O I see, so what all would i have to buy to mic up my bass drum?
First you have to undertstand that triggers don't work like mics; mics capture the sound of the drum but triggers only capture the vibration of the drum. Triggers, as explained elsewhere in this thread are Piezo transducers which communicate the vibration of the drum being stuck to a sound module, like an Alesis DM-5. The DM-5 has a preset sound asigned to that trigger. That pre-set, pre-selected sound in the DM-5 will be what is sent through the PA out to the speakers. So a trigger doesn't do the same thing as a mic.
To mic up your bass drum, you will need a mic, such as an AKG D112, a mic cable and sound board or mixer. From there, you will need a cable to each speaker and a speaker. And this is as simple as it gets! In the chain of sound reinforcement, you may need subs and a crossover for live reinforcement. You probably also want a good compressor/limiter and possibly a dedicated EQ.
To trigger you bass drum, you will need a trigger, a cable to go to the sound module from the trigger. From the module, you will need cabling to go to the sound board which will be connected to the pa for live sound.
The advantage of trigger is that there is no need for any outboard effects gear, save for reverb. Feedback is eliminated as they do not pick up sound from an instrument. Also, if you are playing different rooms every night, soundcheck tends to be a breeze since the sound module's sounds never change.
The drawback is that what is programmed into the module is what you are going to get. There will not be any subtlies of hitting the drum in different spots on a drum or even the shell. When the drum is struck, the predetermined sound is what you are going to get.
Mike
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