Why Use Drum Triggers?

[Studdy]

Okay guys, i know 99% of the reason why people use drum triggers
- gating, triggering samples etc. and obviously for live performance.

I also own roland drum triggers. I just really dont understand what can be achieved in the recording process that cant be done with the mics. If you want to sidechain gate why not duplicate the mic signal and pull it back a few ms. If you want to trigger a sample just use the mic signal. If the bleed is so bad that it wont work then i would look to mic placement before anything else. Can someone please tell me a legitimate reason to use drum triggers in a recording session? Thanks.

 

[DavePiatek]

If you've got a really dense performance where the drummer is playing so fast that he barely touches the toms, no amount of mic placement is going to solve the gating problem if you use the signals directly from the mics.

 

[Studdy]

If you've got a really dense performance where the drummer is playing so fast that he barely touches the toms, no amount of mic placement is going to solve the gating problem if you use the signals directly from the mics.

Can you explain how you use them? Are you simply using the trigger to open the mic signal? I still can not understand why use it. I dont even really use gates much, i would rather edit the junk out by eye.

 

[DanLights]

It's much easier to sample replace stuff if you have a trigger splat track, depending on the mic setup it can be a nightmare to accurately trigger toms and sometimes kick drum. Also, some engineers actually mix in the high end trigger splat along with the mic'd/sampled kick drum, it's got its own special charm.

 

[Studdy]

are you guys aligning the mic to the trigger or the trigger to the mic?

 

[Studdy]

also not to mention that i fear the trigger wont trigger properly when hit. the mic will, i have never had trouble triggering from the mic. just set the threshold properly or do it part by part. I dont find the dynamics as good either when i use a trigger plus it isnt aligned with the mic signal. maybe i need to try it again.

 

[Heabow]

Also, some engineers actually mix in the high end trigger splat along with the mic'd/sampled kick drum, it's got its own special charm.

I was told that Danne Bergstrand used to do that for extra saturation/attack.

 

[Trevoire520]

No bleed on the trigger track. Big help when the drummer doesn't hit the drums hard or has his kit jammed to close together.

 

[Line666]

also not to mention that i fear the trigger wont trigger properly when hit. the mic will, i have never had trouble triggering from the mic. just set the threshold properly or do it part by part. I dont find the dynamics as good either when i use a trigger plus it isnt aligned with the mic signal. maybe i need to try it again.

I never ran into problems for a while either but its a really noticeable thing if you get a guy that doesn't hit toms hard because the transient can be weird/non-existent. For kick and most snare except rolls you can usually get away with triggering the mic track but its not ideal.

 

[Studdy]

I see how it may be helpful, still not sure its needed. Plus it must affect the tone a little. I appreciate all the feedback, I thought I was maybe missing something. Still interested in hearing about how you guys go about time aligning the trigger and mics , cheers happy holidays.

 

[JeffTD]

It's just way easier to see the transients. Not needed, but SUPER helpful on things like toms whose waveforms look like jumbled shit with soft hitters or in george-of-the-jungle type tom beats. Also helps with retaining dynamics while sample replacing; you get to set the threshold way lower without picking up bleed so you get more nuanced hits and a wider dynamic range of usable hit info.

 

[Heabow]

I always got mistrigging issues on toms and also some bleed on snare. Misuse perhaps...??

 

[greyskull]

haven't used triggers (as in the roland /ddrum things) in about 10 years.
No problems here triggering off mics.

 

[~BURNY~]

To answer the op, they are the only way to get isolated sources (virtually without bleed), both sonically and visually. They are not absolutely needed with modern production tools but they remain extremely convenient. I stopped recording them when doing some basic rock stuff but when things get more intricate, I'd rather have them especially on toms and snare.