triggers or mics

**ellruss** · 06-24-2007, 10:55 PM

Whats the difference between using drum triggers and mics?

**el presidente** · 06-25-2007, 12:26 AM

Triggers can through a brain for en electronic drumset to setup effects or different sounds on your acoustic kit. I think the roland triggers can be used as mics but I imagine they're not as good at that function. But I don't know.

**crazymanwithaplunger** · 06-25-2007, 05:40 AM

They are two totally different technologies. triggers pick up the vibration of the skin, and use this to indicate to a module to play an artifical sound that is pre programmed through a PA system

Microphones are micorphones in the traditional sense.

The major difference is that triggers produce a totally artificial sound. It doesn't matter how hard you hit or watever, it will sound exactly the way the recorded or sampled sound does when it plays out through the system. For this reason, among others, they are considered "cheating" among a major portion of the drumming community. You don't need power, so you can go faster etc.. You can also program double sounds for a single strike and things like that. There is also no tonality to it. You hit soft, doesn't matter, you can't "play quiet" with triggers, so you can't build your sound so you also lose some of the dynamics of playing.

**ellruss** · 06-25-2007, 04:44 PM

ooo ic thanks for the help plunger man

**drummer** · 06-25-2007, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by crazymanwithaplunger

For this reason, among others, they are considered "cheating" among a major portion of the drumming community.

That's like saying driving a car is cheating because you get there faster. Pretty dumb if you ask me. Technology should be embraced and explored with creative enthusiasm. The possibilities are endless.

**crazymanwithaplunger** · 06-25-2007, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by drummer

That's like saying driving a car is cheating because you get there faster. Pretty dumb if you ask me. Technology should be embraced and explored with creative enthusiasm. The possibilities are endless.

I didn't say it is cheating - it's just the reason allot of drummers out there think it is, especially when talking about double kick. If you have a guy who can play 16ths at 220 BPM, but you can't hear it, then it makes it useless. The triggers allow him to do it so he can be heard. The guy next to him can do the same thing, with monstorous boom and volume without triggers - he has worked harder to get to the stage of speed with power, and this is where the "cheating" aspect lies.

Comparing to a car is silly though because a car is a mode of transport - no one really beleives that someone could walk more effectively than another person - there isn't really skill involved is there? With drumming there is, and if somone sherks off his ability because some peice of technology can do half the work for him, then it should be recognised as such.
Also though, that isn't the only "down side" to triggers. Like I mentioned, there is a loss of dynamics with your playing, and there is other problems such as cross talking and latent vibrations setting off the sample as well, especially in the cheaper range. I am not saying triggers are bad, but I think a mic setup is a better option for amplifying the sound of a kit. that's just my opinion.

**drummer** · 06-26-2007, 08:33 AM

First off CrazyMan, this wasn't an attack on you. I just don't agree that it's cheating. It's simply the way you decide to view it. Anyone can do anything they want to do. For example; Roy Wooten (Futureman) decides to play drumset on a synthaxe. Does this mean he's cheating? Of course not! He's just decided to do things differently. But it still requires a great amount of skill to play efficiently on a sythaxe and have it sound real. I've seen him play with Bela Fleck many times and I've also seen him with Chick Corea. If you closed your eyes, you can hardly tell it's not a real drumset. This has to be respected as it took him many years to get to that level of proficiency with electronics.

It can't be assumed that just because machinery is being used that everything gets easier or is "cheating". It still takes much skill and knowledge to control sensitivity, dynamics, tempo, electronic inconsistencies, and so on. And for that matter, microphones are electronics. So should we assume that that's cheating also since we're using electronic technology to boost our volume and affect the pleasantry of the sound being produced? I mean we doctor it with every effect and filter known to man from noise gates to delay!

>>>Comparing to a car is silly though because a car is a mode of transport - no one really beleives that someone could walk more effectively than another person - there isn't really skill involved is there?

Actually there is.

**Stevo42w** · 06-26-2007, 09:04 AM

Olympic WALKING! :P lol Suprisingly there is skill but its a silly sport :S

Triggers do help bad drummers drum.

Most the bands on roadrunner use them as do most metal/metalcore etc bands. It sends an electrical pulse for recording so they can keep track of where the sample was played and re align it because there isnt any metalcore bands that iknow of that play it perfectly in time.

Infact that reminds me of a thread i was gonna start.

Shazane · 07-01-2007, 01:17 AM

I'll never use triggers, even for double bass. If I cant get good enough to be heard playing fast DB then I wont use a machine to pretend I'm that good. And why would I pay for great equipment and modify it to my needs just to insert synthetic sounds over what I'm actually playing?

just my principle on it.

**Stevo42w** · 07-01-2007, 06:20 AM

Actually normaly ya make your own samples of your own drum kit and then inject them in place. Because sometimes you cant get the right sound out of your kit and you use it tojusr supliment the acoustic sound. Ive done it before. But heaps of people use it live. Even justin timberlakes drummer does. I hear what your saying though Shaz Its true. But so many professionals (All the roadrunner Albums) Give or take one or two use triggers. IE Slipknot and Fear factory do.

Because if anyone was that good to play they would record analogue and not many drummers do that. Only one i know of is Travis.

Shazane · 07-01-2007, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by Stevo42w

Actually normaly ya make your own samples of your own drum kit and then inject them in place. Because sometimes you cant get the right sound out of your kit and you use it tojusr supliment the acoustic sound. Ive done it before. But heaps of people use it live. Even justin timberlakes drummer does. I hear what your saying though Shaz Its true. But so many professionals (All the roadrunner Albums) Give or take one or two use triggers. IE Slipknot and Fear factory do.

Because if anyone was that good to play they would record analogue and not many drummers do that. Only one i know of is Travis.

since Joey Jordison uses two bass drums it makes sense for him to use triggers because its impossible to tune them identically. But personally I like the slight variance of pitch attained by hitting two different places on the same drum. I guess it also depends on the quality of the sample, because Joey's sound great while others such as Cradle of Filth's just sound like a click more than a drum.