WMD Crater
Analog punch meets digital polish in one kick
8 HP Eurorack module
Crater is an analog/digital hybrid bass drum module that combines a 909-style analog triangle core oscillator with a digital attack layering section. The analog side delivers pitch envelopes, sustain staging, and 1V/oct tracking for everything from snappy kicks to 808-style basslines, while the digital Timbre and Click Decay controls add polished layered attack sounds inspired by classic drum machines. Together they produce a kick that cuts through the mix with high-frequency presence while remaining powerful in the low end.
Features
- Analog triangle core oscillator with temperature compensation
- 909-style pitch envelope for snappy transients to laser sweeps
- Sustain stage allows gate length to control kick length independently of decay setting
- 1V/oct pitch tracking for melodic bass sequencing
- 3 rear-selectable clipping styles for different analog saturation characters
- Continuous Saturation knob for dialing in analog grit
- Extra long VCA envelope for big bass booms and rolling techno kicks
- Digital attack section with Timbre knob covering classic drum machine inspired sounds
- Click Decay control adds delayed noise simulating loose lugs and acoustic room effects
- All inputs 100k ohm impedance with Schmitt Trigger gate inputs (2V threshold)
- Output impedance 390 ohm
- Rear-selectable output level: 23Vpp (0dB default) or -3dB clipped to 19Vpp
Controls & Jacks (20)
- Pitch — Controls the pitch of the analog triangle core oscillator with pitch envelope for 909-like attacks
- Click Decay — Shapes the digital attack while adding delayed noise to simulate acoustic room effects
- Amount — Controls the amount of analog saturation applied to the kick signal
- Decay — Controls the decay time of the amplitude envelope for the main kick body
- Click Timbre — Digital section control that dials in different attack sounds inspired by classic drum machines
- Sustain — Sets the sustain level that Crater will maintain as long as the gate is high, allowing gate-length sequencing of kick duration
- Pitch Decay — Controls the decay time of the pitch envelope
- Click LVL CV — CV input for click level amount
- Click Timbre CV — CV input for digital attack timbre modulation
- Output — Main audio output of the kick drum (23Vpp default, rear-selectable to -3dB clipped 19Vpp)
- 1V/OCT — 1V/octave pitch CV input for melodic kick tuning
- Saturation CV — CV input for saturation amount
- Trigger — Trigger input to initiate kick drum
- Pitch Decay CV — CV input for pitch envelope decay time
- Accent — CV input for accent/velocity response
- Click Level — Controls the level of the digital click/attack component
- Clipping — Three-position switch selecting clipping mode: off, soft clip, or hard clip for analog saturation character
- Saturation — Continuous saturation input for dialing in the perfect amount of analog grit and clipping
- Sustain CV — CV input for sustain level
- Gate — Gate input with 2V threshold Schmitt trigger for sustain sequencing
How-To Guides
- Classic 909 Kick
- 808 Hip Hop Bassline
- Rolling Techno Kick
- Disco Tom
- Snappy Electronic Kick
- CV Modulated Pitch Sweep
- Acoustic Room Kick
- Timbre Live Performance Sweep
- Saturation Grit Dialing
Explore the interactive Crater panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
