also need onstage monitors, etc.

As you can see, getting triggers is only a start - by the time you get a module and the triggers, you would spend about the same as buying 4 SM57's.

 

[kristian]

don't quote me.

But can't you use triggers in the sidechain of a compressor/gate like the Behringer Composer to trigger when the gate should be opened? I think thats what he was refering to "triggered drums" as. I've been interested in this, and i don't know the details exactly, but it seems simple enough.