can this be used to connect triggers?

soham2rescue · #1 03-31-2011, 09:21 AM

one of my guitarists friend uses this convertor connector to connect his guitar to the laptop.. it is suppose to be plugged in the mic port of the laptop.

i wonder can i also connect my only bass drum trigger to the laptop in the same way and use a relavent software to mould the sound of the bass kick?

Zeus Mutation · #2 03-31-2011, 04:26 PM

I'm not 100% sure of your actual question but I'll try.

MIDI is the best way to connect, are you useing electronic drums? If so use a MIDI to USB cable, I use the M-Audio one but I'm sure there are other choices.

Yes, using drum software and or say garageband software you can connect to your computer and get creative.

For my bass guitar into my computer I'll use this http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ble?sku=332600

Its not the best but you can get something down.

Hope this helped some

soham2rescue · #3 03-31-2011, 04:44 PM

no i want to trigger my acoustic drums.. and i want to bypass the expense of drum module.. because i need to trigger only my bass drum.. so can it be used? i guess... the main aim is just to let the impulses reach the laptop.. so can it work in my case?

Dr_Watso · #4 03-31-2011, 05:06 PM

You need a module, or a good sound card with a midi port, and drum software. An electronic trigger from a drum is just an electronic signal, not an actual sound. The module makes the sound, or the software you're feeding a midi signal to could also make a drum sound. That software generally isn't cheap.

Zeus Mutation · #5 03-31-2011, 06:11 PM

Yeah your need more stuff to get acoustics to go into the computer directly.

What kind of laptop... if its microsoft (PC is personal computer, but I know you knew this already) get like ezdrummer or some basic drum software and you can creat what you want. If you have recording software, adjust the recording mic really low and record yourself playing the kick. Then you can add other instruments or beats.

If you've got a mac... garageband is there and not only can you record your acoustic kit live but there are a ton of drum samples you can use.

Finally if your not looking to get crazy, buy a used cheap e kit and then the midi cable and you can go to town as they say

Good luck

soham2rescue · #6 03-31-2011, 06:50 PM

i have the software.. got it from my friend..

so you mean to say.. i can skip the MODULE.. and get a sound card instead (which seems to be far way cheaper than the module?) .. and it will work for me??? :)

DrumEatDrum · #7 03-31-2011, 06:52 PM

To trigger? No.

Triggering involves midi. You have to have a module to convert the trigger to midi information, and use a midi input on the computer.

To record a sound, and add EQ, compression, reverb and other effects to greatly alter the acoustic tone, yes, in theory, but you'll need a decent mic, and an additional adapters. And going through a mini-plug like that really isn't going to give you the best results.

Youan · #8 03-31-2011, 07:00 PM

it will work!

try it, it's a very cheap piece of kit anyway.

if all you want is a signal to go into your software to trigger a sound, i don't see why this wouldn't work.

Dr_Watso · #9 03-31-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soham2rescue

i have the software.. got it from my friend..

so you mean to say.. i can skip the MODULE.. and get a sound card instead (which seems to be far way cheaper than the module?) .. and it will work for me??? :)

As drum eat drum said, no. You need to feed MIDI to the computer, not just electronic signal. This usually requires a drum interface of some kind. (although some regular music interfaces can receive and use drum pad signal with drum software, they tend to be high end) A used roland module would be cheap, and for what you're doing, I wouldn't screw around with MIDI unless there was a really good reason, I mean, this is just one trigger, right? What sound do you want to trigger? Cowbell? Kick?

There are also "modules" built specifically to trigger only midi, they tend to be cheaper than the ones that produce their own sounds. Both roaand and alesis have dedicated devices for this that are popular.

Modules can be had for cheap if you're willing to settle for cheaper gear.
http://www.vendio.com/stores/jobeky/...oduct%20Search

Willyvee · #10 04-05-2011, 04:13 PM

Hello All - I actually just stumpled across some interesting looking software last nigt- it is called Etrigger (I'll double check). Anyway, this software is supposed to actually provide the trigger to midi functionality so you can connect your edrums directly to your sound card inputs.

Of course, you may end up spending as much on a good sound card as you would an Alesis Trigger I/O or an old module to use for the same purpose- interesting though.

#11 04-05-2011, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Youan

it will work!

try it, it's a very cheap piece of kit anyway.

if all you want is a signal to go into your software to trigger a sound, i don't see why this wouldn't work.

Because piezo-generated voltages are not the same as MIDI signals.

Writing software to do the conversion is easy - I do similar things all the time, but it's not worth it unless you have a very specific application. Buy a MIDI module and do it that way.

Youan · #12 04-05-2011, 09:48 PM

It seems to me that the cheapest way is for the trigger (piezo mic) to send a signal to your laptop through the mic port that you have, and using the transient produced, trigger a sample.

phfreq · #13 04-07-2011, 11:22 PM

haven't tried it... supposedly you could use the sound card input so technically, you can do what you were thinking

http://www.etrigger.net/

Audio trigger to midi conversion
Trigger to Midi modules can be expensive. eTrigger has a built in Audio to Midi Trigger processor. You can plug in as many electronic drums as your sound card can support. The more inputs your sound interface has, the more triggers you can plug in.