Live Drum as Trigger --> Eurorack as Layer for acoustic drums

Hey!

I want to combine my acoustic drum with eurorack.

The plan:

My drum will be the triggers.
The task of the eurorack will be to shape another sound on the acoustic drum sound.

The sound which the eurorack have to shape can be different things:

• Samples ----> for this I thought I would buy the Make Noise Morphagene

• External soundsources (taperecorder, other bandmembers with synths or guitars,mics)----> for this I need something like an preamp, to bring these in?

I will also need an input for the triggers. I probably will use contact mics (not drum triggers).
(Drum triggers are easier to mount, but contact can as a secound use also deliver a sound, so I tend to contact mics)

The soundsources which come into the rack (or are already in there) should be processable.
I definitly want a delay and an distortion/overdrive maybe also an reverb.

This soundsources should be silent.
Just when the contact mic gives a signal, the amplitute should rise.

Which module do you suggest for this task?
VCA?
Envelope Follower?

I want to have bouth possibilities...to be able to let the amplitute from the input-signal (drum set) really shape the amplitute of the eurorack. Then I think an envelope follower would be best, right?
But I want also the possibility to have a really short sound over the drum.
For example: that the cymbal rings longer, but just at the start there is a short moment when the eurorack opens up.
This would be possible with an VCA, right?

(I want to be able to use two different triggers for 2 diffenent sources at once, so I need things twice)

So the questions again:

Which modules I need to bring concactmics in (use as triggers but also as normal mics)?
Which modules to shape the amplitute (of soundsources)? VCA? EF? Difference?
Which modules to bring in external sources?
Which output modules to send the final audio to an keyboard-amp or PA?

(Also I want some LFO to let the rack change itself ;-))

Thank you so much for helping,
It will be my first step into ,,

Juanic

I would first look into comparator modules and research them. Ultimately, you're looking to create triggers. Once the volume of your contact mics reach a certain threshold, you want to go from a state of "off" to "on." Volume might be trickier. An envelope follower driving a VCA sounds like a good place to start. You may also want to consider a low-pass gate with the contact mic opening and closing it.

Though, it'd probably be cheaper to use MIDI drum triggers and then convert the MIDI data to gates and the velocity to a CV output. Reinventing this wheel in pure Eurorack is an expensive way to go.

Yeah, and it's never exactly worked out well. It's worth remembering that Bob Moog did make a drum controller for a hot minute, but that item didn't stay in the catalog very long. The nuance of all of the various drum strike techniques, incremental dynamics, etc just don't come across well in the analog domain. You really do need MIDI to break down those increments so that they come across in the electronics. Also, let's say you want to do a rim shot. Now, if you have a percussion controller that can recognize that as a different sort of stroke than a simple head-strike, then you can keep that very basic stroke in your repertoire. But without that additional sensor, doing any sort of rimshot, or for that matter anything other than a basic 'thud-on-head' hit, becomes totally pointless. And a basic contact mic setup will reduce things down to that level of basics.

A more sensible...albeit more elaborate...option might be to investigate some dedicated percussion controllers, instead of trying to make actual drums behave like not-drums. You're more apt to get into a tasty e-percussion area with something like an Octapad than something that requires loads of constant adjustment. Much lower maintenance, to be sure. Then to get from it to Eurorack is just a simple matter of MIDI conversion of whatever flavor suits your playing style best.

Hey. Not sure if you're still thinking about doing this or not, but you should know about Kong.
https://bastl-instruments.com/eurorack/modules/kong
"Kong amplifies the drumpad signal and also converts it to trigger and velocity CV signals"
So this would get 2 drums into the modular environment without much hassle! from there you can do whatever your heart desires with those signals.
All in just 5hp.
Imma get one forsure.