Hatz is a MIDI-driven drum engine that instantly generates hi-hat rolls, snare rolls, and stutter effects. It includes built-in effects, a large sample library, and customizable patterns for rapid beat-making.
Purpose and Core Function
Hatz by Thenatan Audio is a virtual instrument designed to simplify the creation of hi-hat rolls, snare rolls, and stutter effects. Traditionally, producers spend considerable time programming these rhythms in a piano roll. Hatz moves this workflow to a playable engine where MIDI notes trigger looped rhythmic patterns.
Pressing a key plays a predefined repeat rate, such as C3 for 1/2 notes or F3 for 1/16 notes, ranging up to 1/256. This includes triplets, enabling rapid groove construction without manual note editing. The speed can be halved or doubled to fit the track’s tempo, and the instrument syncs to the host DAW.
Key Capabilities
Hatz offers a customizable pattern system with 30 user-selectable roll patterns, accessible via yellow buttons, while green buttons provide fixed note divisions. The engine features four layers that can be stacked over the main hi-hat, and a mono or poly mode to avoid overlapping notes.
Each layer includes controls for pitch, pan, gain, and filter, allowing for evolving sounds like pitch-swept uplifters, auto-panning, and filter sweeps. A gain designer humanizes the performance, while random velocity and sample start add natural variation. Additional sample controls include start and endpoint adjustment, and reverse playback.
Effects and Sound Design
Built-in high-quality effects include reverb, delay, bit crusher, saturation, low-pass and high-pass filters, and a stereo widener. These allow for crafting unique hi-hat sounds directly within the plugin, eliminating the need for external processing during the creative phase.
The effects are integrated into the signal flow, and each layer can route through them. The intelligent randomizer generates surprising results, making it easy to find fresh patterns and sound combinations. This is supported by a preset browser with 120 factory presets and shareable patches, covering genres from trap to house.
Workflow and Applications
Hatz comes with over 550 HD hi-hat and percussion samples in nine categories, or users can drag and drop their own one-shot samples into the engine. The interface is vector-based, resizable up to 200%, and modern. Activation uses serial number protection, with the code delivered via email and no iLok required.
It works in most major DAWs including Ableton Live, Reason, FL Studio, and Cubase, but excludes Pro Tools (no AAX). System requirements are Mac OS X 10.9.5 or later (4GB RAM) and Windows 7 or above, with 64-bit AU/VST/VST3 formats on Mac and 32/64-bit on Windows. Suitable for hip-hop, trap, dubstep, and EDM.
Key features
- Customizable roll patterns up to 1/256 notes and triplets
- Built-in reverb, delay, bitcrusher, saturation, filters, and stereo widener
- Four layers over the main hi-hat with pitch, pan, gain, and filter designers
- Over 550 HD samples in nine categories plus drag-and-drop own samples
- Mono or poly mode with random velocity and sample start
- Intelligent randomizer and 120 factory presets
- MIDI note-driven repeat rate control and speed halve or double
Best for
Beatmakers and producers in hip-hop, trap, and EDM who want to speed up hi-hat and snare roll creation with playable MIDI patterns, built-in effects, and a large sample library, without manual piano roll programming.