- Drum samples and loops add groove and open up creative possibilities.
- But can you really find good drum samples for free?
- We’ve rounded up the best websites for free drum loops and samples on the net.
Drum loops and drum samples are really useful for both songwriting and production. They can work in a scratch track, mix with other samples for enhanced texture, or even form the entire rhythm section of a song.
Drum loops and samples play a huge part in modern music production. In fact, Rihanna’s Umbrella (you know, one of the biggest selling songs of the ’00s) began with one of Apple’s Logic Pro Loops.
In this article, we’ll be looking at where you can get your hands on acoustic style drum samples that you can load into your DAW super quick and get started with creating music, whether you’re wanting to throw some drums down for a demo to play to your bandmates, or searching for the perfect snare to blend in with your existing recordings.
Best Websites For Free Drum Samples
So, here are our top picks for websites that offer free drum loops…
- Free Sample Packs
- Looperman
- Landr
- Free Drum Loops (Best For Unusual Loops)
- Drum Tracks
- Judd Madden
- Drumwerks
1. Free Sample Packs
Free Sample Packs provide exclusive free samples to use in your music royalty-free along with highlighting some of the greatest free samples out there for music producers new and seasoned.
Besides the rather unimaginative company name, Free Sample Packs is a great resource.
Free Sample Packs has tonnes on offer, and not just free drum samples. You’ll find some really nice options such as JST Gang Vocals (for all your ‘Whoah’ and ‘1,2,3’ needs) and other cinematic sounds.
There are also some good general sound effects and free Kontakt libraries to take advantage of.
To browse the entire collection head over to Free Sample Packs.
2. Looperman
Looperman, aside from offering quality acoustic drum samples, is an online musician community that also offers acapellas, vocal samples and software.
With a huge range of drum samples to choose from you’ll be able to filter by genre and tempo, which is really handy for those moments when you’ve come up with a killer riff and need to narrow down the loop with just-the-right BPM.
Looperman is a super useful site for composing songs and (aside from just acoustic drum samples) they have a huge 183,448 loops, WAVs, samples and sounds to choose from.
Head over to Looperman for more info.
3. LANDR
Professional audio mastering with instant results. Sound like a pro without paying studio rates or learning complex plug-ins.
Typically associated with being an online mastering service, Landr actually has a great set of acoustic drum kit samples that can be downloaded completely free.
Filter by instrument, genre, and BPM to find the sample you like and simply download!
Their creator kit allows you to start building your own samples with customizable key, tempo, and level adjustments which take seconds to get to grips and eliminates the need for a DAW or any music theory knowledge at all.
In terms of free acoustic drum libraries, Landr definitely has one of the best selections of samples that are easy to tweak to fit your projects. There of course is a paid option too but their free drum library is more than enough to keep you going.
For more information on Landr, head to their website.
4. Free Drum Loops (Best For Unusual Loops)
Free-drumloops.com is committed to providing the best free real drum loops on the net, with Free variations for every drum loop song you will hear in the "download bar".
Yep, another highly creative company name. The Free Drum Loops website mainly (as you can probably tell) comprises a comprehensive list of free drum samples, although there are other paid options.
One of the unique aspects of the site is the huge array of samples which range from pop to 6/8 to Arabian drums. This is a really handy site for acoustic drum samples that aren’t just based on an acoustic drum kit.
The other thing we love is the price, you aren’t tied into a monthly fee and users can purchase an individual loop without buying a full sample pack.
All the drums you find on the site were professionally recorded with SSL gear on an analog console. If you’re after free acoustic samples then you know these will be of high quality.
Head over to Free Drum Loops to check out their collection.
5. Drum Tracks
Full-length Drum Beats (3-5 minutes long) played by Los Angeles world-class drummers, complete with multiple sections, fills and dynamic changes.
Drum Tracks is a huge resource of drum samples of varying genres. The site itself has over 200 loops for you to choose from, easily filtered by style which can range from straight up rock to country, fusion, Latin and even ballad.
The site is based purely on loops however so this might not be the best place if you’re looking for one shots but the tracks available vary in length with some coming in at around 4 minutes meaning you can download, drag into your DAW and jam away over the top to get the creative juices flowing.
Each loop is professionally recorded by world class drummers and will come multiple sections, fills and dynamic changes.
Check out Drum Tracks full range of loops on their website.
6. Judd Madden
Judd Madden has recorded over 118 samples, available completely free and even including a free Ableton Live drum rack.
The pack includes Kick, Snare (on and off), Hi-hats, Three Toms, Three Crashes, Ride, Splash, China as well as a range of velocities and inflections.
The samples come with a natural stereo mix and room reverb in 32bit WAV files. You can check out an example of the pack here and download directly from Judd’s website here.
7. Drumwerks
A healthy collection of drum kits, snares and kicks. Use as you want, share them with friends, or delete them!
Drumwerks offer a massive array of paid sample packs but (lucky for us) they also have a quality selection of free options which include kick, snare, toms, crash cymbals, rides and hi-hats. There are four different snare drums and three kicks used with multiple tuning and recording configurations.
In total you’ll have access to 730 samples to get you going, all professionally recorded and ready to drag and drop!
Check out Drumwerks over at their website.
Summing Up
Drum loops are a great way of enhancing your productions. With sample packs, MIDI packs, and loops it’s easy to recreate the sound of an acoustic drum kit without even needing to go to a studio.
Nowadays drum loops can be used in a variety of ways whether you want a rough beat before sending your demo to your drummer or whether you’re constructing an entire song.
Perhaps you have very little knowledge of drumming or you’re unable to write with a drummer in person (something that has been all too common during the COVID-19 pandemic), loops are a great tool for not only songwriting but mixing and arranging as well.
Check out some of the options on our list and see how they enhance your projects!
(For more free samples, head on over to 10 Free Sample Pack Websites/Sources For Electronic Music (2021))