@Dave said:

Alright, this may sound crazy or stupid – but is it possible to use trigger outputs plugged directly into an audio interface? I’m wondering if you could record the actual trigger signal (muted so you don’t actually hear it or blow up your speakers), and then use something like DrumTracker to replace the trigger pulses with samples. Basically, can you eliminate the edrum brain from the equation?

DSP Trigger from audiofront.net takes the signal straight from the pad and your audio interface, converts it to midi that triggers your drum sampler. I’ve messed with the free version a little bit, having it trigger another snare. It triggered nice and sharp, once it was set-up correctly. mac + windows versions available.
I’ve got older equipment and could only plug 1 pad in at a time, so I haven’t used it in quite a while. I only tried out the free version. I just copied that little bit of info below off the website and it looks like they have a couple of hardware components for sale now…I didn’t stop and look, just copied what’s below…..And for the record, I have no connection to the site, any of the products or the guy who runs the site/wrote the app etc. Just passing along some info that might work for ya…

a quick cut+paste from audiofront.net

“Overview
DSP Trigger is a virtual drum brain that processes the audio output from drum pads and converts it to MIDI to be passed on to a drum sampler. It allows you to enhance an existing e-drum kit, offering new features and functionality that your drum brain doesn’t natively support.

Reasons to use DSP Trigger
Your drum module doesn’t offer positional sensing.
Your drum module doesn’t support 3-way triggering.
You’re not satisfied with the feel and responsiveness of your pads.
You want superior sensitivity and dynamics.
You want to add a kit piece on to your current kit, but have no place to plug it in.
You don’t have a drum module, but you want to connect drum pads to your computer.
You are looking for an intelligent and light weight drum replacement tool.

How it Works
Like any hardware drum brain, DSP Trigger processes the audio from drum pads and converts in to MIDI in real time. In order to ‘hear’ a drum pad, you need to plug it into a line input on your audio interface and place DSP Trigger as an insert on a track whose input is set to your drum pad. The MIDI that DSP Trigger outputs is then sent to a drum sampler such as BFD or Drum Superior. “