10 Tips For Free Sample Packs
In this blog you can find a list of free software and plug-ins every now and then. Synthesizers, effects, audio tools, that kind of thing. Great of course, all those digital options. A full virtual studio inside your laptop or desktop computer. This also had a great impact on the development of many styles of music. But the huge amount of possibilities sometimes makes us forget there’s more than synthesizers and effects.
In this case I’m talking about “samples”. Audio files that you can use to make a piece of music. Separate elements that can be combined or edited to create something new. Creative sampling is a true art form and the use of dedicated sampling hardware or software (usually called “samplers”) takes some practice.
All very nice, but where do you get good quality sample material? Most DAW software comes with a decent amount of samples. High quality too. But there usually isn’t a lot of variation. Recording your own material would be an option too, but requires more knowledge and equipment. Making your own sounds using synthesizers is a possibility. If you own suitable gear to do so, that is.
And then there’s the so-called sample packs. Collections of sample material containing a wide variety of sounds at high quality. You could buy sample packs from several specialized websites, but sometimes you can get stuff for free. The internet is a neverending source of nice samples. To get you going I’ve gathered some great free sample packs. Hopefully there’s something useful in there for you too!
1) Legowelt Sample Packs
This name might not ring a bell for most, but lovers of the more obscure electro music will definitely know whothis is. Danny Wolfers, the man behind Legowelt, really loves “vintage” gear. And he offers a big amount of great samples, recorded from a lot of his own gear. Completely free! Have a look at his website for all downloads. Definitely worth it.
2) Ableton Packs
When you buy Ableton Live you also get a large amount of free samples with the software. But what many users don’t seem to know is that Ableton offers new packs on their website every now and then. Some packs will cost you money, but there are also a lot of great free packs available! High quality, a lot of choice. Check them all out on the Ableton site.
3) Boxed Ear Packs
Boxed Ear makes “patches” for (hardware) synthesizers. But they also offer good sample packs. And some of thosepacks are free. No huge amounts of samples here. But all very high quality and with a lot of character, sampled from well known and less known machines. Find out more about these freepacks.
4) Beta Monkey Drumloops
Fairly well known website that mainly offers (acoustic) drum samples and loops. All recorded in good studios and containing a wide variety of styles. For most packs you have to pay, but if you search a bit further you will also find some free stuff. Worth the effort, especially if you need some high quality acoustic drums. Have a look at theBetaMonkey website.
5) Rhythm Lab Packs
A website that has many collections of sample packs. You can find a lot of gems in the free sample section too. Check them all out onrhythm-lab.com. Use the filter function on the right to get a list of all the free packs.
6) Goldbaby Packs
Goldbaby is probably a name you’ve seen before. A well known name when it comes to samples packs. A huge amount of samples at very high quality, including a section with free packs. Make sure you take a look at theGoldbaby website.
7) Samplephonics Packs
No stranger to the world of sample packs either. This website offers quite a large amount of samples! And there are also some free packs in there at high quality. A full list of freeSamplephonics packscan be found here.
8) SoundPacks.com
Another interesting website with large amounts of samples. The amount of free packs is very nice: take a look at this list ofSoundpacks samples.
9) Sample Magic Packs
Another well known sample website. And again well worth it if you are looking for a good quality – price ratio. They also offer free samples on a regular basis:Samplemagic packs. Take a look, even if it was only for their free909 en 808 drum computer packs; some samples every producer should have. You will have to register, but it will definitely get you some very good samples!
10) Music Radar Packs
And finally a seemingly endlessamount of free loops and samples. Well known music magazines like Computer Music and Future Music offer free high quality samples every month for their subscribers. But parts of these collections can also be found on this page: free and in alphabetical order. Check out theseMusic Radar Packs: If that doesn’t keep you busy for a while…..
And Finally
The websites I mentioned here are just a small part of the total amount of nice samples you can find online, of course. And just like plug-ins, there’s one important thing to remember: don’t just download everything. Choose wisely, try to use samples of the highest quality and look for sounds that are useful for your music. Sounds bad? Make sure you delete those files from your computer to avoid a clutter of useless or bad samples. One thing is sure, however: there is definitely enough quality stuff ot there!
Enjoy!
