Acoustic Drums to V-Drums

krash · Newbie Alert Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 2

I have a 5 piece Mapex set, and I'm trying to fiqure out a way to add drum triggers and deaden the sound of the acoustic without removing the head. I know I can use mesh heads, but because I need the V-drums while playing in my house but use the acoustic drums every week, It would be to hard to change heads every week. Do you think if I used a practice pad on top of the drum and either conected the trigger to it, or put the trigger on the head an made a cut out on the practice pad, it would work?

random white person · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:15 pm Post subject:

you can keep the normal heads on it, trigger those, and fill all the drums with blankets or towels or whatever to completely muffle the sound. you can get the feel of a real head, but with no sound.
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DjembeDog · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:20 pm Post subject: Re: Acoustic Drums to V-Drums

krash · Newbie Alert Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 2

DjembeDog, that's exacly what I'm thinking, it will be a couple months untill I can aford everything (triggers, modual, pads) but I'm deffinatly gonna try it.

tamadeals · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 10:22 pm Post subject:

That seems like a good idea, but the triggers will probably not pick up the vibrations of the pads very well on quieter notes or buzz rolls.
Another laborious option might be to put the mesh heads with triggers on one side and regular heads on the other. This would involve resetting your tom mounts every time and you might have to convert your floor tom to a hanging tom. You would also need a second snare.
Honestly, I think the easiest way to go would be to buy an inexpensive electronic kit or buy a really cheap second acoustic set (like a Pearl Rhythm Traveler which already comes with mesh heads) because if its triggered it doesn't really matter what the shells sound like.

sageofearth · Tadpole Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 19

I agree with tamadeals, and about the rhythm traveler I have tried one and they are excellent for the money and excellent for quiet practice.

nkf31 · Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 7:45 am Post subject:

Anyone has any links to sites that teach you how to trigger up the whole set? i have a rhythm traveller... would it be costly?

tamadeals · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 4:27 pm Post subject:

nkf31
It's actually pretty self-explanatory. Just attach a trigger to each drum using a standard drum key, then run a cable from each trigger to the appropriate trigger inputs on the back of whichever sound module you are using. Then run cables from the outputs of the sound module to an amp and speakers. Beyond that, it is just a matter of assigning the appropriate sounds to each trigger. The big expenses are going to be the sound module and whatever sound system you use to hear it through. Probably the cheapest way to go would be a Roland TD3 module and a pair of headphones.

nkf31 · Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 5:43 pm Post subject:

Would this be a good module?
http://www.alesis.com/products/dm5/index.html

Any good triggers to recommend? Are there really any differences between different triggers? And how about cymbals and the bass drum?

tamadeals · Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 8:42 pm Post subject:

Yeah, the Alesis stuff is pretty commonly used. And yes there is a difference in triggers. Do NOT buy the little stick-on type. Roland started making some triggers last year which work well. The Ddrum triggers are the industry standard though. It is what all the pros use. Not the Ddrum Hotshots, that is their cheap version. Although they are better than the Pintechs. The top of the line Roland cymbals are definately the best cymbal pads on the market.