Before you pull the Trigger on that new drum kit for your next album, consider this video: this guy gets a pretty bangin’ sound by miking up a cardboard box as his kick drum, two drum thrones for his snare and floor tom (hence why he drums from an office chair) and then using the sound replacing software Trigger from Slate Digital to turn trash into gold.
Really, you can use it to turn anything with a transient into any other sound. This guy could have recorded beautiful drum sounds in a $2000 a day studio and made them sound like a cardboard box and two drum thrones, or barnyard animal noises, or farts. It’s really a spectacular piece of technology (see also Avid’s Sound Replacer, Drumagog, and Massey DRT) and I’ve used one or more of these to get similar results, which, when working on a budget of spit and sealing wax, is nothing short of life-changing.
So, not only is this video good for a laugh, it also displays a bit of ingenuity, which is something that’s sorely needed in this day and age. Really, if you can afford a drum set, for the love of god use that, but in a pinch, hey, is it really any different from electronic drums? Or using trigger components with acoustic drums? If your favorite album has been made in the last 20 years, chances are it has been triggered in some way, shape, or form.
Check out Jimmy Rainsford’s Who Needs Drums? below.
Ally Hewitt / September 24, 2014 1:47 pm
Skilled or not skilled? That is something for future metalheads to argue about. Also his sample kit is 1000x better than the one on the new Rings of Saturn singles, and they’re supposed to pros
/
I Shot J.R / September 24, 2014 2:44 pm
Sounds good to me, tight but not clicky.
/
randomnameisrandom / September 25, 2014 9:25 am
Looks like sound replacement and not triggers to me.
/
Bill Bryant / September 25, 2014 6:25 pm
The tool in pro tools is called trigger,… that’s not actually what it is.
/
Carl Maltby / September 25, 2014 9:43 am
Nice proof of concept, however properly pads or drums designed or correctly set up for triggering also take advantage of dynamics. Items not designed/set up specifically for the purpose lose touch sensitivity and the player’s characteristics. Then again, that’s why you pay more for the gear than a cardboard box.
/
missigsfan / September 25, 2014 3:10 pm
So just completely replace the sound with sterile Steven Slate drums. No dynamics whatsoever.
/
Bill Bryant / September 25, 2014 6:26 pm
Dynamics are in how it’s played,… not what it sounds like….
/
Fraser Welmanshire Mainwaring / September 25, 2014 7:12 pm
Incorrect. Sound/sample dynamics play a huge role in creating a more natural triggered drum sound.
/
ferret / September 26, 2014 3:22 pm
On more digital sounding releases its more of a change in timbre than it is dynamics, creating the illusion of the drummers original dynamic without compromising definition in the mix.
/
IanHead / September 26, 2014 8:41 am
Amusing, but with all the samples being used you might as well just use a drum machine.
/