Simmons Pulls The Trigger

There are plenty of options for external triggers, and now there’s one more. digitalDrummer looks at the new Simmons ST1.

DID WE REALLY need another external drum trigger? Possibly not, but Simmons has clearly recognised the unstoppable force of hybrid drumming and the need for a low-cost option. It has waded into the market with a $20 mono trigger that goes up against the versatile but vulnerable open-chassis ddrum RedShot and the basic Pintech RS-5.

What’s in the box

The simple shrink-wrapped cardboard packaging contains a single mono trigger. The trigger is a fairly elegant unit, made of tough black nylon. The piezo is fully protected by the housing, with only about 5 mm of foam column exposed.

Simmons has taken a different path from most other trigger makers, fitting a 27 mm sensor column where almost every other trigger has a smaller sensor (20 mm).

The mono jack is conveniently located on the side of the housing, away from the drum hoop.

There is no cable included, so you’ll need a mono ¼” guitar lead.

Getting started

There are no instructions, but the packaging claims the “sturdy mount housing easily attaches to the tension rod of most acoustic drums”.

True, it’s easy to attach, but it’s not so easy to align. I tried the triggers with a few different rim profiles, and while a slot in the chassis allows for forward and backward adjustment, there is no “tilt” adjustment, and it was impossible to get the trigger to sit completely parallel to the head. This meant the foam column was not uniformly compressed, which could impact on the triggering.

The ST1 has a reasonably small footprint over the head, making it a harder target for unwanted stick strikes.

In action

We tested the ST1 on a 12” and a 14” drum, with both mesh and mylar heads and on a range of modules.