Hats off to AudioThing for its new cymbals synth

Having treated us to hand clap and Latin drum instruments over the past few months, AudioThing is continuing its percussive pilgrimage with the release of Hats, a plugin synth that's dedicated to the creation of hi-hat and cymbal sounds.

The instrument features synthesized noise and sample sections, the latter of which takes its lead from Roland's TR-808 by offering six square wave oscillators with different pitches and phases. The sample bank, meanwhile covers everything from rare analogue drum machines to real hi-hats and cymbals.

You can process both sources with four effects: Ring Modulator, Bit Crusher, Filter and Reverb. These can be arranged in any order by dragging and dropping, with the high-pass and band-pass filters being usable in series.

You can purchase Hats for €39 from the AudioThing website. It's available in VST/AU/AAX formats for PC and Mac.

AudioThing Hats features

  • Two Sources: synthesized noise and custom sample
  • 55 Samples / 80 Presets
  • Ring Modulator, Bit Crusher, Reverb, Filter (SVF/ZDF)
  • Preset system with randomizer
  • Formats: VST, AU, and AAX (32/64bit)
  • Platforms: OSX, Windows
Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.