ddrum trigger cables

[nowherecatastrophe]

hi guys, got a set of ddrum pro triggers coming my way soon and had a question for anyone who's used em before before i start rigging up the cables..

while im aware that the kick/tom triggers use XLR-1/4" TS cables, what about the dual zone snare trigger? is the cable (like this one: http://www.zzounds.com/item--DEP6998) just a regular XLR-TRS cable?

i'm not running the triggers into a module, just recording the splats for replacement, and don't really need the rim output of the snare trigger. will the XLR-TRS suffice or would i need a XLR-2 TRS Y cable? (http://drums-percussion.musiciansfr...Y-Cable-for-Snare-and-Other-Brains?sku=331552)

any other tips on getting these to trigger properly would be appreciated too, i remember reading something about felt under the trigger itself? cheers guys

 

[Morgan138]

I sold my ddrum set awhile ago but as I recall the snare just used a regular mono cable. I'm pretty sure it combines the two piezo signals right at the source, so short of totally rewiring it there's no way to actually get two signals out of it.

 

[nowherecatastrophe]

thanks man.

i've got a second,more serious problem on my hands, the studio i work out of only has XLR inputs in the tracking room!

given that these ddrum triggers only seem work on unbalanced lines, how would i go about getting the signal in? (without buying 5 DIs that is..)

 

[alexrookie]

someone over here had some mistriggering with the ddrum snare trigger, when i remember correctly.
well, i use a tom trigger for the snare because of this "2-zone" thing, but never tried the snare trigger - don't have the balls for it .
just use an ordinary mic cable and go straight in your micpre.

 

[egan.]

just use an ordinary mic cable and go straight in your micpre.

Yep

 

[lovegamesjamez]

hey guys,
nowherecatastrophe, i think you are trying to do exactly what i am, although i have enough inputs. i dont want to shell out for a sound module, as it would be useless to me as all i want to do is replace hits with something inside logic. is this possible just by connecting the triggers to my firewire interface, creating new audio tracks for each trigger then adding something like steven slate drums or superior drummer to each of the inserts? or is it more complex than that?
thanks in advance.
jam

 

[Norris-wf]

You'll need to convert the audio to midi if you want to use ssd or sd. You could also use aptrigga with samples or drumagog for direct replacement using the audio tracks as the inputs. Toon track also have drum replacement software and steven slate will be releasing Trigger very soon for doing this.

 

[lovegamesjamez]

ahh i see, this was my first thought but i then thought maybe i could just plug the ddrum triggers straight into my motu 8pre, producing something like tapping in the end of a jack cable or something of that effect. i was thinking about getting the alesis trigger i/o, then running the midi out into my 8pre. will this give me 4/5 separate midi tracks for kick snare toms blah blah, or if im using a drum plugin (ssd/sd) will i just need 1 midi track for all triggers. the i/o has usb, but i would like to run live overheads for cymbals, as it jsut isnt the same with fakes, this meaning that having the usb and firewire connected and recording at one time may not work. i know its very taboo on these boards but the best way to describe what i want to do is the joey sturgis approach (dont shout at me for being a noob or nothing ), running triggers for the actual drums, and real cymbals. thanks for the reply .
jam

 

[Trevoire520]

thanks man.

i've got a second,more serious problem on my hands, the studio i work out of only has XLR inputs in the tracking room!

given that these ddrum triggers only seem work on unbalanced lines, how would i go about getting the signal in? (without buying 5 DIs that is..)

I've always used my triggers through balances mic cables straight into mic inputs. Can't think of any reason you'd have problems using them with unbalanced lines????

I just go from the trigger into a mic pre, into a audio track in pro tools. Using Soundreplacer to turn the ticks into drum samples.

 

[Norris-wf]

^ I would also do this, especially if you want to record overheads simultaneously. ssd comes with the wavs too so you can bang them into aptrigga and there are loads of free samples too. you can also look into ktdrumtrigger which will assign an audio spike to a particular midi channel for use with ssd or sd etc. I dont think there really is a need for the alesis midi i/o but test out these options first anyway. KT drum trigger is free so you could start with that option.

Also bear in mind that your overheads will pick up the toms and snare etc

 

[lovegamesjamez]

hmm, unfortunetly KT doesnt come in AU format, which is what i need for logic :/. but let me get this right, and if i have anything wrong i would really appreciate it if you could show me the ways hahaha. so say i buy some ddrum triggers, go to record some drums, ddrums on the kick, snare and 3 toms, kick on 1, snare 2, toms 3 ect ect ect then my overheads on the next two channels. i then add the insert of sdd or sd to each of the trigger tracks (or aptrigga which i have, although i have noticed when using it on audio, some drummers hits are not constant, thus causing it to not trigger certain hits which with triggers may be fixed) and im away??? sounds a little too simple ;D. for the record, i do actually have 4 audix tom mics (pretty cheap ones, the f10 and f12's i think), sm57 for the snare and a d112 for kick and two rodes for overheads, maybe buying triggers is a waste of money as i can just use the mics then use aptrigga to sample each hit, but as ive said there is alot of bleed which causes mistriggering and it doesnt deal too well with snare rolls and faster kick stuff. but correct me if im wrong, wouldent the triggers give a more definate point to trigger, rather than live audio. thanks alot for you help this is all making alot more sense now . oh and yes i figured that if im triggering the other parts of the kit, the majority of the real drum sounds would be blocked out, using some careful eq and noise gate'ing might help also.
jam

 

[Norris-wf]

My apologies, I didnt realise KT wasn't available in AU. With aptrigga you can adjust a range of values, threshold etc, and you should then be able to get it to pick up all the hits. You are right that triggers should give you a cleaner signal than mics, but whether it makes a huge difference or not I cant be sure. You are also correct in thinking that it is too simple. SSD and SD will need midi to trigger them, and cannot be simply added as an insert to an audio track. If you want to use these, in their current version, you will need some way to convert the audio signal to a midi signal for it to work. I'm sure celemony melondyne does this, but some other people may be able to help you with this. If you haven't read this it might be worth a read: http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/production-tips/403588-drum-samples-replacement-triggers-faq.html everything should be covered there

 

[lovegamesjamez]

i have also just read the sticky about drum replacing which has helped out alot. i think im pretty much there. pretty bummed that i still need to spend $99 on sdd when all i need is a few samples from it. the only thing im not getting now is how i COULD use sdd for triggering my drums. i have the idea of how to use aptrigga for it, fine. but if im buying sdd i would quite like to be able to use it to its full potential. help anyone? .
jam

 

[Norris-wf]

Someone else should be able to help you with that one, but if you could wait a while, this would be ideal:
Hope you get it sorted

 

[lovegamesjamez]

thanks for the last 2 replys. i have just watched a video on that faq, which basicly taught me how to take any audio (live or trigger) and turn every hit into midi on a software instrument track. now im guessing if i have all my kick/snare/tom hits like this i can THEN put sdd onto the track, make sure the hits are on the right key in piano roll for the kit peice im triggering and that should work fine. i can also manually change all the timings of the hits this way too so its nice and in time. thanks so much for your help norris, thinks are alot clearer to me now. i now have to make the decision of selling my tom mics on ebay and getting triggers for a easyer way to replace the hits (kick and snare are pretty ok) or just keep tom mics and have to deal with having to sometimes add the hits in myself. either way i shall be purchasing a copy of sdd or sd pretty soon and start building up some knowledge about it (hopefully). again thanks for all the help, dont know if you noticed but this was my first time posting on this forum haha.
jam

 

[Norris-wf]

Glad I could help Jam, and welcome to the forum. There have been so many new members on here lately it is refreshing to find someone such as yourself that seems genuinely interested in learning and improving and not just looking for trouble lol. If you keep at it you'll pick it up, I still have so much to learn and this forum is a great resource, hope you enjoy it here

 

[nowherecatastrophe]

i've been recording the trigger "splats" as audio direct into my preamps - using drumagog for replacement. definately switching to trigger when it comes out though.

apologies for the confusion on the unbalanced thing - that was only for triggers>module i believe - i tend to over think things at first

if you want to use the SSD instrument or any MIDI drum instrument directly theres an Alesis box - the Trigger I/O i think that will convert the trigger signals into MIDI which you can then run into your interface. it's not too pricy if i remember right.

 

[Norris-wf]

^ Can you record the midi and audio from OH's simultaneously with that?

 

[lovegamesjamez]

ahh thanks dude, yea ive been reading about and alot of people just seem to be asking for stuff, without having to work for themselves, which isnt the way to learn i think. ive signed up to a few of these types of forums lately, seems to be a big help. and seeing as im only 16 i need all the experience and tips i can get, nothing beats learning hands on. as for the trigger i/o, i think its something i will consider in the future, but for now i can just record the splats from the trigger, then using audio to score on logic i can turn the hits into midi . hopefully it shall all work. benefits of recording real overheads with this too is that i can listen back to real live audio once a part is tracked and check it, rather than finding out later with the midi and having to change it myself. thanks again for all the help dudes.
jam