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Kick drum trigger


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So after years of struggling with kick drum tones in the studio and on-stage, I'm thinking I'd like to experiment with triggering a sample.

 

I'm pretty sure all I need is a trigger (duh) and a sound module of some sort.

 

Can anyone make a suggestion as to what I really need to do the job?

 

PS - Yes, I know if I could get my drummer to 1) Get a better drum, 2) get new heads, 3) Learn to tune his drums better, I might not be asking this...

 

Thanks!

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PS - Yes, I know if I could get my drummer to 1) Get a better drum, 2) get new heads, 3) Learn to tune his drums better, I might not be asking this...


Thanks!

 

Add "use a quality mic" to the list :thu:

 

Nothing worse than a junk kick mic to try to get a good sound out of. I'm an Audix D6 guy.

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Have had really good results with this trigger:


 

 

Looks perfect, and I'm happy to go with a Roland product.

 

Can you recommend a sound module? In addition, is there a module that would allow 2 inputs, say from a kick and snare trigger, and allow me to output those to 2 separate tracks/channels?

 

I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive/basic.

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I haven't used the Roland module, but our drummer uses the Alesis DM5 just for a his kick and gets a pretty good sound from it. In that unit you can pan to either the right or left main output, or the right or left aux output. So you can have up to 4 different channels going out of the unit to the board to split things up as you need. I am sure the Roland can do the same thing but you can get the DM5 units so cheap these days.

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Add "use a quality mic" to the list
:thu:

Nothing worse than a junk kick mic to try to get a good sound out of. I'm an Audix D6 guy.

 

Right! And I've been on the fence to buy a quality kick mic, but am realizing that it might be a waste since the tone starts with the drum, and that is sub-par in this case.

 

Had a D6 in my hand at GC a week ago, and just couldn't splurge on it thinking that it might not resolve the problem.

 

I don't mean to throw the drummer under the bus. He's trying to get a good tone (as am I) using the traditional methods, but we're not getting anything that we're thrilled with.

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Our drummer hates triggers.

I'm not a drummer, but the ones I know who use triggers say you have to cram them full of foam pads. One drummer even bought the cheapest set of drums he could find,filled each drum with pillows,quilts and foam pads just for using triggers.

 

I like the kick mics, and have even come to the conclusion if the kick drum and even the others,are tuned right and got good beater heads it dosent matter much about the brand of mics. Just my observation.

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I have not found this to be the case at all with the Roland triggers. We only trigger the kick drum, and not even all the time. But there is no padding or anything in the drum itself and we don't have any problems with it. Same held true for the snare and toms when he tried those at one time.

 

As far as the kick mic goes, I would have to disagree with that. I can definetely tell the difference between a cheap one and say something like the Audix D6. But maybe it's all my imagination ;)

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I dont know that to be true either,Just what I have been told. I understand that the rolands are the way to go if you use triggers.Whatever mic you use will never sound the same as a trigger. A kick with a trigger sounds great if set right. Our drummer does not like triggers so we use a mic.

 

 

Most of the mics I have tried all sounded about the same and did the same job,cheap or expensive, except for the D112 which was terrible.

D6 is a great mic,I have one and a beta52 & SM91 along with a digital reference,a cheap mic that sounds about like the others.

I know that our drummer uses a great beater head on his kick and that makes a world of difference, letting me use whichever mic I decide to use.

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Just some more info here on the use of triggers, I started using the triggers for our drummer and it has been very good. I am using the D-Drum pro triggers that use the XLR end, and they have been great. Have not added anything to the drums as far as padding, just hook them up and go. I also use the Alesis DM5 for the module, and have set up 3 different drum sets in the module so I can change to which sounds better for the room.

 

This has help us a lot to get consistent sound out of the drums and has been a great time saver for set-up and tear down. I mic the snare and Hi-Hat as well as an overhead, and use the triggers on 3 toms and kick. The best thing that I have found with the use of them is the time savings, :thu:

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Just some more info here on the use of triggers, I started using the triggers for our drummer and it has been very good. I am using the D-Drum pro triggers that use the XLR end, and they have been great. Have not added anything to the drums as far as padding, just hook them up and go. I also use the Alesis DM5 for the module, and have set up 3 different drum sets in the module so I can change to which sounds better for the room.


This has help us a lot to get consistent sound out of the drums and has been a great time saver for set-up and tear down. I mic the snare and Hi-Hat as well as an overhead, and use the triggers on 3 toms and kick. The best thing that I have found with the use of them is the time savings,
:thu:

 

Where do you keep the drum module?

 

Can you keep it in the FOH rack and send the trigger signals back through the snake?

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DDrum Pro triggers are still the best out there. Roland's aren't bad, but I don't think they're as good as DDrum. Not sure what's coming out of 2Box, but I have a hunch they will have some great stuff on the market in the near future.

 

For "normal" playing, you don't need to stuff the drum full of muffling pillows and the like. If you're playing blast beats (ie. blazing fast bass drum patterns), then you need to muffle the head to limit vibrations and allow the trigger to track properly.

 

Probably the most common setup is the DDrum Pro trigger with the Alesis DM5 module. With the Alesis module and particularly a DDrum module, you get some real drum sounds. With the Roland and (I believe) Yamaha, you get synthesized sounds. The drum sounds are based on computer modeling. Pros and cons to both, but I prefer the real sounds of DDrum and Alesis.

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Where do you keep the drum module?


Can you keep it in the FOH rack and send the trigger signals back through the snake?

 

 

Yes the Drum module sits in the FOH rack, and I run sound from stage so it's next to me and the drummer, so I don't run it through the snake. But you could run it through the snake if it is wired right. The cables used for the DM5 and the D-Drum Triggers are 1/4 TS to XLR, With I believe pin 2 & 3 jumped together on the XLR side.

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Get you a Roland TD3 drum module Alesis DM5 suck:poke: their velocity sensors suck you have no freaking dynamic with the DM5. I know, been there did that. The Roland however has awesome velocity that give you the dynamics your drummer will wanna have. As far as triggers Roland or Ddrum triggers. If you can find a old Ddrum drum module they blow away Roland because they actually have real drum sample but their very pricey now a days good luck.

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