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
| U | 3 |
| HP | 8 |
| Depth | 38 |
| +12V | 82 |
| –12V | 17 |







