Clap

An 808-style synthesized hand clap. A trigger fires a tight burst of filtered noise with a decaying tail — the percussion you reach for to put a backbeat or layer on top of a snare.

How it works

Real claps aren't one sound but many hands landing a few milliseconds apart. This module recreates that: each trigger fires three quick noise bursts spaced about 10ms apart — the "machine-gun" stutter your ear reads as a clap — followed by a longer noise tail. Everything runs through a resonant band-pass filter, giving the clap its characteristic hollow, papery body.

Controls

• Tone — the band-pass centre, sweeping from 600 Hz to 2500 Hz. Lower is darker and rounder; higher is thinner and snappier.
• Decay — the length of the trailing noise tail, from a short 0.05s slap to a longer 0.5s wash of room.

Inputs & outputs

• Trig — fires the clap on a rising edge; patch a clock, a gate sequencer, or a drum trigger here.
• Out — the mono clap signal.

Tips

• Layer it under a Snare with a longer Decay to fake reverb and width.
• Short Decay with a high Tone gives a dry, modern handclap; long Decay with a low Tone evokes a roomy 808.