House Music Production : Hi-hats

The cracking, sizzling, slurping, body-rocking hi-hat is the third sound in the beat maker trilogy.

Hi-hats are the third essential component for building the groove. They can be used to reinforce any element of the rhythm and are the primary tool for increasing the pace and excitement of your rhythm track.

Most drum machines have two types of hi-hat - open and closed (OH and CH). The terms refers to the two different ways an acoustic drummer strikes the hi-hat cymbals in their kit. Closed hats are short and tight because the drummer closes the hats with their foot pedal, while open hats are played with the foot pedal released and have a longer sustain. They are often played on the off-beat earning them the nickname 'disco slurps' for the sucking sound they make.

Mute groups

Because a drummer only has one hi-hat set in their kit, a closed and an open hat can't be played at the same time. Instead, when an open hat is playing and the drummer puts their foot back on the hi-hat pedal, the open had is ended, the sustain 'choked' as the two cymbals return together. This 'choking' style was emulated by early drum machine sequencers, which restricted open and closed hi-hats to one note polyphony so that only one or the other could be triggered at any one time. This shaped the sequenced sounds of the TR-808 and 909 rhythm boxes, adding a sense of realism to their beats.

Software samplers and drum machines like Battery use 'mute groups' to determine how many notes can be triggered simultaneously. To emulate the classic choking style, assign all hi-hats to their own mute group and restrict polyphony to one.

Top hats for style

The style of house you're making will influence your choice of the hi-hat sound. Classic and retro choices come from the vintage E-mu, Linn and Roland (particularly 909) drum machines. In main room and deep house these are often layered with hats sampled from disco records. The same sampled hats find their way into funky and Latin productions too.

Away from the sampled vinyl and classic drum machines, hats can be created using synthesis. Of increasing popularity are entirely synthesized white noise hats, favored by minimal and techno producers.

These white-noise hats are very easy to make using most soft synths. All you need is a white noise oscillator as the source (FM synthesis works just as well.) The amp envelope is all important in shaping the dynamics and requires at least two different settings to re-produce open and closed versions. Since white noise occupies the full frequency spectrum, it is essential to use a combination of filters (both hi and low-pass) to shave off high and low frequencies to help the hats sit in the mix.

Electro-house and bassline/fidget producers use a range of sources, from drum machine hits to sampled hats from rock and even old rave classics. Their inherent filth comes from liberal doses of distortion, compression and reverb created space. Look for impulse responses on the net, or try an algorithmic reverb with modulation parameters to really mess with the sound.

Sculpting hi-hats

Hi-hats are supporting rhythmic instruments that must work effectively alongside - and not overshadow - the kick and snare. After selecting the right sound the important part is shaping the hat so it works in, and fits with, the groove. Attention to detail here is paramount, and beat programmers use a mix of sampler amp settings, compressors and transient shapers to shape their hats in the same way a sculptor would stone: cutting and chiseling the sound until it sits perfectly in the groove.

In the mix - transient shapers

The dynamics of a hi-hat can be further refined using a transient shaper or envelope plugin. When the attack is increased, the front 'edge' becomes harder and more defined - great for adding definition to a groove. If the sound is too biting ease back on the attack. The tail can also be manipulated for shorter or longer tails. A long compressed-to-the-max sucking tail can be great in lo-fi electro beats.

In the mix - de-essing

When pressing vinyl it is essential to ensure sibilant hi-hat frequencies don't distort at the cutting stage. Hi-hat sibilance (that nasssty sss sound) occurs in the upper mid-range, around the 5-6khz region and beyond. An effective way to tame it is to use a de-esser to dynamically lower the volume of problem frequency bands.

Tip / An echo or delay effect on a hi-hat can increase the pace of a track and introduce an extra element of rhythm. Use a 1/16 note setting for speed or 1/8 note triplet setting for dub rhythms. Ping pong delays are also nice. Roll away the high end of any returns.

Tip / Flangers and phasers introduce movement into linear hi-hat patterns by sweeping through the frequency range. For subtle changes keep the mix value low and sweep the LFO across an 8 or 16-bar cycle. Automate the wet mix level and bring it up slowly when the track needs more intensity.

Tip / Lock the frequency of a phaser so it resonates at a fixed pitch. Tune the resonant frequency to the key of the track, choosing either the route note or one that's in harmony.

Tip / If you're after ultra-wide hats send them through a frequency shifter. Look for the offset parameter: this is the key to stereo width enhancement. Keep the frequency range below 1-10Hz for sublime panning. At settings below 1Hz the sweeping motion of the frequency shifting becomes more noticeable.

Tip / Hats and shakers occupy the same high frequency area. When using both in a track be careful that they don't clash. You can do this using programming to ensure one supports the other rhythmically, rather than playing the same line. Separate them further by using a mix of panning, EQ (cut one and boost the other in the same area) and reverb (pushing one further back in the mix by using a little more reverb on it).

Tip / For a heavily compressed nu-rave / electro-style disco slurp, sidechain a long dirty open hat with the kick drum so that it gives nice syncopated off-beat-breaths. Use a very slow release so that you never hear the start of the hat. Get even dirtier by adding bit-crusher or distortion. Long white noise hats are great candidates for this too.

Tip / It's always tempting to reach for an exciter to add high-end to the hats. But beware: excited hats can sound brutal on a club system. If you use one, be subtle.


You can read about the kick drum with more detail in Sample Magic's book "The secrets of house music production".