Slate Digital Trigger 2

Slate Digital’s original Trigger plugin
(
153, 10/10) already represented the state
of the art, enabling a high degree of accuracy in
triggering samples from recorded drum tracks –
a common studio technique used to embolden
the sound of acoustic drums by mixing them
with sampled ones (or even to replace them
altogether). Trigger 2 (VST/AU/RTAS/AAX) builds
on the precision and features of its predecessor
and is a free upgrade for existing users.
Trigger 2 comes in EX and Platinum editions,
the only diference being that the former
includes a much reduced sample library. You
use the plugin by inserting it onto a channel in
your DAW and feeding it a drum track
containing a single close-mic’ed drum kit
element – so, kick, snare or tom mics – that you
want to replace. The replacement samples come
either from the supplied library or your own
collection, and you can now load up to eight of
them for velocity layering or simultaneous
triggering, rather than the six of v1.
Initial setup tweaking begins with the Detail
knob, which should really be called “Threshold”,
as it sets the input level at which the triggering
takes place. The Leakage Suppression feature is
handled by feeding the target track into Trigger
2’s left input and the source(s) of the problem
bleed into the right input – useful in ensuring
that strong snare hits coming through the kick
drum mic don’t get misinterpreted as kick hits,
for example. The engine intelligently analyses
the diference between the two to suppress the
bleed on the target signal. Leakage Suppression
isn’t new to version 2, but the engine has been
improved to make triggering more accurate,
and the Sensitivity knob can be used to make
even greater distinction between grace notes
and bleed. It’s a resoundingly successful system
– in our testing, it handled a snare track on which
the hi-hat spill seemed louder than the delicate
snare detail with aplomb.
Take aim…
The trigger signal can be further reined using
the low- and high-pass ilters, which are useful
for rolling of general boom and rumble from
loose toms and kicks, or for cutting out top-end
transients from bleeding hi-hats on the snare,
thus tightening the triggering accuracy. With a
range up to 100ms, Retrigger is the inal
reinement tool, setting the minimum time that
needs to pass before the next trigger event is
allowed through, thus preventing unintended
lamming and stray double hits.
Once you’ve got your triggering set up, you
can focus on the dynamics. As mentioned, each
of the eight sound slots can be assigned a
velocity range for grading softer and harder
sounds. Each slot also has an ASR envelope and
a knob for scaling the dynamic range of the
replacement sound relative to the level of the
Slate Digital
Trigger 2 $199
The new version of this drum triggering plugin boasts even more
precise triggering and comes bundled with a powerful sample library
Verdict
For Amazingly precise triggering
Bleed suppression is incredible
Works as a terriic gate too
Two more sample slots than version 1
MIDI output for triggering other sources
Against No drag and drop of samples
The deinitive drum replacement system
gets even better, with an improved engine,
more slots and MIDI in/out. Stunning.
10/10
Alternatively
WaveMachine Labs Drumagog 5
159 » 8/10 » $89-379
A huge sound library, but lacking
the pinpoint precision of Trigger 2
Steinberg Cubase 7.5
201 » 9/10 » £488
Some DAWs ofer basic yet useful
triggering – Cubase is one of them
Trigger 2 Platinum comes bundled with
a wide selection (2.3GB) of Steven Slate
acoustic drum samples (mostly with an
American rock bias) recorded to 2" tape
through vintage analogue gear. They do
indeed sound expensive and have been
endorsed by many top mix engineers.
The sounds are arranged into presets,
which can be loaded from the built-in
browser for instant dynamically layered
multisampled drums. You can use your
own samples, too, but they have to be
transferred into the assigned root folder
and loaded via the browser. While there’s
no drag-and-drop facility from OS X Finder
or Windows Explorer, if you’re building
multisamples from your own library, you
can save them as presets for future use.
Each slot has pan, tune, fader and phase
controls for balancing the drums, as well as
an envelope for each sample to help contain
wayward decay tails.
Loading the barrel
trigger signal. It takes time to set all of this up,
but the quality of results are absolutely amazing.
There’s also an impressive new noise gate
feature, driven by the detected hits but applied
to the dry, mic’ed signal (which can be blended
in with the triggered sound with a dry/wet mix
control), enabling incredibly tight and accurate
gating when set up correctly. Also new for v2 is
MIDI input/output.
While Trigger 2 might not be the most radical
update ever (it is a free one, after all), it’s on the
inside that the big changes have been made.
The precision with which it deines, captures
and replaces drum tracks is intelligent and
efective to the point of feeling magical.
Web www.stevenslatedrums.com
Info Trigger 2 EX, $99
96 / COMPUTER MUSIC / March 2014
> reviews / slate digital trigger 2
CMU201.rev_trigger2.indd 96 1/15/14 1:03 PM