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Thread: Homemade triggers

  1. #1

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    Question Homemade triggers

    I've been thinking about this the last couple of days, about making homemade triggers. I am buying mutes for my drums here soon so I can play relatively quietly. I am also wanting to make some drum videos, but with the mutes, they won't be really any good. So that is where the triggers come in. Now, I could either buy some, or maybe figure out a way to butcher up the two guitar hero drum kits that I have.

    Would this be even possible? I'm not sure where to start looking to figure out what to do. I've tried going on google, but I am finding results on turning that set up into an electronic kit which is not my goal.

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    don't know nuthin about the equipment you're about to butcher, but triggers are used to plug into an electronic drum brain, thus electronic drums.....what else would one do with triggers? Maybe im missing something...if you're looking for quiet practice, the quietest thing you can do to your drums is to put mesh heads on them. They're even quieter than mutes, will work with triggers, and have more bounce so you can really fly around the kit. and...they're cheaper than regular heads....
    Last edited by funkyruss; 01-03-2012 at 10:12 AM.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    hmmmm....cool idea funkyruss....(what's the mesh bounce do to spoil a beginners technique ? )

    back to butchering guitar hero; It was also my understanding triggers go to a box of some sort ....pre made for such things. Not sure how compatible your homemade contraption would be OR if you could even re create the " box " for effective sound repro
    realizing I wasn't much help I will share this tid bit from my youth....
    I don't know how it works but I remember taping a microphone or something to my guitar and was able to hear it through my phonograph speaker. I always liked the erector set, too. That and Lincoln Logs and
    Tinkertoys. ( NOT Leggo )

    Many great ideas have been born from little else than imagination.
    Most definitely. As a matter of fact, there will be "NO LIMIT"... just an unending quagmire of musical genius.

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    i think i was mis understood. i was thinking if it would work to wire up the hardware to work with a "box" .

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    Well, now I'm totally confused, as if that is different from any other day....
    -do you wish to remove the triggers from guitar hero equipment, solder a longer wire onto the triggers, then double face tape them to your muted drums, but still be using the guitar hero brain/controller? Is this what you're askin? I don't know...i better look at your original post again, its been so long..(20 seconds Well i may be barking up the right tree, we'll see. Triggers themselves don't make or have any sounds built into them, they just transmit on/off, and millions of shades of gray between on and off, known as analog. I'll shut up now, as i may have already said too much!

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    Do you have 1 of these "boxes"? I assume thats a drum brain, drum controller, etc.. mine is an ancient yamaha ptx 8 controller. i was lookin at a trigger from yamaha today called a dt-20, which here in Toronto costs $33. I've ordered one, as they have none in stock. We shall see if/how it works on my acoustic with mesh heads drum set. I have no cymbal solution at this point, but at least i can beat my drums pretty hard, and not drive the neighbors crazy, just that since i have a drum brain, i should use it, albeit its 25 years old, give or take..

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Homemade triggers

    I've done(and currently have it set up) a conversion or two before- there's a few different ways to do them. This was with a regular acoustic kit though, and not a gaming accessory. 2slow made an excellent thread on how it's done with cone style triggers mounted internally, and Timmkatt with a makeshift e-kit project all his own. The way I did it though was a bit different. I used:

    Remo muffl's(sound control version) for all drum sizes($8-$22 per muffler)
    Drumdial drumtriggers(approximately $45-$56 for 5-pack)
    Roland td-7 or other drum module(ran me $150 at the time)
    Whirlwind 1/4" cables(as many and as long as you need, approximately $15 and up)
    SP cymbal mutes($7-$25 depending which type)
    Alesis RealHat($70-$80, for controlling hi-hat)

    Basically the drum triggers clamp on top, plug into the module via the cables, the drum mufflers sit underneath the batter head and make contact with it. For the cymbals I taped the trigger's sensor underneath the cymbal mutes along with the cables to keep it steady with duct tape. This method isn't 100% silent but you get to keep your kit almost exactly the way it is acoustically, thus retaining the feel of your kit when you play. If you need to remove the electronics and play acoustically, there isn't much work to be done. Cheaper than some other methods. Pics:



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