GRRR. triggering with an emad? and i hate ddrum

[writheindecay]

so i got an emad for my bass drum thinking it would be the perfect head for triggering. put it on, stick my trigger on the bass drum and the plastic ring on the emad head is too close to the edge so the trigger sensor doesnt sit flat on the drumhead.
so i cut a bit of ring off where the trigger sits so it will sit flat. start playing and now im getting masssssssive double triggering. changed back to my superkick II and the trigger is still acting up. this is the 3rd fuckin ddrum trigger ive had(had to exchange them) that has messed up. im not pressing them to hard onto the head, my settings on the module stay the same. seems the triggers only last a few weeks and then theyre shit again. im frustrated.

 

[m]

What are your threshold and sensitivity settings?

 

[drummert2k]

when your triggering you could have a crap head on thats been sitting in your attick for 20 yeads. as long as the trigger can pick up the head, it doesnt matter what kind of head you got on it. the trigger picks up the signal, not the tone.

 

[m]

well, I could see where an Emad would be problematic; the dampening ring area does interfere with most trigger designs.
But once you've got decent contact with the head, it should be OK.
Is the head really loose? I found I had to tighten mine a good bit so there weren't extraneous resonances and vibrations causing double-triggering.

I haven't used those models, but have had success with the Roland units.

 

[writheindecay]

yeah, im aware of that i didnt spend the 300 for a dm5 to pick up my acoustic bass drums tone., ive been triggering for a while. i switched to an emad because i figured the extrernal damping ring would help control vibrations and help get rid of misfires. .


i tried tightening the bass head up more than i usually do and its still messing up. these ddrum triggers dont last more than a month it seems. i k now afew other drummers who have had to buy 2 or 3 and then switched to roland and havent been happier.

im using the ddrum pro bass drum trigger. im going to get guitar center to order the roland trigger and let me pay the difference since this ones still under warranty.

 

[drummert2k]

yeah, im aware of that i didnt spend the 300 for a dm5 to pick up my acoustic bass drums tone., ive been triggering for a while. i switched to an emad because i figured the extrernal damping ring would help control vibrations and help get rid of misfires.


im using the ddrum pro bass drum trigger.

pack pillows to firm up the batter and you should be golden

 

[writheindecay]

yeah, im aware of that i didnt spend the 300 for a dm5 to pick up my acoustic bass drums tone., ive been triggering for a while. i switched to an emad because i figured the extrernal damping ring would help control vibrations and help get rid of misfires.


im using the ddrum pro bass drum trigger.

pack pillows to firm up the batter and you should be golden

ive never had a problem with having nothing in my bass drum before.

 

[m]

what symptoms is it causing?
missed triggers? Multiple unwanted triggers?

 

[writheindecay]

what symptoms is it causing?
missed triggers? Multiple unwanted triggers?

wel,, the trigger was working fine last band practice. last night i sat down to play, and it either wont fire at all, or it will do 3 or 4 for 1. if i set my gain any lower than 90, you could hit it with a baseball bat and it wouldnt trigger.

 

[GrindheadJim]

I had this exact problem in the studio. The solution? Had to take a razor and cut out the ring where the trigger would go. Lost no tone whatsoever, and the triggers worked fine.

 

[Kaos]

its becouse your using triggers on a head they do that I triied every trigger under the sun and just gave up. After giving up about a month ago I find these axis triggers from two of the members on this board. that looks like the way to go but they look like they only work on axis pedals. Im currently working on a design that will work on other pedals.

 

[Howepirate]

its becouse your using triggers on a head they do that I triied every trigger under the sun and just gave up. After giving up about a month ago I find these axis triggers from two of the members on this board. that looks like the way to go but they look like they only work on axis pedals. Im currently working on a design that will work on other pedals.

Yeh there called Axis E-Kit triggers and i can't wait to get them


Axis Ftw

 

[writheindecay]

well i like my dw5000s better than i did m y axis a2s so ekits are a no go.

ddrum is sending me a replacement. but ive got 3 shows this weekend, so it wont do any good when it shows up next week.

 

[dahlgrendrummer]

Here's what you do:

Get rid of that Emad, because that fucking ring is a pain in the ass.

Then, set up your Noise and crosstalk to about 60ish (play with it until you get it right on), and your velocity cruve to the max (7 I believe). There is another setting that I forgot the name of, I set that to about 4 (it controls how wide the time between retriggers is). Then, get a pillow or a blanket and stuff the kick drum, make sure that the head CAN'T ring by itself. If you do this with a DDrum trigger, it will work flawlessly, no double triggers, no false triggers when you hit the snare, nothing but pure accurate triggering.

 

[writheindecay]

i switched back to a super kick II, which is what i was using before, and the trigger is still acting up. they usually work pretty good for about 3 or 4 weeks and then they crap out on me.

ive never had to stuff my bass drum before to make my trigger work right, and im not starting now, i play in a 2nd, non metal band, and i dont use the trigger for that one, so ive gotta have a good bass drum sound for that one.

 

[dahlgrendrummer]

The trigger isn't going "bad". What happens is the foam around the triggering element on the end of the module is getting worn in a bit. After that happens the trigger actually gets much more sensitive. I didn't have to use anything in bass drum at first either, but then the only way I could get it to work was to jack up the crosstalk and noise values to the point that the left beater (which is further away then my right) wouldn't make the thing trigger. I set up the way a couple death metal drummers I know do and viola, fixed my problem. Sorry to say, but this is really the only way to get these SOB's to work right

 

[Empyrean Drums]

I use Ddrum triggers, a DM5, and Remo PS3s w/ no muffle. When I first started using triggers they were a bit too sensitive, but I came up with a cheap solution that doesn't require packing your bass drums full of pillows or foam. However, it does require a small screw hole inside your bass drum (I wasn't too emotional about drilling into my 15 year-old Export, but if you have a custom kit you may feel differently).

Start with a piece of 1”x 1/8” Flat Aluminum Stock, cut a length of about 3 inches.
Bend it into a 1”x 2” L. In the longer side, drill and elongate a couple of holes (like slots)
On the shot side of the L, get some self adhesive foam weather-stripping and stick it on the “bottom” side.
Now take the front head off you bass drum. Place the foam end against where your trigger is (on the inside) and mark the slots on your drum shell. Pre-Drill Pilot Holes in the center of the “slots”, that way you have some adjustment. (A good tip for setting the depth so you don’t drill through your bass drum--get a Bic pen, put it over the drill bit and cut it down so only enough of the drill protrudes for the depth you need). This is kind of important, if you just cram a screw into your drum it may split the shell.
Loosen your trigger from the head, then lightly press your new muffle against the head and screw it down. Use proper fasteners (not sheet metal or drywall screws), and at least 2 (to avoid the muffle spinning on only one screw)
Now re-attach your trigger. Leave you drum head off until you have it adjusted, if you want to tighten your muffle take the trigger off first, then just loosen the screws, push it tighter against the head, then re-tighten the screws.
Now you have an adjustable trigger muffle that doesn't kill the accoustic sound of your bass drum

 

[xdoseonex]

if you have an axis pedal you can get theyre specail trigger. it'll never false trigge or double trigger

 

[dahlgrendrummer]

Hey Empyrean,


Thats a really cool idea! I am thinking of trying that with slight modifications to alleviate the drilling by using a wider piece of metal and slotting it off one of the lugs. It would be nice to able to hear my acoustic kick a little better.

Axis does make the e-kit trigger system. It's a nice system, but you have to run two of them on a single kick drum which is more wires and shit to worry about if your a single kick player. Having the trigger on the kick is cheaper for a single bass drum double basser!!

 

[Empyrean Drums]

Hey Empyrean,


Thats a really cool idea! I am thinking of trying that with slight modifications to alleviate the drilling by using a wider piece of metal and slotting it off one of the lugs. It would be nice to able to hear my acoustic kick a little better.

Axis does make the e-kit trigger system. It's a nice system, but you have to run two of them on a single kick drum which is more wires and shit to worry about if your a single kick player. Having the trigger on the kick is cheaper for a single bass drum double basser!!

I was going to bolt the muffle under the lugs at first, but I just decided to simplify. If you can get longer studs to fit into the lug mount you can bolt the lug mount to the drum first, then bolt the muffle onto the protruding stud

I have 2 bass drums so I have 2 AL singles, but there was some other reason I decided against E-kits (but I can't remember right now). The only triggers I'd really stay away from are the Red Shots or any self-stick triggers.

Here they are in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UmKeIut87Dg[/url][/i]