WMD's first percussion synthesizer module for Eurorack

Humanistic shakers, drum machine tambourines, laser guns, minimal techno offbeats, giant-robot movie sound design, etc. It's all yours with Chimera (kai-meer-ah).

First, we recorded samples of different metallic hits to create the sonic signatures that we call Surfaces. The sources include tambourines, sleigh bells, drill bits, wrenches, shell casings, coins, chains, stomp box enclosures and about 50 eurorack panels from an order that came damaged from our supplier.  Unlike it's younger sibling, Fracture, Chimera uses impulse rich sonic signatures that have lots of detail and long tails to create rich, detailed, shaker like sounds.

Second, we built a proprietary granular synthesis engine around the sonic signatures with the goal of making a module that could sound like a human hitting and shaking a tambourine. With the fundamentals finished, we tweaked the control ranges, built the post-engine effects, and bomb-proofed the hardware.

From there we pushed and polished the engine and user experience, squeezing every juicy drop out of 8HP.