Hart Prodigy kit with Alesis DM5

[Kip Count]

I have a Hart Prodigy kit I have boxed up that I haven’t used in a couple years or more.  (The DM5 was never too great for drum sounds so I wasn’t into it).
 
I’m going to unpack it, dust it off , and give it a shot triggering EZD.  Anyone have this Hart kit or the Alesis DM5 that can give me some tips?
 
Another question is… when playing my DM5 sounds thru Pro Tools, I always had a noticible latency that was really annoying.  But I wouldn’t get the same noticible latency when tracking guitars or vocals with all the same settings (Buffer at 128).  I always blamed either the Hart kit or the DM5, but analog gear couldn’t possibly be causing this latency could it?   Did I notice it more with drums because drum hits are so specific that even a fraction of a second (whatever it is normally at 128 buffer) is noticible? 

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

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[Rogue]

Hi – the DM-5 is not analog, all it does it pass MIDI data onto the computer via a MIDI interface.

Now MIDI is a sequential protocol (that means that every message is queued after the other) with a speed inherent to the hardware transmitting them. So you could have a dodgy or unoptimized MIDI interface or the DM-5 is essentially too old to provide a latency you feel comfortable with.

Since there are a few others on this board using a DM-5 I don’t think that’s the latter but it is worth checking if you can completely bypass the build-in sound processing of the module – what is typically referred to as ‘Local Mode Off’ (although the appellation may differ).

Besides this I would strongly recommend purchasing a streamlined MIDI interface such as an M-Audio Uno or similar to separate the MIDI bus from your audio card. This should greatly minimize the ‘MIDI jitter’, a sort of MIDI clock drift very common in all-in-one sound cards… I have a feeling the inconsistency in timing is most likely what your brain picks up rather than the latency per se.

Hope this helps you find the culprit!
RM

Rogue Marechal - Toontrack
Configuration Manager

[Kip Count]

Over the weekend, I unpacked that Hart kit, dusted it off, got it all hooked up thru my DM5, thru my M-Audio 1814 into Pro Tools and EZDrummer.  It’s awesome! 
 
I don’t hear any latency that bothers me at all.  Maybe the DM5 has some latency when it’s generating it’s own sounds, I dunno, but when used with EZD, everything is cool.  I was having a blast playing the Nashville kit with the Room mic solo’d, my monitors cranked. 
 
One question, EZD doesn’t have any functionality for a hi-hat pedal switch right?  I don’t think it was ever really designed for e-drums, which is fine.  Just wanted to check. 
 
 

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Rogue]

a switch would merely be sending 2 notes depending on position, so this is like a continuous controller err without the continuous controller data. EZdrummer will understand that no problem. In fact that’s all it can handle properly if you don’t use Toontrack solo as host. Now is time to remind you that EZdrummer is NOT edrum optimized, as per FAQ.

Rogue Marechal - Toontrack
Configuration Manager

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