Drum triggers are basically glorified contact microphones that are usually mountable in some fashion. In this article, we will discuss the basic components necessary for making your own drum trigger and we will briefly mention possibilities for building housings for them. The goal is to outline the basics so that you will be equipped to design the perfect drum trigger for your needs. Triggers can be as small as a piezo mic or as large as a gong. They don't even have to look like drums, so the design is really up to you.
Materials
To build your own drum triggers, you will need a few basic materials, the most important of which are piezo transducers. These can be secured at Radio Shack (part number 273-073). You'll also need a some shielded phono jacks, a soldering iron and solder, epoxy, and some thin plate metal and metal shears.
Construction
To create the trigger, you first need to remove the piezo transducer from the plastic casing it comes in. You can pop the plastic cover off with a knife or screwdriver. Be especially careful to not damage the piezo while doing this. Remove all of the plastic casing and you will have the bare piezo, which is what you need.
Next, use the shears to cut a circular disc out of the plate to create the surface you will strike, or the head of the pad. This can be whatever size you like, but many who have done this project use the heads from an old electronic drum set or plastic pad. However, with a little ingenuity you can turn any old drum rim into a nice pad.
Use a portion in the center of the disc slightly larger than the piezo to create a textured surface for the epoxy to bond to. Cover the brass bottom side of the piezo with epoxy and stick it to the bottom of the plate. Be careful not to damage the piezo when pushing it down onto the surface.
Now solder the red and black wires from the piezo to the connection on the phono jack. At this point, the trigger is essentially functional, but it will serve you much longer and much better if you house it in something. A simple housing can be made out of wood and foam, or, as mentioned before, an excellent and very effective housing can be constructed out of an old electronic drum pad if you can find some used or broken ones. How you choose to house the trigger is up to you and depends on what is more convenient for your setup.
Tags: careful damage, careful damage piezo, damage piezo, drum trigger, electronic drum