O.K. I can not take any credit for this one, but it was so good I had to post my thoughts on it. Over at the Vdrums.com forum, there is a topic on the possibility of using internal tom muffles for an inside mounted trigger system. It was started by ole_hansen (member of Vdrums) We have all seen these but, here is a picture to remind you:
I thought it was a good idea but, there is some things that would need to be addressed. Things like the stiffness of the over all unit and how/what to replace the felt pad with. As the descution goes on, many ask how ole_hansen would address these issues. I got more interested in the idea once I saw post #14 by jem454 (member of Vdrums). This member stated simply:
“Now that you got me searching I may use Pearl’s external muffler (didnt know they made those) so I dont have to touch my shells.”
This person hit on what I think is a great idea. Being able to DIY a professional external clamp-on trigger for less than half the cost of say a Roland RT-10T Tom Trigger ($75.00) or a ddrum Tom Trigger ($59.99). If you are wanting to use external clamp-on triggers, like to DIY stuff, want it to look professional, and want to save a little money this might be a good alternative.
One more thought. There isn’t much to these external clamp-on triggers and I don’t think it would be that hard to DIY. As proof I give you a picture of the internals of the ddrum Tom Trigger (from Musician Friend).
This may be an old post but it does show up quite regularly.
For DIYers on a budget and who isn’t? I recommend a package of safety locks – the kind you put on cabinet doors to keep babies from opening them. They are plastic and spring-loaded so they provide upward tension against an object. Their height makes them ideal to literally be bolted inside most drums by simply using one of the upper bolts to any tension rod boss – 100% non intrusive and very cheap. Just use doublestick tape to attach some high density foam ($5 at your local fabric store for a 1″ by 12″ square), then attach piezo to that, cover the piezo (for protection) and mount. Works GREAT.
It is very possible to make this.
All you need to do is rig up a guitar jack to a piezzo element sandwiched between foam.
Ezy peazy…