Alesis is now shipping the Trigger I/O, a USB and MIDI pad-trigger interface.

The Trigger I/O uses electronic triggers placed on traditional acoustic percussion sources (such as drumheads or cymbals) or electronic drum pad triggers, and converts them into MIDI note messages. MIDI and USB 1.1 plug-and-play connectivity and ten inputs provide many performance options, such as playing sounds on synthesizers, drum modules, or a computer.

The interface features dual-zone inputs that select two different surface areas of the percussion instrument. For example, hitting the center of a snare or making a rim shot will cause the unit to reproduce that same sound. These zone inputs are compatible with pad triggers from many manufacturers (visit Alesis for a complete list).

In addition, the interface has 20 programmable presets to store and recall sound combinations. A hi-hat input lets you switch between on/off and continuous control modes, while the up/down footswitch input selects kits remotely. It also offers assignable MIDI channels, note numbers, crosstalk, Velocity curve, threshold settings, retrigger times, and pad types.

The Trigger I/O comes bundled with BFD Lite software, which features a full range of drum libraries. For more information, visit www.alesis.com.