Synthesized kick drum triggered by bass notes?

Munjibunga · #1 11-10-2010, 11:45 PM

I was thinking it might be cool to have a synthesized kick drum triggered by the attack of every bass note for my trio. Anybody know of such a thing? Maybe one of those little foot-tap thingies could be adapted.

M0ses · #2 11-10-2010, 11:46 PM

MIDI could do it.

lomo · #3 11-11-2010, 05:01 AM

Loosely related, but the opening act I saw at a Daniel Belanger concert last week had a seated bassist also playing drums with foot pedals- bass drum, hi-hat and snare, all nicely rigged. Simple beats but very effective.

fu22ba55 · #4 11-11-2010, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I was thinking it might be cool to have a synthesized kick drum triggered by the attack of every bass note for my trio. Anybody know of such a thing? Maybe one of those little foot-tap thingies could be adapted.

I'm sure there's a MIDI solution, but what might make more sense (depending upon your situation) is a GATE, not a trigger.

Marrying the bass track and the kick track with a gate is an old studio gag to help loose rhythm sections sound tighter.

You might even be able to find some kind of gate that triggers a kick via CV. (control voltage).

I'd vote gate not MIDI, but I'm not 100% certain how to do it.

basadam · #5 11-11-2010, 05:41 AM

A kind of expensive solution: http://www.roland.com/products/en/GK-3B/

With a GK compatible device it will convert your notes to MIDI and you can trigger any MIDI compatible synth with it.

Wild_Cat · #6 11-11-2010, 05:49 AM

A cheaper solution is to learn to be awesome like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZeQfBjS4L0

Jazz Ad · #7 11-11-2010, 05:56 AM

Korg AX-30B and 300B multis do this. It's call the PERC effect, releasing various samples on attacks. Unfortunately you can't change the samples.
I'm not aware of a stand alone box that can achieve this but I'm sure it exists.

Lexicon · #8 11-11-2010, 06:19 AM

If you want to trigger a sound on your computer you need a trigger to Midi converter of some kind. I have a Roland Vdrum kit and the head unit acts in just that capacity. I send the Midi to my Macbook Pro and trigger Addictive Drums in Garageband. Probably way more complicated than you want to get.

What kind of computer do you have or do you have a synthesizer with a midi in? What kind of budget? There are some inexpensive DIY solutions to creating the simple foot triggers (see http://www.vdrums.com/forum/) but you still need a trigger to Midi converter of some kind. The Alesis in the link below could probably be had fairly cheap used:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis-T...16-i1169231.gc

A sythesizer with a Midi in that has onboard sounds that work for you would probably be the cheapest route because then you wouldn't need to worry about having a computer interface and such. You could just send the triggered audio from the synth right to the PA.

RCCollins · #9 11-11-2010, 06:24 AM

whether you go MIDI or CV, i suspect it might be more expense/trouble than it's worth.... unless you want to get into even MORE triggered effects etc...

hover · #10 11-11-2010, 06:25 AM

You could always get this and do it old school live.

http://www.rondomusic.com/product3659.html

Samsound · #11 11-11-2010, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

I'm sure there's a MIDI solution, but what might make more sense (depending upon your situation) is a GATE, not a trigger.

Marrying the bass track and the kick track with a gate is an old studio gag to help loose rhythm sections sound tighter.

You might even be able to find some kind of gate that triggers a kick via CV. (control voltage).

I'd vote gate not MIDI, but I'm not 100% certain how to do it.

He'd be doing it in reverse, though. He could build a small box with an oscillator to generate a tuned sine wave, then sidechain a gate off the bass. Don't know if that's the kind of kick tone he wants, though. Also, it would be tricky to dial in the threshold/sustain so the sine doesn't simply drone. He could set the threshold high, so he'd have to really thump the bass to trigger the sine, but that might not be desirable for the bass.

M0ses · #12 11-11-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild_Cat

A cheaper solution is to learn to be awesome like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZeQfBjS4L0

You have any idea how much drums cost?? lol

Caca de Kick · #13 11-11-2010, 10:13 AM

Probably the cheapest entry into the midi world is going to be the new-ish Sonuus B2M (bass to midi) converter. Seems to track decent.

Munjibunga · #14 11-14-2010, 12:46 AM

Well fudge. I'm going to try one of these SX SBX-II Stomp Boxes first. I think I can tap my foot and pick at the same time. It's only 25 bucks, so it should be here Tuesday.

gumtownbassman · #15 11-14-2010, 01:32 AM

When i had the Boss GT-6B, it had a patch called something like "In da Club" which played an electronic kick sound on each pluck of the string.
I think an audio solution might be better than midi, i also have a Roland GK-3B hexpickup and GR-20 Synth, which i find the latency of the midi conversion not too suited the lower strings for a good percussive attack.
Either something along the lines of audio2synth (multi effects) or a midi drum trigger running from the bass audio.

Bassmec · #16 11-14-2010, 03:12 AM

Just stick a mic in front of your speaker or use the di out to drive an old drum trigger unit with good pad gain range like a Roland V Drums, Korg DM 5 or a D Drum brain.
Even an old Akai MT8 and a sampler will do but the korg will
let you set a minimum re-trigger (lockout) time setting.
I wonder if it will go out to a whole bar at your average tempo.

Deluge Of Sound · #17 11-14-2010, 06:46 AM

What about splitting the signal and running one half into a low-pass filter?

If you're just going for a thud, you might be able to come close with that.

Baron Von Vik · #18 11-14-2010, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Well fudge. I'm going to try one of these SX SBX-II Stomp Boxes first. I think I can tap my foot and pick at the same time. It's only 25 bucks, so it should be here Tuesday.

The people reviewing those wood stomps usually say they sound less like a drum than a box of wood being stepped on. "Pock pockity pock" rather than "thump." Which stands to reason, I guess. Might be able to EQ it into something you like though... You might be better off picking up a kick trigger.

derrico1 · #19 11-14-2010, 07:43 AM

on the cheap, a Quadraverb can do this. Use the Quadraverb's "sample" setting to put the kick sound in a user patch, and an A/B/Y box to trigger the sample w/ your bass.

For more flexibility, you could use an Alesis D4, D5, or similar. Again, trigger w/ a split from your bass signal.

Personally, I'd use a pedal to trigger a drum module, to avoid being locked into a kick on *every* bass note.

StonewallValent · #20 11-14-2010, 07:48 AM

You might be able to set it up with a laptop and a peak controller. I don't think you'd even need a midi, just a 1/4 line in. My friend and I did something like this in FL Studio. He set the volume of my bass to trigger changes in ring modulation on another channel. You could set up a peak controller linked to the bass channel that triggers a kick in a drum synth plug in.