DIY Electric Acoustic Drum Triggers Tutorial for eDrums
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2024
- After much review of the existing tutorials available on RUclips and the web, I've taken elements from many tutorials and a few ideas of my own and combined them into this ten minute tutorial. This took me a day to build, and probably cost me about $40 in materials. Yes, you can find triggers out there for a similar price without any of the work, but I've bought and tested many of those and they are nothing compared to the kit I built in this tutorial. Watch and learn how to construct an electric/acoustic hybrid kit.
Check out my band, Tsavo, at / tsavotheband 
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Seams to work great. Well done!
Thanks for your kind words! For the rim-shot sound (or really any sound you want to trigger on the rim of the drums) you would have to mount a piezo on the side of the shell or use some sort of metal tab to sit on the edge of the drum under the rim that would need to be set a bit lower in sensitivity so that it's not triggered by the drum hit. You can also wire this as a dual trigger, which instructions can be found for online, so that you don't have to worry about that.
there are a lot of more complicated ways to do this that _look_ high tech and cool. but here in 2022, this 10yo video still seems the simplest way to go
Thanks for your video. Great stuff and well presented.
Good clean and easy setup, thanks for sharing.
Outstanding video Sean.
Clear easy to follow instructions for a fantastic idea you're sharing. Thank you very much as you've inspired me to give this a try. The snare will be the tough part as the rim is necessary for the full dynamic -I'll do some research and share if I find anything noteworthy.
Im getting a 4 piece kit from a friend that Im doing this to. Thanks so much for the awesome idea!
Very good choice to use this aluminium or metallic disc to increase the sensitivity area of the piezo. Great build, simple and clear also you can put and a second piezo glued to the shell and change the input and connectivity to stereo so you can have and a sidestick sound!!
Great work man!!!
Thanks for the kind words. I think the design is great and it works much better than many of the other methods i've seen. And yes, the sound is a direct recording from Superior Drummer, not ambient room.
Great job man! I have built several ekits over a 30 year period, designing my own triggers. Now days, the drum modules are fast enough and sensitive enough to do a wicked job. Most drummers do not get the fact that pro recordings use triggers a LOT. I capture both audio (mics) and midi performances from the module and mix and match in a daw, I used to be an acoustic snob. I usually use the midi performances for fast, great sounding work. IMHO, as good as acoustic & tons EASIER! Regards e;)
One additional comment to my prior post. I removed the air hole sleeve and installed female 1/4" jacks (Stereo for the snare). I removed the wires from the piezo and soldered new wires directly to the jacks. This way the 1/4" cable to my TD 20 plugged directly into the side of the drum. For the snare, I used the bolts for the DW logo to secure a second piezo and then connected it to the stereo jack. This allows me both the snare and a rim shot. Didn't see that mentioned in the video, so FYI
great work dude!
Nicely done!
I converted my DW kit using this method. Instead of trying to save money, I had a cabinet shop cut perfect circles with MDF, a sheet metal co. do the same. NOTE: I made a mistake here and didn't get thin enough sheet metal, which had to be corrected for the snare and small tom, Lastly, I got an upholstery shop to cut black high density foam in perfect circles too. This was as easy as it looked in the video, but I went slow to make sure I did everything right. They work great with my TD20!
Great job. I have a TD-11 kit and have done some diy drums but most don't respond the way yours does. I've been using cones, which create an incredible hot-spot. Gonna give it a try. Thanks.
Drums are cool. :D
I agree with @drummaplumma, I bought the ddrum pack of triggers and it was not nearly as sensitive as the triggers I built.
Nice! I'm confident with my skill for wood but I don't know electric stuff at all, so that was quite interesting. thanks!
Although, I haven't tried this yet, in theory, this is genius, because it wont have the center head hot spot issues that Roland and pintech, etc have. On the Roland and Pintech, the trigger foam point contacts the center of the mesh drum creating a hot spot and higher velocity in that region. My only question, and I'll know when i build this is, how is the cross talk between the drums? Cross talk is sometimes an issue when you convert acoustic drums to electronic. Electric drums by comparison are mounted on a frame to reduce vibrational crosstalk.
Yes, sounds are played back in real time, either by your module (which has the sounds built in - not the Alesis Trigger i|O though, that is only for triggering) or by your VSTi software (such as EZDrummer, Superior Drummer, BFD etc).
Thank you Sean!!!! I will be working on this and will show the final product as a I finish!!!
Chiao!!!
Yes it does. I actually had mine putting too much pressure on the head and those heads started breaking pretty quick, so not too much pressure. Just enough to deaden the bounce from the mesh head a bit.
Thanks mate well done
1) I did it similar to how I did the other drums, but I used a 2x4 to span across the size of the drum instead of the round piece of plywood.
2) The heads were not included in the price, but I would guess that you could use standard heads as well as mesh heads, it just might not have as much bounce/spring when you strike the head. All of the other supplies came to around $40. Honestly if you're just looking to get a cheap electric kit, I would recommend going with a Yamaha DTXpress II or III.
Amazing! Thank you, now same thing for the kick drum right?
Amazing, thanks!
Very cool project, I think I m going to do the same. You ve inspired me a lot!!! My goal is to trigger sound from my Mac where I ve Superior Drummer 2.0 installed, via an external soundcard. I just need a module for the MIDI signal such as Alesis Trigger IO... Thank you very much
It really depends on the drum machine/software that you are using. Yes, this setup is sensitive enough to make a double stroke roll sound great at pretty high speeds, but your limitation may be with your module/software to make it sound natural. Sometimes you have to play around with the trigger sensitivity too.
Great tutorial. Who knows, you may well have created the best triggers out there using that design. I'm guessing we only heard the output of the module and not ambient room sound. Great natural sound. Yes, this makes me feel like playing drums again, but midi this time.
@sherlie1953 No, you would definitely have to add another piezo to the shell to get rim shots. You'd also have to do a little bit of creative wiring if you want to run both piezos into a stereo 1/4" jack. Not sure how that works, but there are tutorials out there to show you how. It's not super complicated.
Rebound is great, I like it to feel as much like an actual drum head as possible. These were slightly more bouncy.
Basically, make a smaller version of this, but mount it to a 2x4 that mounts across from one lug to the other diagonally across the kick drum. The piece of wood is just to mount the trigger/sensor and foam pad on.
Pretty much, except for I made a smaller plate (around 6" wide) and mounted that on a 2x4 piece of plywood that was mounted to the two brackets (which were mounted to the back side of the lugs)
hi! you did great job,just wanna ask how about the kick? just wanna know...thanks!
did you do the same process for the kick drum?
silly wuestion but after searching there are a few different sizes of piezo transducer,,what size do you reccomend,,cheere in advance
If i'm making this for my bass drum for the purpose of running the signal through an effect board, in your opinion, how much will the wood cut from the jigsaw effect the overall acoustic sound of the bass drum?
This is kinda how the dm10 pads are built...great vid how is the rebound with the foam under the mesh does it feel more damped or cushioned??
What does this do to the acoustic sound of the drumset? Will it still be good for a small live performance where you aren't mic'd, or do you have to run it through an amp no matter what after this?
how does a roll sound with this setup? is the piezo sensitive enough to distinguish buzz roll from double stroke?
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching.
QUESTION...
If I buy a trigger and a cable, can I just run the trigger straight into my mixer from the cable, and then from my mixer to my laptop. because I only want to trigger my snare and kick, but I have four other mics going into my mixer as well...Or would I need to buy another interface to run my trigger cables into first, cuz there would be no presets right? or are the presets built in??
Please Answer! :D
I was using the Alesis Trigger IO in the video, but now I actually use a Yamaha DTXpress IV to capture my drum hits. For scratch tracking, I'm using the whole kit, but for final tracking I'm using the drum pads with actual acoustic cymbals that are mic'd (probably an understatement, I'm mic-ing the crap out of them)
How does having the piece of plywood that large affect the sound?
Is the foam touching the mesh head? When I have it touching the mesh it double triggers often even after adjusting the Alesis IO settings. When I have it 1/8" below the head I have to hit the mesh quite a bit harder to get the sound. I like that you are able to do ghost notes on yours. Need a bit of help if you have time. Thanks!!
thanks a lot this is pretty helpful, do you know what's the output signal level ?
do you think this way is better than other methods out there, like the cones?
which electric module are u using for outputs
Why would you put the bottom head in place and not leave it open? And is the distance between the foam and the mesh head not to big? Thanks for sharing?
Maybe you mentioned but; which module do you use? And what about the sound (noise) without the module. Can you use it without sound insulation in an apartment flat for example.
I had issues with double triggering with the Alesis IO, do you have it hooked up via USB or MIDI. If you are using both, that could be what is causing the double triggering.
I was using a drum module, specifically an Alesis Trigger i|O. You can use pretty much any drum module and midi out to the computer though. As far as I'm aware, there is no software available (as of yet) that will allow you to record directly from an analog source and convert to a midi note (although that would be a great and extremely useful VST plugin to have).
Good news! Ableton now has this (10 year later zombie post)
Interesting video. How well does this method work with a computer program like Drumagog ?
Yes, a smaller foam pad might work better if you're getting too much signal. A lot of these DIY triggers actually use a foam cone which only slightly touches the bottom of the head, but I found the mesh heads to be too bouncy, so the foam helped.
What kind of module best to use? For this kind of trigger?
thanks a lot for this video and your help. i was wondering how is the “feel” comparing to a cone trigger? since the foam is touch the whole mesh head. does it change on the bounce?
@HangKebon Unfortunately I have since sold this entire setup. Maybe someone else out there that gets this up and running could respond to your request?
Hello Sean How are you!!!
I followed all the instructions from your video and the drums look very nice and clean but I have a problem. The sensibility of the four drums I made is awful!!!! How can I get a more real response from them!!!! My module is a Roland TD-6V. Please give me some kind of advice to resolve this problem!!!
Thank you
Joel Enriquez
men good work.. i really dont know how piezoelectric works but can i use piezo buzzer instead of piezo transducer?
4:46, the most essential step.
does the foam actually TOUCH the bottom of the batter head?
What was the reason for you using both sheet metal and wood?
did that allow you to hear it back in real time, right? like when you hit a tom it plays a tom sound in your headphones in real time or did you have to wait to hear it as the tom sample AFTER you had already recorded it?
hey thank you sooooo much :)
it works very well
i trigger my millenium tom for a test bought a alesis trigger io with ezdrummer lite
and it works :)
so great
no i have to trigger my whole drumset :D
thank you :)
Do you plug the drums in to a Digital Interface or are you using an actual drum module? I made one drum, but i can't get a drum sound in my headphones I get the click in my DAW.. i just can't figure out how to get a snare sound in real time as i'm playing it. help? anyone? i'd like to avoid a drum brain if possible.
I did this back in 1989. you have ower worke this,
I basically used the same setup, except I only attached to two lugs and used a 2x4 piece of wood across the drum to hold the metal plate in place.
By making the foam sensor contact over the whole head you remove positional sensing, which is based off the time between pulses on the flapping head picked up by the piezo at a small contact in the middle of the head as opposed to the whole thing.
What type of hardware/software do you need to take advantage of positional sensing?
And a foam cone so there is a small point of contact, otherwise you are preventing different vibrations from making it properly to the sensor. The drum building method in this video will not give accurate positional sensing.
really awesome set up, do you have any details on the Cymbals you have seen at the end of your Video?
The acoustics of a drum are based on the sound vibrating in the cylinder, so this would definitely affect the overall sound of the drum. You may want to consider buying a different product (like the ddrum triggers that are available) to get the signal out to your effects processor.
What kind of electronic cymbals are you using?
after all my drum has setup do i need module? how to make it?
Sean, Does this set up allow you to do rim shots or do you need to add another piezo to the shell of the drum for rim shots????
Great vid thanks :)
A couple of questions.
How thick is the metal sheet?
Do you need the wood? couldn't you attach the metal sheet directly to the brackets?
What kind of cymbals/pads are you using? I have not seen those before.
Yes, this will work with drumagog or Superior/EZ Drummer softwaer. Basically anything that will accept midi as an input and output drum sounds.
Btw would u think 2in thick memory foam would be better then this foam??
What module u use ?
So you're running 5 1/4" cables to your interface? I think I'm going to build mine with a volume knob on each drum for more control
Hey Sean, what kind of Sheet metal did you use ?
it's the same with the snare ??
Hey, what gauge of sheet metal you're using?
are the velocity and sensitivity settings managed through the drum module or the piezo? does it make a big difference if you have a quality drum module like a roland td series vs an osp dd502?
if I connect the piezo plug is a stereo female jack? .... then can I connect it to a roland control unit via mono jack-jack cable?
Are those cymbals diy? If so, they are mint: one owner! They should be the next tutorial.
Hi Sean, what sort of foam did you use? I have some flightcase foam laying around, would that work?
Sean, Since you are using a mesh head does this make your drums acoustically mute???? In other words can you play quietly using just the headphones? Great video!!!!!
Thanks,
Robert
i need to know how to make the acoustic cymbals (dual zone) and also hi hat. please make the video and let me know.
Do you have any hotspots ? Also, how quiet are the drums ? Are they as quiet as mesh head e-drums ?
Hi.Nice tutorial.I was wondering what drum module/audio interface you were using for this?
I like this sounds. what yours module
What kind of cymbals are those
I have a 5 lug drum, what should I do?
You will need a drum "brain" of some sort, which has a trigger to midi converter as well as a sound generator built in. You could also do as the author has and use an Alesis Trigger iO, which only converts to midi, in which case you will need to connect that to a laptop to generate the sounds. I believe it comes with software that would cover kick/snare, but I'm not sure about a complete kit. You could also use a software instrument from just about any DAW to generate the sounds.
Hi. What module are you using. I've done the conversion but getting loads of cross talk and double triggering on my yamaha DTX502. Tried playing with the various trigger parameters and still have issues. Great video. Thanks
I'm interested to know this too.
That's funny, I've never heard it pronounced any other way... but actually I just looked it up, and phoenetically, it's PY-EE-ZO. You learn something new every day!
what module did you use?
Great work Sean! I just have some questions, read all the comments but couldnt find it. How thick is the metal sheet you are using? And do you know the exact density of the foam you are using? Like 35 kg/m³ or 180m? Thank you.