Trigger (sound engineering)
In sound engineering, triggering describes the change in an existing signal or the release of a new signal. For this reason, every sidechain signal can be called a trigger signal by using an external signal for control instead of the original signal. Here are two examples:
- The "enriching" a bass drum with a low-frequency sinusoidal signal is shown in the attached diagram. A tap of the bass drum signal is used as a sidechain input signal for a gate connected to the signal path of the sinusoidal signal in order to achieve more pressure and a richer sustain phase of the kick signal.
- A self-made de-esser , i.e. an audio effects device or a corresponding software that automatically lowers the level of sibilants (sibilants), is linked with a vocal signal split into two channels and a frequency response-optimized sidechain for the compressor .
As a rule, either a previously recorded bass drum signal (sample) is added to the original sound or it is even replaced.
Common types
There are three ways to trigger with microphones :
- the bass drum trigger with a sine tone as shown in the diagram
- the bass over compression , the bass becomes quieter when the kick drum is playing to create more pressure
- the voice over compression, it gives the voice more presence.
Trigger clips are not microphones, but piezoelectric signal generators. For example, they react to the stimulation of the skin on the drums and control a suitable drum computer , which then outputs the desired sound. Nowadays there are trigger clips in stereo design that have separate piezo sensors for the hoop and batter head and thus enable rimshot triggering.
The pros and cons of triggering can be summarized as follows:
- + little crosstalk with undesired mutual influencing of independent signal channels
- + any signal can be generated, e.g. B. a different, better sounding drum sound
- + the drum track can be edited afterwards, e.g. B. other sounds, quantization
- - more effort, as additional devices are required
- - Limitation of the game dynamics.
Other kinds
Another way of triggering is to manually control a delay with the tap function. However, this requires an additional effort by the sound engineer or musician and a rhythmic consistency of the song.
A second option is to play back pre-made samples and other song elements. However, these influence the way the musicians play and the tempo of the song.