How to track trig signal?

[Osse]

Hey ppl!

I've tried to post this in the trig FAQ on this forum, but it seems not much ppl are reading it so now I'm trying by starting a new thread. If my questions are answered I could just copy them into the Trig FAQ and delete this thread.

I've been foolin' around with replacing miced up drum samples and I'm thinking of a dedicated trigging system with trigg mics for better consistency and accuracy while trigging sounds.

I've got some questions:

1. Is trig mics a REALIABLE(and I mean VERY reliable) way to record information for post-record trigging?
2. It would be nice to be able to convert to midi PRE-record, is this desirable AND VERY RELIABLE? What about latency-issues? What about velocity curves for dynamic trigging?
3. If question 2 works, is there any recommended lenghts regarding MIDI cables, or can I use an approx 20m(60 feet) long cable and put the MIDI box in the recording room, besides the drums?


Thank you all! Cheers

 

[ahjteam]

1. yes and no. Microphone is very reliable way to record and can also be used as trigger signal
2. I would recommend doing the conversion post recording, but you can make them midi pre-record with a drum brain or similiar hardware.
3. maximum MIDI cable length is 15m, and that is on the boundaries of too unreliable. I keep my midi cables less than 3m in length.

 

[mick thompson]

as for the 1st question microphones are great pending the fact that they dont have too much spill so sometimes using a dedicated drum trigger such as a d-drum trigger (piezo) that clips on along side your mics can work even better then a microphone alone.

the d-drum triggers (or any piezo) can be used for

1: opening and closing drum gates on the kit to eliminate microphone spill which can result in un-wanted triggering (or triggering effects within your DAW such as specific reverbs, eq's, compression etc without the need for using automation)

2: the d-drum triggers (piezo's) can also be used as a back up in the event that one of your microphones failed during the recording process due to a bad audio cable or an extreme amount of spill

so if it were me and i had the money sitting there i would be investing in both d-drum trigger clips and a set of microphones for the drum kit

as for questions 2 & 3, well ahj above basically answered them perfectly