Help with Drum Triggers??

[Lintinanims]

So I'm new here, though I have been following this forum for quite some time I never got around o registering, and have learned lots of nifty tricks that I have used at the studio I run. Recently we invested in a set of DDrum Chrome Elite Drum Triggers and a DDrum DM1 Drum Module, I've got everything set up and have done some test runs with Protools. Everything seems to run great, no latency's or lag's. However the kick triggers seems to be sending a weak signal? I have tried changing cables and messing with the sensitivity on the module. But nothing seems to work. When I have the sensitivity up they trigger multiple times per hit and still somewhat weak. I can't seem to find a median. I took the triggers off and pressed the pads down some and flicked them and I'm getting great signal. But attached to the drums it's still weak? Am I doing something wrong?? Any help would be great, we've put too much money into this studio to have this go wrong. Thank you guys in advance!!! And don't be afraid to tell me I'm a damn idiot!!

 

[Trevoire520]

Could you hook up your kick trigger to a mic/line input on your interface so we can hear what the signal coming in is like?

I know the trigger is new and that the chromes are meant to be an improved design but there's a possibility that it might be defective.

It could also be a kick technique issue, if the drummer isn't hitting hard or is playing inconsistently then that would cause issues with weak signal and mistriggers.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I've messed with kick triggers 2 or 3 times and never got them to trigger properly. Snares and toms always worked fine.

 

[Lintinanims]

Well the drummer hits them all pretty damned hard actually. He's a hell of a drummer if I do say so myself. I cannot post signals right now as it is, I won't be able to till this weekend. Possibly tonight if things go well. I'm running the triggers into S2.0 with Metal Foundry. There shouldn't be any problems there. If I can I will post signals tonight.

And yes the toms and snare seem to trigger wonderfully.

I will also do some experimenting with the trigger placement tonight if I can. Could I have the triggers pressed against the head wrong?? Sorry for the noobish questions :S The triggers didn't come with any tips and tricks or anything like that so... I'm just shooting in the dark looking for a light..

 

[FrankTheSmith]

I have my kick trigger like really smashed up against the drum head so the little foam piece is pretty small and the kick drum stuffed with padding. If the head is really loose it won't transfer the transient to the transducer very well.

 

[Lintinanims]

Crazyness!! I was worried about harming the trigger. So smash the crap out of it and tune up the head a little more!! I'll try it man thank you. I'll keep you all posted on my progress with it. Thank you guys so much for the replies!!

 

[FrankTheSmith]

Yeah carefully smash it into the head haha. It took about 2 years from the little foam thing to get ruined, but it's only like 6 bucks to replace.

 

[Lintinanims]

Cool I will do some testing tomorrow night while I'm there Thank you guys so much!!! I will post my results if anyone is interested.

 

[Lintinanims]

Well thank you guys so much!! I managed to get the Kick trigger to work wonderfully by just smashing it down. However now I'm having issues with the snare trigger but I think that's just because of the hunk of shit module I'm using. Note to anyone here, DO NOT buy a DDrum DM1 they are garbage. My next investment will be and Alesis DM10. Does anyone have any info or review on the Alesis DM10? Is there a reason(Or better but reasonably priced module) that I should invest in something else?? And again thank you all for your help!! I absolutely LOVE this forum!!

 

[Lintinanims]

To anyone who may be curious, I did some experimenting with the my interface chaining, and realized that I could(and should) preamp each trigger before running it into the module!! It seems to work wonderfully!!!! I have a way stringer signal without smashing any more of the pads(Excluding the kick because it sits naturally like that)!! Just figured I'd let you guys know just incase it might help anyone!!

 

[FrankTheSmith]

realized that I could(and should) preamp each trigger before running it into the module!!

I've never thought of that haha. I was looking at the DDrum module and it looks like it doesn't have as many sensitivity settings for the triggers as an Alesis DM5 does. That's what I use for my kick and snare top. With the alesis you can set it so sensitive you can yell loud and it makes it go off like crazy haha.

 

[Lintinanims]

Thats crazy!! I want the DM10 . I ran into a slight issues with the preamping, lots(And lots) of mis-triggering, I haven't gotten to play with it much as I've trying to get the studio reorganized and cleared out and cables organized and whatnot. Will have time tomorrow to try to get it to work the way I want to I think I just need to adjust the positioning of the triggers themselves. But I talked to a friend of mine who is one of the best sound guys I've ever heard and he explain how when he did triggering ive he ran each trigger into a sub-mix board and then into his actual mix as just one input. So I preamped each on in my interface and then out to the module and then midi out.

 

[Bay Studio]

Triggers will always give you some troubles here and there. There´s just a couple of factors to keep in mind. I´ve also had the kick trigger problem years ago when i used triggers. I tightened all the drum heads, and messed around with positions. It still didn´t cut it, so i bought some of the mesh heads people are using when triggering. Might wanna check those out dude if you´re only triggering. You get absolutely nothing in your overheads that bother, and the trigger hits get detected real nice. Worked like a charm for me!
I´m glad it worked out for you anyhow dude! Take a look at the Alesis I/O. It´s cheap and it does the job perfectly.

 

[Lintinanims]

Really?? I will look into those mesh heads idea. Are the pretty pricey, and will I have to get different triggers with them?? Could be worth trying, the drums don't sound too bad and are easily mixable with the samples, however the less bleed I get into the OH the better sound I feel I could get, I fixed the mis triggering and whatnot it was actually quite simple, and now every single hit on anything is hot and exact. I LOVE the Presonus Firestudio we are running them into, It took a minute to figure out how to get each general out to be individual outputs but it ended up working nicely. All I did was push the gain on each channel as high as without getting mis triggering and in the Universal Control Mixer pushed up the volume output of each and then out to the DD1M and it gets a really really strong signal and hits hard as hell. I'll look into that alesis I/O forsure I definitely want to replace the DD1M I've got.

KTBMAF My friends!! Stay Metal!! I hope this thread helps anyone with future problem or even past problems!!

 

[Bay Studio]

Really?? I will look into those mesh heads idea. Are the pretty pricey, and will I have to get different triggers with them?? Could be worth trying, the drums don't sound too bad and are easily mixable with the samples, however the less bleed I get into the OH the better sound I feel I could get, I fixed the mis triggering and whatnot it was actually quite simple, and now every single hit on anything is hot and exact. I LOVE the Presonus Firestudio we are running them into, It took a minute to figure out how to get each general out to be individual outputs but it ended up working nicely. All I did was push the gain on each channel as high as without getting mis triggering and in the Universal Control Mixer pushed up the volume output of each and then out to the DD1M and it gets a really really strong signal and hits hard as hell. I'll look into that alesis I/O forsure I definitely want to replace the DD1M I've got.

KTBMAF My friends!! Stay Metal!! I hope this thread helps anyone with future problem or even past problems!!

Yeah dude, get a whole set of them. Where i live they cost 10-20 € (15-30$ aprox.). They´re not pricey, and you won´t have bleed in your OH´s. They just make a reaally really silent soft noise you barely hear.
I´ve had really good outcomes by tightening the heads really tight. Just try all that out, you´ll definitely dig those mesh heads if you´re into proper triggering!
Good luck man!

 

[Lintinanims]

Hell yeah, I'm not into half assing anything, I'll post quick mix sample of what I'm getting now here in a bit, Just doing some fine tuning and then tracking time!! I'll look into those mesh heads for sure man!!! They sound ideal!!!!

 

[that1drmmr]

Hi I recently purchased the DD1M module with a 5 pack of redshot triggers. Sound output is super low (volume cranked on module and monitor).

How do you have your current setup routed (trigger>preamp>module) and what equipment are you using?

Thank you for your help!!

 

[Hitchhiker Speed Bump]

Well the drummer hits them all pretty damned hard actually. He's a hell of a drummer if I do say so myself. I cannot post signals right now as it is, I won't be able to till this weekend. Possibly tonight if things go well. I'm running the triggers into S2.0 with Metal Foundry. There shouldn't be any problems there. If I can I will post signals tonight.

And yes the toms and snare seem to trigger wonderfully.

I will also do some experimenting with the trigger placement tonight if I can. Could I have the triggers pressed against the head wrong?? Sorry for the noobish questions :S The triggers didn't come with any tips and tricks or anything like that so... I'm just shooting in the dark looking for a light..

Wow thats always been the exact opposite of my problems, Kicks have always triggred awsome. But I would always false trigger on snare and toms.
I dont really trigger much anymore though....you should look into just sound replacing with mikes instead using somthing like battery I think its more accurate.