2box Trigit vs. Roland triggers

[AndyMo]

Hi,

I am thinking about investing in some external triggers - to provide a backup for live situations (should an internal trigger fail) or to use my acoustic kit for live triggering.

I'm not sure if I should go for the 2box triggers - optimized for the 2box module - or the Roland triggers.

I wondered if anyone has experience with either/both - and if anyone is using them for live work.

I'm getting a bit paranoid about any failures - so looking at backup options.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers,
Andy

[welshsteve]

Hey,
Did you buy triggers? I have used them except roland and could advise you on choices!

[simedgoose]

I've used both in playing and demonstrating situations. The Triggits just 'work' - simply and with seemingly more natural dynamics in the 2box. The Roland output seems higher so there's less dynamic range when used with the Drummit5 - it's easier to overload the inputs.

I haven't had a great experience with the latest Roland's. They work great with Roland modules as you would expect. However, I had build quality issues. Over a one week demonstration tour in Europe last year, two of the four triggers I was using developed intermittent faults with one failing totally after 3 days. Now, I'm sure I just had a bad batch as I haven't heard similar stories, but it wasn't that reassuring.

If you have a Roland module, their triggers are *probably* best, but if you have a Drummit5, buy Triggit

[AndyMo]

Thanks for the info Simon.

I haven't invested in the triggers yet - but it sounds like the 2box triggers will be the way to go.

Best,
Andy

[welshsteve]

Are you triggering from mesh are mylar heads? If it's mylar, then I think the trigit ones are the best choice. I also had a set of Intrig 2 from triggera, and they worked well too with mylar heads but on larger (13" and above) I needed to dampen the head down a bit as I was getting a lot of double triggering. Raising the Mask time stopped it but killed a lot of the playability too.

[AndyMo]

Hi Steve.

It might be both.

I have a mesh head kit (with internal triggers). The idea is the external trigger would be a good backup (I have experienced trigger failures mid gig!).

The other option is to use the triggers on my acoustic kit with Evans heads. I'd be interested to see how that works.

Thanks,
Andy

[welshsteve]

Then the 2box Trigit ones are probably the best choice! Because they trigger great and can be mounted quick on a gig if an internal one fails.
In terms of tracking, the Ddrum ones work equally well but I have experienced a lot of failures with the Ddrum ones and I have tried ALL of them. The last ones were the chrome elite series, as they boasted a much more sturdier sensor design. But after two weeks (a common time frame for failures for me with external triggers on a tour) they started to fail, I just sent them back as I didn't want to go through it all again and went back to mic'ing!
Even the trigit ones failed on me not long after I got them, same reason, more or less same time frame. After chatting to Bengt in 2box he isolated the issue, it was because the negative cable was soldered on the edge of Piezo sensor. So with head vibration, after a while the negative wire "hinged" and broke at the solder point.
After soldering them back on a little further into the sensor, they seem to be holding up okay. But I am not using them that much though, I am about to go on tour again so let's see!

[AndyMo]

Thanks for the advice Steve - and do let me know how you get on gigging with them.

I will certainly look into getting a set of Trigit, so I have the option to gig again on my ekit. Due to hihat issues, plus an internal trigger failure, I went back to my acoustic for a set of summer gigs and functions. The hihat was the biggest issue - rogue foot splashes galore!

Cheers,
Andy

[AndyMo]

Hi,

Well, after a fair amount of procrastination - and gigging with my old acoustic drums while I try to fix the hithat - I finally got round to buying a 2box Trigit set.

I've not had a chance to try them out yet but I couldn't pass on this deal at Andertons in the UK. £100 discount on the trigger set!

https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/TRIGGERKIT/trigger-pads-heads/2box-trigger-set-4x-tomsnare-triggers-1x-bass-drum-trigger

Cheers,
Andy

[welshsteve]

Ah good to know. If you need any advice, hit me up here. I am still using mine and they're holding up okay (touch wood)
You gonna trigger from Mesh or Mylar heads?

[AndyMo]

Thank you!

I bought them for two possible uses.

One is as a backup, in case of any internal trigger issues. I have had some internal trigger failures and connection issues - which may be a result of the drums (not the module and triggers) being stored in a garage room. In this case, it's mesh heads (14 snare, 10/14 toms, 20 bass drum).

The other option is to perhaps trigger from my acoustic kit. This might be interesting. This would be mylar heads - same sizes apart for the bass drum (22" - with Evans EMAD Bass Head).

Any tips and advice would be great - particularly on the mesh head side of things which is my first priority so I can start gigging with the ekit again (once I have resolved my hithat issues too).

Thanks!
Andy

[welshsteve]

Okay first up, when you swap a trigger (internal for trigit) on a gig, you will need to make some on the fly parameter adjustments. I am gonna guess the internal ones require a little more gain than the trigit ones to achieve the same dynamics, but without knowing for sure your internal triggers, I am only guessing. And of course with any gain adjustment will require threshold adjustments too. Same will go for rim trigger if your internal ones have them, the trigits do. So perhaps it would be an idea to do a swap at home, make a note of the settings for the trigit ones and have it to hand (or memorise it) in case you do get a failure on a gig.

Which type of mesh (1-3 ply) will also affect this. Like I say, perhaps give it try at home first and make notes.

When triggering from mylar heads, it's a good practice to tune the drums to the same pitch as the samples yours using. Do that and you'll not notice they're triggered, they'll come across as mic'd up! Setting for mylar head will require a lot less gain than mesh heads.

Other than that I think there's not much else unless anyone else can think of something.

[AndyMo]

Thanks!

I have centre and rim internal triggers on my kit currently, so that should help switching between the two. It will be interesting to see how much I need to tweak going from one to the other.

I read somewhere on the forum that having internal trigger side mounted is perhaps better with 2box?

I might try and get the trigit set up and configured on the snare (and perhaps the bass drum too) and maybe have that as my default set up as the triggers will always be stored in the house with the module, so less fluctuations in storage which might not be so good for the sensors.

The main thing for me is having options/backup for gigs.

My mesh heads are regular heads (2-ply I believe) although I do have a 3-ply ready for the snare.

As you say, I need to try them out and experiment a bit.

I think it could be a neat addition to my acoustic kit too.

Thanks again for your help.

[AndyMo]

The user guide that came with the triggers says use a TS cable for the bass drum (but a TRS cable will do if the tip is hot).

Any recommendations or tips regarding cables?

Thanks!
Andy

[Jman]

Okay first up, when you swap a trigger (internal for trigit) on a gig, you will need to make some on the fly parameter adjustments. I am gonna guess the internal ones require a little more gain than the trigit ones to achieve the same dynamics, but without knowing for sure your internal triggers, I am only guessing. And of course with any gain adjustment will require threshold adjustments too. Same will go for rim trigger if your internal ones have them, the trigits do. So perhaps it would be an idea to do a swap at home, make a note of the settings for the trigit ones and have it to hand (or memorise it) in case you do get a failure on a gig.

Which type of mesh (1-3 ply) will also affect this. Like I say, perhaps give it try at home first and make notes.

When triggering from mylar heads, it's a good practice to tune the drums to the same pitch as the samples yours using. Do that and you'll not notice they're triggered, they'll come across as mic'd up! Setting for mylar head will require a lot less gain than mesh heads.

Other than that I think there's not much else unless anyone else can think of something.

It is a good idea to have trigger parameters already worked out in advance. That way you are not winging it at a Gig .... LOL ..... But with the latest 2Box OS you can switch between different preset trigger banks while the module is on. You press More and Kit at the same time and you are given a choice of trigger banks. Triggit is one of the choices. You can also add and tweak your own trigger parameters and save them as a bank. I have several Trigger banks already setup on my module and can switch them for whatever drum is hooked up at the time. That is a nice feature to have. To create new trigger banks: An easy way is to copy your Drumit.dkit file to your computer, rename it ...... example: DrumitCentr.dkit ...... now copy that back to the root of your 2Box module and you have another trigger bank. Go to that new trigger bank, make all your trigger adjustments for your Center mount drums and Save ...... J