Footblaster Trigger: First Impressions (Setup & Playing)

GENERAL INFORMATION:
I found a pair of Footblaster triggers on Ebay (slightly used), bought them and wanted to share a few thoughts.
In this video I try to explain the setup and possible problems you may run into. Afterwards, I showcase some playing and sum up my first impression. Those possible problems take into account my own clumsiness, of course.
This is a user's first impression / review, not any kind of paid/sponsored ad!
Drumming track in the background, as well as all audio and video editing were done by myself.
A FEW SUPPLEMENTARY WORDS:
- As I state in the video, the triggering is pedal-based instead of drumhead-based, which means that you are independent of the surface your beater is hitting. You could even play with them using just a practice kick pad. However, depending on the distance of that surface to your beater, you still might need to readjust the height of the sensor.
- Also, depending on your playing style and module settings, mistriggering is still possible. I use the Roland TM2 module and my current settings are:
THRESHOLD 15, SENSITIVITY 30, RETRIG 5, XTALK 20%
Those seem to work well for me, but you might require totally different settings.
- The problem with the tape seems to resolve itself if you just leave the triggers overnight after sticking them to the pedal. After doing that, I never again had any problems with the trigger coming off the pedal.
- Hard hitters that really bury their beater into the drumhead may experience down-bending of the metal sheet the sensor is mounted on which requires frequent readjusting.
- Generally, after having practiced for 2 hours everyday for the past week with the triggers, I have to say, they work flawlessly. If your playing is consistent, the accuracy is very close to 100% and I never had more accurate triggering in my life.
EQUIPMENT:
- I proudly endorse Samsun Cymbals!
Setup (l. t. r.):
14" Sound Designer Thin China (prototype)
13" Raw Spark Medium HiHats
11" Sound Designer Stack (prototype)
16" RB Absolute Thin Crash
10" 21st Brilliant RB Medium Splash
17" RB Absolute Thin Crash
18" 21st Brilliant RB Medium China
20" Spark Heavy Power Bell Ride
14" RB Absolute Thin China
samsun-cymbals.com
- PDP BX birch drums
- various Hardware, e.g. Tama, Gibraltar
- various Evans Drumsheads
- FootBlaster Kick Trigger, Roland TM2 sound module
- Trick Dominator pedals
- Vater 3A Fatback Sticks
- AKG mics
- Reaper & M-Audio Interface
- Cheap Action cams
INSTAGRAM:
/ su_drummer
The Footblaster Logo (thumbnail) is copyrighted by the respective company, no infringement intended.
Feel free to ask questions, like, share, comment, subscribe.
Thanks & enjoy!

[@unicsebastian]

UPDATE after 4+ years of use: The Footblasters still hold up great. Didn't have to replace anything and they work just as well as on day 1.

[@akashkishore2076]

Best trick and footblaster review ever

[@craigt1010]

Been thinking about trying this out so I don’t need to mess with bass drum settings as much when playing on house kits! I have the ddrum triggers now, which work great, but I always need to retune the entire drum to eliminate false triggering. Thanks for the detailed video! Very helpful. Subscribed.

[@unicsebastian]

You're very welcome. You still might need to do some adjustments e.g. on your module when playing different kick drums, but all in all I find the FootBlasters to be a lot easier in handling and universal use than rim triggers. Thanks for your subscription! :)

[@northenice]

well this is nice. I was wondering to buy this, and since we have the same Dominator 2 pedal I ll use this as an example

[@Jake_IBS]

400th sub! Woo. Great videos man

[@unicsebastian]

Thanks a lot, man!

[@anasayman9887]

Hey sebastian.. I'm facing a problem finding the right settings for the foot blasters as I play with TM2 module, it's too sensitive that sometimes if I relax my leg on the foot board or get ready to start playing fast double bass there are some hits that are counted without even playing and this is a bit frustrating for me do you have any solution for this? Thanks in advance

[@unicsebastian]

Hi there, there is probably an easy fix for that. 1) increase the threshold parameter on your module, that way only stronger (or in that case, only actual) hits are registered as such. 2) you might also want to increase your ReTrigger value. This will reduce double triggers. There is probably a sweet spot you need to find where you have changed both these parameters and you have the most accurate triggering possible. Needs some experimentation sometimes. Good luck and hope this helps!

[@kokturkberk]

Hi bro, did you solve this problem? I have too. If I increase threshold and retrigger cancel, I miss shots while heeltoe. Otherwise I have same problem like you.

[@cartilagedm8249]

Awesome review! I have been playing the dominators for a while now. How did the foot blasters hold up since you posted this video?

[@unicsebastian]

Thanks man! They held up pretty well and my first impression has been confirmed. Yes, they trigger very clean and are durable, but you need to readjust the height of the sensor from time to time or when you switch kick drums. But no biggie.

[@karkarey]

Thanks for the video. What would you suggest for combining two footblaster triggers into one input of an Edrum module?

[@unicsebastian]

Well, you just need a Y-cable that lets you plug in the mono jacks from either trigger and combines them to one jack input for the module. This can work very well, the downside being that you cannot adjust your right and left settings individually.

[@karkarey]

@@unicsebastian thank you!

[@sezjames2472]

Is that a thread underneath wouldn't it make more sense to screw them to the pedal somehow maybe having to install a thread on the pedal though would be a pain. I can't see how tape is going to be better long-term for gigs it would regularly need to be re stuck to have peice of mind

[@LBproductions666]

Hey just wondering what type of trigger in the trigger settings of ur tm 2 r u using? For the type i use the BT-1 SENS setting cuz tht seems to work best with the foot blaster but i get a lot of double triggering and no matter what threshold and sensitivity i set i get double triggering. Maybe it could be my technique with triggers isnt clean enough idk

[@konnipontiac7348]

Geil! Es gibt auch anderes doppelseitiges klebeband welches echt heftig klebt. Also da gibts dann eher probleme beim wieder abmachen :D

[@unicsebastian]

Jau, hab jetzt auch von einigen Leuten gehört bzw. auch selbst gemerkt, dass das gut hält, wenn man es nach dem Ankleben über Nacht in Ruhe lässt (siehe Beschreibung). Abmachen will ich sie im Idealfall ja nicht mehr. :D

[@Damnagora]

Sup dude! Helpful video and I have em set up already but I'm getting a lot of double triggering with my dominators? Any tips?

[@unicsebastian]

Hey there, it could either be the module settings or the height of the piezo box. I don't know what module you have, but there are a few parameters on most models that can be changed: increase the threshold, increase retrigger cancel, increase mask time. Try these as single adjustments and if neither works alone, try to combine it. The other option is that your piezo box is a little too high. This way it reacts more sensitive to little bounces of the footboard after a hit. You could additionally lower the tension of your kick drum. That's all I can say without actually having seen your problem in person. Takes some patience but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Cheers

[@chrislittle8122]

One of my triggers has 2 cable jacks…

[@reezlaw]

I have the Dominators and I was kinda worried about mounting this type of triggers due to the lack of a full base plate. It's good to see that it can be done. Have you tried securing them with cable ties in addition to the double sided tape?

[@unicsebastian]

I have considered that in case it wouldn't stick. But as I noted in the description, if you let it rest for some time after sticking it on the plate, it holds up perfectly fine. Never came off once since then. So it should be fine. :)

[@reezlaw]

I have the very old Dominators with no base plate at all and I just attach similar triggers by their side to the structural elements

[@Limbwamp]

What sound on the Roland TM2 do you use? It sounds perfect!!!!

[@unicsebastian]

In this video it is the on-board sound #111 SolidTight, but usually for live & studio I use a custom sample.

[@TheMathPipe]

very cool video man. question, how does one connect these if my module only has one kick drum trigger input?

[@unicsebastian]

Hey man, thanks! I don't know which module you are using, but besides being mono/stereo, module inputs are usually not assigned exclusively to what is written above them. It's just to make your E-Drum wiring easier. So you could just take another free input for your second trigger. Make sure it has the same adjustments (trigger/pad type, threshold, sensitivity etc.) as your first input so both will work the same. You could also just use a Y cable and plug both triggers into the same input. Make sure you use the right kind of Y cable, depending on whether your input is mono or stereo. I got both ways to work fine, although with a mono Y cable, you cannot adjust both trigger sensings individually.

[@TheMathPipe]

@@unicsebastian thank you very much for the detailed answer! I have an older Roland Td-4 module, where as you can guess the sounds are not good at all. especially for the faster stuff. i was hesitant on getting the foot blasters for my module only has one "kick" input. but you cleared up the questions I had perfectly. cheers!

[@theoeifert6794]

I got a question and i hope you can help. I always played without triggers and "bury" the beaters in the Bassdrumskin. How do you play? I couldn't really see if you bury your foot or not. And if you do, did you have problems with fail or double triggers?

[@unicsebastian]

Well, I'd say I play fairly powerful, even with triggers. To avoid false triggers, which can occur when playing like this, I recommend lowering the head tension. If it's too tight, your beater will bounce off, potentially creating double triggers. Another thing is to adjust the module settings accordingly. If you play loud and hard and bury the beater, you might want to increase threshold and re-trigger values to avoid double triggering from smaller beater bounces. Also, with a trigger system like footblaster or OnTrigger or similar technologies, it is fairly easy to adjust the piezo height exactly so that it is hit when the beater is really striking the kick drum. I found that following these steps greatly improves triggering accuracy. As I said in the video, if you push your beater into the head really hard, you might need to bend the sensor back up after some time. Hope this helps. Cheers!

[@theoeifert6794]

@@unicsebastian thank you so much man!

[@I-Need-Saving]

Does anybody know if you can use these with a Yamaha EAD10 module?

[@unicsebastian]

I have not tried, but the EAD10 has inputs for external triggers and in theory, it should work with footblasters, too.

[@chaosinmotion5946]

i have ontriggers and the ead10, but i gave up. cant dial in.

[@I-Need-Saving]

@@chaosinmotion5946 well this is discouraging to read lol.

[@chaosinmotion5946]

@@I-Need-Saving yea man, always doubletriggers or missed notes. the doubles were my 10% false technique, i know now (burying the beater). but i wasnt able to get to a result that is at least near acceptable. its the ead10 most people complain. the footblasters an ontriggs are absolutely fine units. BUT.... do get a lasersystem. i have the trigmic laser pick. it solved ALL my issues at once. setup is a minute, its ridicolous how well these work! cant emphasize enough. from first try i could forget all the years being troubled. its night and day difference. or get another module with sensitive settings. but again, with trigmic you dont need to worry. plugthe cable in and lets go.

[@chaosinmotion5946]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/al7ZpGawmLyqrck&pp=ygUHdHJpZ21pYw%3D%3D

[@rocknrollermann]

I'm sorry, i want to learn....what is the trigger doing? i just dont understand.

[@reezlaw]

@fartpoobox ohyeah all the trigger does is register a hit. When the sensor is hit it sends an electric signal through a cable to a drum module, which interprets the signal and plays a kick drum sample.

[@JessevanNijnatten]

hey dude, nice video. but i keep having false triggers with the footblasters, my head tension is quite high and so is my spring tension with the Axis A longboards, i also use the Roland TM-2 module with standard settings. maybe you have an idea how to fix this?

[@unicsebastian]

Hi, thank you! From what you're saying I can only assume that the problem may be due to your high head tension causing the beaters to bounce of, which causes double triggering. Try lowering the head tension a little bit, dampen the kick properly, if you haven't done that already. I usually keep my kicks tuned medium to low. I like the more natural feel rather than too much bounce, and besides that I can still get a decent acoustic sound. You may also want to try to increase Threshold and ReTrigger parameters on your TM2. Play around with different combinations of those adjustments and I'm sure you will make it work. It takes some time. Hope this helps. Cheers!

[@JessevanNijnatten]

@@unicsebastian thanks for the quick response!

[@unicsebastian]

@@JessevanNijnatten You're welcome, man!

[@yoyoz333]

you probably bury the beater when you play your normal bass strokes. make sure you keep the beater off the head after each stroke