Triggers

[Mammon]

What exactly is 'triggered drums'? I've seen it mentioned many places, for example how people hate the triggered drums in Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, and how it is cheating or something to use it.

Who use triggered drums, and what is so good/bad about it? What specific songs show the pros and cons about it?


Thank you

 

[Flaming Death]

something like electronic drums with a real drum set.

triggers pick up vibrations

 

[MyEyesBleed]

A trigger is a MIDI pickup...you place it in contact with the head of the drum...the signal goes to a MIDI processor, through an amp and to speakers. It "triggers" a sample...anything from a normal drum hit, to a whole rudiment, any sample stored in the processor (including vocal samples, etc).

I've heard this thing about triggers being "cheating" a lot...because people seem to think that if you use them, you program in drum beats...like you could sit down a 4 year old and have them play a death metal song. All a trigger does is trigger MIDI or samples...most people use them simply for a different drum noise, either with a natural acoustic sound to get consistent volume in the mix...or with a more electronic sound for additional effect. The only drummer I've ever been aware of using triggers to sample rudiments to assist in playing is Rick Allen from Def Leppard (for obvious reasons).

I only know one drummer who uses triggers, but he uses them very effectively. The band he plays in is a 3 piece death/grind band. 2 guitarists playing 7 strings and him on drums, with a bass hit (the main trigger he uses...the rest of the set is simply acoustic. The only other triggers he uses are for samples incorporated into the songs) that hits you in the gut like a heavyweight...among the 3 of them they have such a huge sound you never even notice they don't have a bassist.

Anyway, hope that cleared some things up for you.

 

[Starbreaker]

Another way to look at it is this.

With a triggered drum tone, it grants the drummer a much more consistent bass drum sound live. Without them, one is subject to whatever bass drum mic the metal club has (if you're not a national touring artist), and how well the soundman can make you sound...which often isn't good. With a trigger, it is still an "input" to their mixing board as a microphone would be, but the tone coming out of the trigger module is already pretty close to sounding perfect, so the soundman doesn't have to tweak it much...if at all. Triggered drums work well too because they often can generate a "clickier" (read: more treble-laden) sound than the average miked bass drum. This helps as in many smaller clubs & theaters the subwoofers are usually skimped on first, so the bass drum loses presence in the mix. With the "clicky" tone, you actually hear that the bass drum(s) is going....it cuts through the wash of the rest of the mix.

And again, if the drummer can't play consisently, you just hear his mistakes more pronounced and clear...so it can be a great aid, but also a great hindrance if you're not up to snuff. It has made our drummer quite a bit better since he's bought them. Keeps you more "honest", because everybody hears what you're doing now much better.

 

[Vienyard]

I agree wholeheartedly dude. My former drummer used them on his kicks only, and that was to just keep the sound consistent live. Plus, then at rehearsal, he could hook up some headphones to his module and listen to his feet during the real blazing parts and decipher whether or not he needed to work on them more.

Plus, in the studio, it makes for a hassle free tone. Plug it in, and minimal eq is necessary. Getting good drum sounds in the studio is difficult sometimes.

I see it no different than a guitar player who uses effects. You still have to play the instrument to get the sound. I really dont know of anyone who literally "cheats" by using triggers.

 

[FailingAcension]

Yeah, you don't cheat at all using triggered drums. On most every album I have the bass drum is triggered. When a drummer goes into a "blazing" double-bass roll, he's not hitting as hard as he has been or maybe he is hitting harder? (depends on the style) Triggers just make the sound more clear. All of the above are right too. Of course, some (Nick Barker, who has a measure of talent, and Hellhammer, the greatest drummer IMO) overdo it a little with the triggers. (Hellhammers drumming on Mayhem, that it) I with I could afford triggers.

 

[Board]

I see all the points written here, but if I can also see the kind of cheating in it. When I played drums I know that I couldn't hit as hard on the bass drums when playing a blastbeat as when playing a normal beat. As far as I know you can put a trigger on and when you're hitting really weakly on the bass drum it sounds like you're hitting perfect all the time. To me that sounds kind of the easy way out if you do this instead of working on getting your legs & feet working better!