Trigger pad
stomp box sounds like a kick-drum and can be used as a trigger.]]
A trigger pad is an electronic sensor on a drum{{cite web|title=ELECTRONIC PADS|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2605981111.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924093629/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2605981111.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2017|work=Modern Drummer : MD|publisher=Drummer Publications Inc. 2012|access-date=5 May 2012}} that produces a certain sound assigned from a sound module once the head has been struck. This device allows drummers to play at a constant dynamic regardless of the physical force used.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}
Triggers are also used to add more definition to drum sounds and prevent bleeding{{definition|date=September 2017}} between sound sources, making it easier to hear clearly every drum hit without rumble or excessive cymbals. An example{{according to whom|date=September 2017}} is where very rapid bass drum hits become difficult to distinguish or even hear in the presence of a full band.
Other uses
Triggers are used to count and monitor drum hits, usually{{according to whom|date=September 2017}} as a training device (e.g., to see if a drummer misses hits), and to officially monitor tests and competitions of drumming speed.
Mike Portnoy uses an electronic drum pad with a hardwired electronic metronome as what he calls the "secret cowbell", to count off the songs in a way that only his fellow band members and the technicians can hear.
Triggers can send a MIDI to a lighting control console to signal a change in stage displays.
References
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