HATGRAFT is a free drum instrument dedicated to hi-hats. Besides the three ways of playing — closed, open and pedal — the pedal (MIDI CC4) changes how far the cymbals are open, continuously, so half-open hits and foot splashes all come from one plugin. It installs as a separate plugin from the paid HATGRAFT Pro, so you can have both installed.

No samples are bundled. It produces sound out of the box using only 3 synthesized layers (METAL / AIR / STICK). You can also layer your own hi-hat sounds on two slots, one for closed and one for open.

1. Quick Start

1. Insert HATGRAFT on an instrument track in your DAW.
2. Play F#1 / G#1 / A#1. Closed (CLOSED), pedal (PEDAL) and open (OPEN) sound. Clicking the on-screen keys also plays them.
3. Use the preset bar at the top to browse the 32 factory presets (8 categories) and find a sound close to what you have in mind.
4. Press C3–B3 (default) to play that key's hi-hat pattern in time with the tempo.
5. To reroll a pattern, press RANDOM. Press LOCK to keep one you like.
6. To layer your own hi-hat sounds, drop audio files (WAV etc.) onto the CLOSED / OPEN slots in the SAMPLE panel.

2. Panel Overview

There are MAIN and EDIT tabs at the top (switching tabs does not change the window size). The keyboard in the lower half works on both tabs. At the top right you can choose the display size from 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 %. The first time it opens at 100 % (or, if that does not fit your screen, at the largest size that fits). Your choice is remembered on that computer the next time you open it. Hover over a control to see its description in the InfoBar at the top (Japanese or English, following your OS display language).

To the right of the logo are the version number and the Manual (opens the latest version of this manual on the official site) and Feedback (opens a form for impressions, bug reports and requests) links. Your browser opens only when you click one.

Preset bar (top)

• Choose with the left/right arrows, or from the list that opens when you click the preset name. A newly inserted instance opens with the first preset, “TIGHT / STUDIO”, selected.
• The free edition opens user presets and imports preset files (saving, removing and exporting user presets are Pro features).
• The name of the selected preset is kept in the session. If you move a knob after loading a preset, an * appears to the right of the name.
• Replacing a sample does not add the * (presets do not change samples).

MAIN screen

• HAT: the basics of the hat.
  • The picture on the left shows how far the cymbals are open, seen from the side. The thin line is the current pedal (CC4); the coloured line is how open the last hit was.
  • OPEN: how far the cymbals open on the open key (A#1). The more you press the pedal, the further it comes down from here towards closed.
  • OPEN DECAY: how long an open hit rings (as a multiple of a closed hit).
  • CHOKE: how quickly a ringing open hit stops when the hat closes.
  • SIZZLE: how much the cymbals rub and sizzle against each other. It is loudest half-open. The meter below shows the sizzle of the hit sounding now.
• SAMPLE: two slots for layering your own hi-hat sounds. The CLOSED slot sounds on closed hits and the pedal; the OPEN slot sounds on open hits. Drop an audio file onto a slot to load it; the waveform and the playback position are shown. Remove it with ×.
• FLUX / WEAR:
  • FLUX: how much each hit varies. In the free edition it is fixed at 25, but the 8 bars below show what varied, and by how much, on the last hit (adjusting it with the FLUX knob or STRENGTH / POSITION / DRIFT is a Pro feature).
  • WEAR: how much the cymbals settle in as you keep playing. SPAN sets the number of bars until the change is at its largest; RESET sets whether it returns to the start when playback stops.
• PHRASE: manages the hi-hat patterns assigned to 12 keys (see “3. Parameter Details”).
• OUTPUT: four knobs, DRIVE / TILT / ROOM / OUT. The remaining parameters are on the EDIT screen.
• KEYS (keyboard): each key shows its role above it.
  • F#1 / G#1 / A#1: play one closed (CLOSED), pedal (PEDAL) or open (OPEN) hit. Click near the top of a key for a soft hit and near the bottom for a hard one.
  • The 12 PHRASE keys: play patterns on the 12 keys of the octave chosen with ZONE (default C3–B3).
  • Nothing is assigned to the other keys.

EDIT screen

Click the EDIT tab to show the detailed sound-design screen. In the free edition only METAL TYPE and TUNE can be operated (the other parameters can be seen; operating them is a Pro feature). Values stored in factory presets or in your DAW session still sound as saved.

• METAL / AIR / STICK: the three synthesized layers. METAL is the metallic ring of the cymbals, AIR is the “shhh” of air, and STICK is the short sound of the stick landing.
• OPEN: how the tone changes as the hat opens.
• SIZZLE: the strength at which sizzle begins, its brightness and the length of its tail.
• SAMPLE: start position, pitch, brightness, attack, length and level of the layered samples, plus REVERSE / AUTO-TUNE / EMBED.
• FLUX SETUP: how the variation is decided (REPEAT), how timing is handled (TIMING) and the seed for all variation (SEED).
• OUTPUT DETAIL: pitch of the metallic ring and the samples, emphasis of attack and tail, presence band, room size, how velocity acts, and so on.

Pro features and the “PRO” mark

In the free edition, the parts with Pro features carry a “PRO” mark. Hover over a locked control to see a description of the Pro feature in the InfoBar; click a PRO mark to open the Pro edition's page.

Free vs Pro

Feature	Free	Pro
FLUX	Fixed at 25 (the variation display still moves)	Adjust FLUX + STRENGTH / POSITION / DRIFT
EDIT screen	Only METAL TYPE and TUNE can be operated (the rest sound with preset / session values)	Everything can be operated
Pattern export	Drag as MIDI	+ drag as WAV (full mix and per way of playing)
Individual outputs per way of playing	None	3 (CLOSED / OPEN / PEDAL)
Factory presets	32	36 (+ 4 HUMAN)
User presets	Open, import a file	+ save, remove, export to a file

3. Parameter Details

Three ways of playing and the pedal (CC4)

• Closed (F#1): a closed hat struck with a stick.
• Pedal (G#1): the “chick” of closing the hat with your foot.
• Open (A#1): an open hat struck with a stick. How far it is open is set by OPEN in the HAT panel and the pedal (CC4) at that moment.
• Pedal (MIDI CC4): 0 is open, 127 is closed. Pressing it down to close stops a ringing open hit and plays the foot “chick”. Closing and opening quickly makes a foot splash. Move it with a foot controller or with CC4 automation in your DAW. How open a hit is is decided at the moment it is struck; moving the pedal while it rings does not change that hit's tone.

SAMPLE

Drop an audio file (wav / aiff / flac / mp3) onto the CLOSED / OPEN slot in the SAMPLE panel to load it. Each slot holds up to 3 seconds; longer files are cut at 3 seconds (the slot says so). Hits that are only slightly open use the CLOSED slot, and widely open hits use the OPEN slot. You can load just one slot; an empty slot plays no sample. Start position, pitch, brightness, attack, length and level can be adjusted in SAMPLE on the EDIT screen (a Pro feature; in the free edition they sound with preset or session values).

• REVERSE … plays the sample backwards.
• AUTO-TUNE … if the sample has a clear pitch when loaded, sets METAL TUNE to that pitch. Hi-hats often have no clear pitch; when it cannot match, it changes nothing.
• EMBED … saves the sample inside the session. When off, only the file location is saved.

FLUX

The variation on every hit. In the free edition it is fixed at 25 (adjusting it with the FLUX knob or STRENGTH / POSITION / DRIFT is a Pro feature). As when a person plays, how hard, where the stick lands and the timing all vary, and pitch, decay, brightness, level, attack, left–right image, timing and sizzle change a little. They change together the way real playing does — a harder hit is louder, brighter and sharper at once. Playing the same part of a song gives the same sound every time. The 8 bars show the actual variation on the last hit.

WEAR / SPAN / RESET

The way the cymbals settle in as you keep playing. SPAN is the number of bars until the change is at its largest. It follows the bar position, not elapsed time, so moving the playback position still gives the same sound at the same place. With RESET on, the change returns to the start when playback stops.

PHRASE

Each of 12 keys holds one hi-hat pattern. While you hold a key, it plays in time with the tempo.

• 12 patterns: 8THS / 16THS / DISCO / SHUFFLE / OFFBEAT 16 / 32ND ROLL / TRIPLETS / PEDAL 4THS / HALF OPEN / ACCENT OPEN / TRAP ROLLS / FOOT SPLASH. Patterns that use open hits or the pedal send the pedal (CC4) as well.
• RANDOM … rerolls the patterns that are not locked. Each pattern keeps its shape (length, subdivision, where the open hits go); the ghost notes and dynamics change.
• LOCK … locks the last pattern played. Press again to unlock.
• ENABLE / LOOP … with ENABLE off, the 12 keys make no sound. With LOOP on, a pattern repeats while held.
• QUANTIZE … the grid that pattern starts snap to (OFF / 1/16 / 1/8 / BAR).
• ZONE … the octave for the 12 keys (C0 / C2 / C3 / C4 / C5). The on-screen keyboard also moves so the 12 keys are always visible.
• SWING / DYN … how far the off-beat 16ths are pushed late, and how wide the pattern's dynamics swing (DYN plays as written at 70 %).
• Export … drag a pattern key, or the pattern name box, onto a DAW track to get it as MIDI. The pattern name box gives the last pattern played (export as WAV is a Pro feature).

OUTPUT knobs (MAIN screen)

• DRIVE … adds density with light distortion.
• TILT … tilts the overall brightness towards the highs or the lows.
• ROOM … how much room sound is mixed in.
• OUT … the final output level.

EDIT screen parameters

In the free edition only METAL TYPE and TUNE can be operated. The other parameters sound with preset or session values.

• METAL … how the metallic ring is made (TYPE: Classic / Modal / FM), its base pitch (TUNE), brightness, length on a closed hit, and level.
• AIR … brightness, attack, length on a closed hit, and level of the “shhh”.
• STICK … hardness, length and level of the stick landing.
• OPEN … how much brighter or darker the hat gets as it opens (TONE), and how much softer its attack gets as it opens (ATTACK).
• SIZZLE … the strength below which hits do not sizzle (THRESH), the brightness of the sizzle, and the length of its tail.
• FLUX SETUP … REPEAT is how the variation is decided: LOCKED is the same every time, EVOLVE changes bar by bar, FREE is decided anew every time. TIMING is STUDIO (moves hits both earlier and later) or LIVE (for playing in real time). SEED is the seed for all variation; roll the dice to change it. When the transport is not playing, the variation is decided anew every time whatever REPEAT says (NO TRANSPORT lights).
• OUTPUT DETAIL … the pitch of the metallic ring and the samples (PITCH), emphasis of attack and tail (ATTACK / SUSTAIN), the band to lift and how much (PRES FREQ / PRES GAIN), room size and the gap before the room starts (ROOM SIZE / PRE-DELAY), and how velocity acts (VEL CURVE / VEL > TONE / VEL > AIR).

4. Recommended Settings

If unsure, pick from a factory preset category.

• TIGHT … short, tight closed hats. Good for programmed grooves.
• LOOSE … hats that open loosely and ring long. For rock or a live feel.
• VINTAGE … sounds that recall classic rhythm machines and tape.
• MODERN … bright sounds that cut through. For pop and EDM.
• TRAP … short, hard closed hats. Good for fast rolls.
• JAZZ … darker, softer sounds with plenty of sizzle. Swing is set.
• LO-FI … sounds with distortion and a muffled tone that settle in as you play.
• FX … effect-like sounds with large pitch changes or strong room sound.

5. Requirements

Item	Details
Supported OS	Windows 10 / 11 x64, macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon / Intel)
Plugin format	Windows: VST3 / Mac: VST3, AU (Instrument)
Host	DAW compatible with VST3 or AU
Bundled samples	None (sounds with synthesis alone)
Outputs	1 stereo output (individual outputs per way of playing are a Pro feature)

6. Installation and Uninstallation

* This product is recognized as a separate plugin from HATGRAFT Pro, so both can be installed side by side.

Installation (Windows)

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Copy the HATGRAFT.vst3 folder to the following location:
   C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
3. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan.

Installation (Mac)

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Copy HATGRAFT.vst3 to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ and HATGRAFT.component to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ (~ is your home folder. In Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and paste the path to open it. Create the folder if it does not exist).
3. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal), paste the following three lines one at a time, and press Return after each:

   cd ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine “VST3/HATGRAFT.vst3”
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine “Components/HATGRAFT.component”

4. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan (if you copy the files while your DAW is running, the change may not take effect).

Uninstallation (Windows)

Delete C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\HATGRAFT.vst3. If you also want to remove saved user presets, delete %APPDATA%\Hatgraft\Presets as well.

Uninstallation (Mac)

Delete HATGRAFT.vst3 and HATGRAFT.component. If you also want to remove saved user presets, delete ~/Library/Hatgraft/Presets as well.

7. Troubleshooting

• Plugin does not appear in DAW
  • [Windows] Verify that it was copied to Common Files\VST3 and that the folder is included in your DAW’s plugin scan paths.
  • [Mac] Verify that files were copied to the correct paths (VST3: ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/, AU: ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/), run the Terminal commands, and perform a plugin rescan in your DAW. If the AU does not appear in Logic Pro or another DAW, restart your Mac.
• SmartScreen warning appears on first run (Windows)
  • This appears because the binary is not code-signed. Click “More info” → “Run anyway” to continue.
• macOS displays “is damaged and can’t be opened” or “cannot be verified”
  • Run the Terminal commands described in the Mac section of “6. Installation and Uninstallation”.
• No sound when playing keys other than the designated ones
  • This is by design. Single hits are on F#1 (closed) / G#1 (pedal) / A#1 (open), and patterns are on the 12 keys of the octave chosen with ZONE (default C3–B3).
• Open hits do not open, or stop at once
  • Check that the pedal (CC4) is not on the closed side (high values). The thin line in the HAT panel picture is the current pedal position. With a short CHOKE, hits stop quickly when the hat closes.
• EDIT screen knobs do not move
  • In the free edition only METAL TYPE and TUNE can be operated. The rest are Pro features.
• Patterns do not sound
  • Check that PHRASE ENABLE is on, and that incoming notes are in the ZONE octave (default C3–B3).
• Rendered audio sounds different from playback
  • In the free edition the variation is determined by playback position, so identical positions always produce identical sound. Hits played while the transport is stopped are decided anew every time, so they will not match a render.
• Dropped sample does not sound
  • The CLOSED slot sounds only on closed hits and the pedal, the OPEN slot only on open hits.
• Nothing happens when dragging a pattern
  • Drag a pattern key (or the pattern name box) onto your DAW track. MIDI / WAV in the PHRASE panel only choose the export format; dragging them does nothing (the free edition offers MIDI only). The pattern name box exports the last pattern played, so it gives nothing until a pattern has played once.

8. Notes

• Distributed free of charge (freeware) “AS IS”, without individual support.
• The source code is proprietary and not public.
• All copyrights to this product belong to Tonecraft Tokyo.
• Modification, reverse engineering, redistribution, and resale of this product are prohibited. Please download it only from the official Tonecraft Tokyo website or the store pages it links to.
• Free for both commercial and non-commercial use.
• This product uses JUCE.
• This product uses JetBrains Mono and Noto Sans JP (SIL Open Font License 1.1).

9. Disclaimer

• This product is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of third-party rights.
• Tonecraft Tokyo is not liable for any damages arising from the use of, or inability to use, this product, including but not limited to loss or corruption of project files or audio data, equipment malfunction, lost working time, or lost profits.
• Operation is not guaranteed for every combination of DAW, operating system, and hardware.
• Specifications may change, and the product may be discontinued, without notice.
• Use this product at your own risk. Back up your projects before important work.