PLEASE talk me down off the ledge... I HAVE G.A.S!!!!!!!!!

[Greg The Groove]

Ladies and gents, please help...I have some very bad ides creeping into my head at the moment and I dont know what to do. Im absolutely LOVING my 2Box and VST combo with my Jobeky Drums kit. HOWEVER....Im having some real BAD GAS and Im actually thinking of looking to purchase an acoustic drum kit!!! YES I SAID IT! Im kinda missing playing acoustically even though I love my ekit. I dont have the room, dont have the $$ necessarily, and I dont know what to do. I can only set up one kit at a time in my garage. Noise from the neighbors isnt an issue, BUT drum noise IS a concern with my babies in the house, so I wouldnt be able to play late at night or whenever I want to if I set up my AKIT. What do I do?

So, if I do, do this, Im looking at the following.

1. PDP MAPLE CONCEPT SERIES by DW DRUMS. PDP has REALLY come a long way. They offer a 7 piece kit for $899 and Im told by many drummers that they sound great.

http://www.pacificdrums.com/drums/kits.asp?sKITNAME=cm_silverblacksparkle

What I really want to do but I know I cant because Im a DIY DUMMY, I would want to build drop in cake pan triggers for all the toms and simply remove them and slap on acoustic skins when I want to play it as an A kit and permanently configure the kick drum as a trigger because I find it easier and nicer to always get a triggered kick drum sound. Id use my HART snare and Roland MG cymbals when its an ekit and the regular acoustic snare when its an A kit with Zildjian cymbals.

Im really stuck with this decision. I really wish there was an easy way to do this and get some cake pans made because theres no way I can do it myself. Any thoughts?

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

I think you should get the kit. You don't need to build the pans. Save some cash and pick up some Quartz harnesses....Wronka Easy Triggers.....or just build your own version of the WET with an "L" bracket with Quartz parts...then just change the heads.....or...get some Aquarian inHeads......Embrace your GAS.........

[Greg The Groove]

I think I'm too DIY dumb to do any of those!

[Greg The Groove]

I just watched a video with the Quartz harness, I didn't realia it was that easy to do. Pretty cool. How well do you think this works though if I want to play the kit acoustically? How would I remove it? I'd have to remove the jack and disconnect the wires etc...?

How would external drum triggers like the red shots work with a 2box Daniel? Any thoughts?

[Greg The Groove]

How would you use that harness on a 22" kick drum? The trigger shouldn't be central mounted on a kick drum correct? Wouldn't you also need some kind of bigger foam piece to hit behind the mesh head?

[allanjohn]

If you're thinking PDP, check out the classifieds - Jman has a couple of beauties which he'll sell triggered or untriggered. They're upper-end PDPs and fantastic finishes.
And, by the way, redshots work well with 2box.

[hairmetal-81]

Jump, my friend, JUMP!!!!

"Here, let me help you...." [Gives Greg a push]. Next thing you'll hear is an "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"





Okay, let's get serious again, shall we?

As nice as your Jobeky's are, you are absolutely entitled to something that suits your fancy, and some nice shells are a good start! Please refrain from using the kit acoustically... for the sake of your babies! Instead, a nice converted A-to-E kit with proper, full-depth shells is the way to go!





The Triggers

Daniel's advice is again spot-on: You don't need cake-pans - it can be done much easier!!!

One tiny info I'd like to add to this, is the 2box cannot do much with center cones (Quartz etc; as nice as these are, no use in positional sensing), so your choice might be rim triggers! External ones (if you prefer those; DDrum Pro highly recommended) or internal ones... More stealth, less prone to damage (if metal-housings are damageable anyway...) and currently, there is only one choice:

Wronka EasyTriggers! To the best of my knowledge, there isn't much competition in 'built-in rim triggers', which literally makes EasyTriggers an 'Easy' choice!







The Shells

As for the actual shells, *Anything Goes* really! Wathever suits your fancy, right...?
There are lots of beautiful drumkits out there, from budget-friendly, used Pearl Exports, to custom shop offerings like the new Tama Star!

If you like the PDP's, go with them! If you like it a bit more exclusive, the mexican-made DW 'Performance' series might be worth a consideration....







I'm a sucker for natural wood shells! There is one PDP kit I saw recently, that IMO beats them all...
What makes it special, is the finishes are limited, I believe - and they will already come with built-in triggers !!!

What's it you ask?


Well, honestly Greg, you already know and saw pictures of these:
It's Jman's 'A-to-E Stealth' PDP's! He offers two choices - an 'Exotic Birdseye' finish, and the one that I really fell for: 'Kurillian Birch'....!
http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/ma...conversion-kit

Since they come from Jerry, and he's using a 2box too, you simply know that they will work! And work nice - nearly out-of-the-box....



Alright, enough Sales-pitching for now - I will be going back to continue pushing people off ledges!
....into the warm jumping-sheet of G.A.S-coziness!





HTH

[Greg The Groove]

It appears the red shots triggers don't support rim also. I'm looking to try the new chrome ddrum triggers that support rim on snare trigger.

http://www.ddrum.com/chrome_elite_triggers.php

[hairmetal-81]

There's even a better one:

http://www.ddrum.com/drt_triggers.php

Give them a try, too!

[allanjohn]

Yes, redshots are only single zone. If you need dual zones, you need to move up at least to the Pro. The DRT has a "spare" piezo which is activated by a switch if you ever break one on the fly. Not sure about the new Chrome range - looks like a beefed up Pro model.

[perceval]

Allan, did you get to try the XM add-on triggers yet? A little different than redshots, as the trigger part gets under the mesh head, and the cable connection stays on the side of the shell, so no part is overhanging the drum head. Comes in Mono (1 piezo) and Stereo (2 piezos).

http://www.xm-world.com/en/product/3/54/140/eDrum-Components/Triggers/AH-Trigger-(Mono).html

[Greg The Groove]

This looks very interesting!

[hairmetal-81]

I like this idea!
I fail to see a little how it is mounted.... Does the notch in the middle take up the bearing edge?

[Greg The Groove]

Yea it looks like you slip the trigger notch in the drum shell and then it will sit right underneath the head. Pretty cool design actually

[Greg The Groove]

This you tube video shows you about the XM trigger. It goes on the inside. Pretty cool. How come nobody ever talks about these guys? I wonder how it responds to the 2box module. If it works, this is all I'd need. But I'd want to play with regular acoustic heads live at a gig. To get the acoustic sound on stage with running the triggered sounds to the FOH and stage monitors. http://youtu.be/VmHyaMe9uz0

[allanjohn]

We talk about them in digitalDrummer and have included their offerings in our mesh head, snare and cymbal head2heads. The external trigger is a new product and I am waiting for a sample.

[perceval]

Yep, I thought they looked cool. But I couldn't find them for sale around here. I had to check their US ebay store. At $110 each dual trigger, they are not cheap.

But my guess is that if the Wronka design works well with 2Box, I'm pretty sure these XM will work equally well.

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

If you want acoustuic and 2Box sounds simultaneously ...just go with the inHeads....however if you want to use mesh.....A side mounted Quartz trigger with rim piezo attached to the shell will work just fine....in fact in response to Danoh...the 2Box functions just fine with center mounted Quartz triggers in a pan if that's how you want to go. So far for full functionality(rim& head with mesh or mylar) and best price without having to build anything...the Wronka's get my vote. Even the "DIY Dumb" can use a screwdriver.

[Greg The Groove]

Hey Daniel, which trigger assemblies can you use with regular acoustic heads? Do you need mesh heads to protect the trigger underneath or does it not matter? I'd love to test the in heads but do they make all kinds do sizes?

I see the ddrum triggers working just fine for a kick drum because it's just one solid thump hit. Its the rolls on the toms and snare etc I'm worried about

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

As far as I know...you can use any of the internals with acoustic heads...however you'll probly have to dial down the sensitivity and do a bit of tweaking as we all know mylar and mesh are very different creatures. I doubt you will want a center mounted cone though which leaves out Quartz's harness. I used a Quartz build on a cross bar with mylar(while waiting on my first mesh heads to arrive) and it triggered very well...but the acoustic noise was much more than I could bear.

[hairmetal-81]

A side mounted Quartz trigger with rim piezo attached to the shell (...)

Just to make sure there isn't a misunderstanding between us: Do you mean this....?



....something like a 'half bar cone trigger'?



Because I can't help it, everytime I hear 'Quartz', I almost remotely think of this...:





....the standard center-cone!
It is almost as if 'Quartz' has become synonymous in my mind with 'center-cone'. That's why I feel the need to clarify this...

in fact in response to Danoh...the 2Box functions just fine with center mounted Quartz triggers in a pan

Okay, defending statement: I'm all in favour for Quartz!
I wasn't trying to imply that 'Quartz doesn't work with 2box', but rather 'Positional sensing doesn't work with 2box'.

And then a further conclusion that - because pos-sens is the major criteria to go with Quartz or center-cones more general - I felt that it is ...erm.... 'unfortunate' to go with Quartz's added functionality, when rim triggers are sufficent equally on a Drumit-5!


I hope that this clears things a bit!

Even the "DIY Dumb" can use a screwdriver.

This gets my nomination for 'Quote of the Day'!

[hairmetal-81]

Resizing pictures doesn't work for me... Sorry 'bout this!

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

My eyes like the big pics....and yes I was referring to something like the first pic....although sliding the trigger platform to one side on the crossbar will work just fine also if a side mount is what one desires.

Thanks for clearing it up...the way you worded it led me to assume you meant center placement wouldn't work....I just wanted to make sure that if this was in question that it would surely work indeed.

[hairmetal-81]

All good! You know what though: NOW I am ardently interested in comparison values/comments/reports between a side-mounted Quartz, and the Wronka!

Anyone?

[perceval]

They should behave quite similarly, no?

[hairmetal-81]

That's my assumption, too. But I wanna know for sure! 'Wanna see facts!', Hehehe...

[Greg The Groove]

I'm going to simply try using the newer ddrum chrome elite triggers and see how they track and pick up the sounds and if they work well. Daniel I looked at the Aquarian in heads but it doesn't look like they have all kinds of head sizes? The wronka triggers seem nice but how do I order them? They seem difficult to order or communicate with?

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

They are supposed to have 8"-16 or 18"...but I haven't seen anything but the snare/kick combo for sale either.

[Greg The Groove]

I really like the XM triggers the most to be honest. Slips on the rim etc...Looks like you could use an acoustic head with it perfectly. What I need to know is how after vibrations of the acoustic head make the triggers react etc... Especially with the 2box module, it doesn't have many settings to work with such as re trigger cancell, mask time etc...

[allanjohn]

Remember that we don't actually know anything about the performance of the XM triggers, even on mesh! I have one on its way for a second external trigger head2head.

[Greg The Groove]

Allan, anyway you can do a test with the 2box module with regular acoustic heads to see if the overtones or vibrations of an acoustic head or she'll cause double or triple triggering?

[allanjohn]

Yes, Greg. Will do.

[hairmetal-81]

The wronka triggers seem nice but how do I order them?

http://www.wronka-drums.de/shop/easytrigger/index.php

There is a dedicated EasyTrigger page: (I've used a Google-Translated link for your reading-convenience)

http://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wronka-drums.de%2Fshop%2Feasytrigger%2Findex.php

And there is an 'inquiry' page for international members:

http://www.wronka-drums.de/shop/international-inquiry/index.php

HTH

[Greg The Groove]

I'm assuming you can still use regular acoustic heads with the Wronka triggers? Or do you only use mesh heads? Are they dual zone for snare head and rim?

[hairmetal-81]

I'm assuming you can still use regular acoustic heads with the Wronka triggers?

I assume this is correct, as rim-triggers (akin to the DDrum ones) were originally designed for mylar. They were already around years before Roland invented mesh-heads in 1996.

Are they dual zone for snare head and rim?

The easytrigger (with the exception of the bassdrum-easytrigger maybe) is indeed dual-zone, to the best of my knowledge!


HTH

[allanjohn]

Yes, dual-zone.