Clutch

WMD’s Clutch is a dual-layer sample player built specifically for hi-hat sounds. It’s built around two “surfaces”. Surface A — or rather — layer A pulls its sounds from eight banks on the included memory card, each holding up to 16 sample pairs (closed/open), and responds to CV modulation across pitch, sample selection, and other parameters. Layer B contains nine built-in sounds controlled only via knobs and a three-position switch – no CV reaches these controls. You can blend between layers using the A/B crossfader, which gives you a reliable foundation in Layer B while Layer A handles the modulation and movement. A CV Disable switch cuts all incoming modulation instantly, snapping back to your current knob positions – useful for live resets or locking in a sound you’ve dialed in.

The Feel control sequences velocity patterns across eight user-editable grooves, adding human dynamics without external modulation. Open, Closed, and Choke trigger inputs handle your sequencer, with simultaneous Open/Closed triggers interpreted as accents. There are also some onboard effects which include distortion, filters, delay, chorus, reverb, and glitch processing. Always-active high-pass and low-pass filters sit in the signal path. You can load your own samples onto the memory card (48kHz/16-bit mono WAVs) and customize global settings via the HIHAT.INI file for things like trigger behavior, envelope times, and colorblind-accessible LED assignments.

Features:

• Dual-layer hi-hat sample player
• Layer A: 8 banks with up to 16 sample pairs each from memory card, CV controllable
• Layer B: 9 built-in sounds, knob control only (no CV access)
• A/B crossfade between layers
• CV Disable switch for instant modulation reset
• Feel control with 8 user-editable velocity/groove patterns
• 8 onboard effects: Sputter Distortion, Bitcrush, Comb Filter, DJ Filter, Dub Echo, Chorus, Reverb, Glitch
• Always-active HPF (100Hz-14kHz) and LPF (200Hz-20kHz)
• Open/Closed/Choke trigger inputs
• Accent response on simultaneous Open/Closed triggers
• CV-controllable velocity and FX parameter
• Direct control over sample rate/pitch for both layers
• User-loadable samples (48kHz/16-bit mono WAVs)
• Editable HIHAT.INI file for global settings customization
• Colorblind-accessible LED color remapping
• 8GB memory card included with factory banks
• Updatable firmware