Triggering bass drums

[VTDS_xx]

Do you guys consider this cheating, in the way that certain metal drummers do it?

[mamcdonald]

Cheating? How is it cheating?

[VTDS_xx]

Making it to where you only have to tap the drum with the upmost ease to get a full sound out of it, which makes faster double bass patterns easier to play.
Oh, did you like those comments on myspace today? ;)

[mamcdonald]

That's the only way to get a clear sound. I said this in some thread yesterday I think. The speeds are so fast that you can't get a clear sound from just the drum because it resonates to long so you trigger it to a clicky, attacky sounding drum so that each note is clear.

And, yes...to the comments.

[VTDS_xx]

Oh I see. I just heard some people talking about how they "triggered the drums cause they weren't good enough, blah blah". I didn't think it was, and I was thinking of doing it some myself.

[mamcdonald]

Nah, most people don't do it near fast enough. Just like...Flo Mournier and stuff.

[VTDS_xx]

Yeah. What bpm would you consider high enough to trigger your bass drum?

[DuckinFutch8]

there's no real "cheating" in music... It's not really a competition...

[GooseFilms.net]

A lot of people consider double bass to be cheating alone. I've heard many people that say "If you can't play it with one foot, don't play it at all."

However, I don't consider it cheating at all

[mamcdonald]

there's no real "cheating" in music... It's not really a competition...

Very true. I don't care if you hire a robot to slam out 6 million beats a minute on your kick. If that's your thing so be it...I can't guarantee you will have any fans but if you like it, be my guest.

[Bub]

A lot of people consider double bass to be cheating alone. I've heard many people that say "If you can't play it with one foot, don't play it at all."

However, I don't consider it cheating at all

Of all the things I've heard people say about double bass, what you quoted has to be the worst. I mean, WHY don't play it? It sounds good...you're adding to the song...you'd make the song worse if you took it out...
"but its cheating"

Oh yeah, and about triggers, no I don't think its cheating but could be kept in mind when judging someone's ability. Some people can get fast clean strokes (Gene Hoglan) where others have to rely on triggers, its not always about resonance, its also about volume

[Drum Phil]

Its only cheating when you program it to play doubles each time you hit it. Hence making you seem faster than you are

[pitchfork]

Indeed phil, hit the nail on the head.

[CasB]

Derek Roddy explains it in one of his videos.

He doesn't use 'normal' triggers (like the famous Ddrum red thingies), but he explains that he really has to hit the head, otherwise the trigger won't activate :)

It's not cheating, it's more like enhancing your bassdrum sound (clicker-di-click :p).

[Kalvarium]

Its all about getting a good clear sound. When you've got double bass drums , tuning is difficult.

I've got a double bass and i spend agesss tuning them precisely. They sounded more or less the same.

After a dat I could already note the difference. When I am practicing rudiments with my feet, they sound terribly annoying with the left drum being high pitch and the right one being less high pitched. Its annoying at puts me off to say the least, especially since I'm not too advanced on double bass.

With triggers I could get 2 exact sounds. This cheating this is stupid. I used to think so too, I used to detest triggers. But even for speed, they are essential.

For Metal, (I am in a metal band) , when speed is essential, triggers are the best choice.

[We_Love_Lime]

Its all about getting a good clear sound. When you've got double bass drums , tuning is difficult.

I've got a double bass and i spend agesss tuning them precisely. They sounded more or less the same.

After a dat I could already note the difference. When I am practicing rudiments with my feet, they sound terribly annoying with the left drum being high pitch and the right one being less high pitched. Its annoying at puts me off to say the least, especially since I'm not too advanced on double bass.

With triggers I could get 2 exact sounds. This cheating this is stupid. I used to think so too, I used to detest triggers. But even for speed, they are essential.

For Metal, (I am in a metal band) , when speed is essential, triggers are the best choice.

Or you could keep trying to get the same consitant sound out of them.

Unless they're different sized/

[Kalvarium]

Thats a waste of time.

Plus, triggers can sound really nice IMO.