Many years ago, I learned the hard way that the drum samples you use in your tracks must be absolutely amazing. The lead could be mixed too quiet or the FX could be generic and predictable, but the drum samples had to be on point...
Mega Samples 17 Sample Packstorrent
And I realized how much of a mistake this was when they announced the winner; a young producer who submitted only a single drum loop (which I later learned he had sequenced and programmed using entirely free drum samples). It was a hard lesson learned, but it forced me to take my drum samples VERY SERIOUSLY.
Samples are the backbone of music production and have been a vital part of almost every producer's workflow for the better part of four decades. If you are not using samples, you are hamstringing your career as a musician: full stop.
"I thought using loops was cheating, so I programmed my own using samples. I then thought using samples was cheating, so I recorded real drums. Then thought that programming was cheating, so I learned to play drums for real...
But there is an infinite number of samples out there, and it takes time to developed an ear to recognize good samples from bad ones. It all starts with building up a drum library, but even that can get expensive. But when done right, it can open up a ton of creative doors and get you finishing music faster!
What They're Not So Good For: Their quality is a blessing and a curse, seeing as how 90% of all bass-music producers were using these samples heavily. And their distinctive punch and weight make them even more easily recognizable.
Pro Tip: These free drum samples shine when you can find ways to make them not as recognizable. By layering more textured samples over the top (foley hits or gritty hip-hop percussions), you can add uniqueness to them while still maintain their power, weight, and quality.
What They're Good For: Grammy winning quality drum samples put together by Jay Fisher (drummer, audio engineer and beat maker/producer). He has built a gigantic collection of the best drum sounds and acoustic percussion samples out there for any modern professional quality genre. Years in development, these sounds record everything from vinyl records to vintage drum machines and an immense amount of his own live recordings as a drummer and percussionist.
What They're Not So Good For: Hard to pinpoint many negative qualities, but these samples definitely fit into a more mainstream sound. Think popular major label artist sounds in Pop, Hip-Hop, Electronic, and Rock. They are going to pack a lot of punch into your sound, so if you make more chilled out styles and don't want your drums forward then these might not be for you.
What They're Good For: This pack offers a wide range of different drum samples, all of varying tempos and genres, which is a great way to introduce wildly different sounds to your sonic pallet. They have interesting textures, unexpected loops, and many options to choose from.
What They're Not So Good For: What makes these samples great also make them a bit finicky to work with, especially for making more popular genres of dance music. It can take some processing, manipulation, and experimentation to really get these drums fitting correctly and hitting properly.
What They're Good For: Sure, I'm biased here but the proof is in the results. These sample packs contain some of the exact same samples I've used in some of my best productions and I give them away to producers entirely for free. Better yet, there are two different volumes each containing entirely different material!
What They're Not So Good For: These packs do great to whet the appetite, but are so DOPE that you'll want even more. Unfortunately, only students enrolled in the Hyperbits Masterclass get access to the entire Creative Suite of samples.
What They're Good For: This pack is massive and filled with some incredibly high-quality samples. They have very weighty percussion sounds that dominate the mix, and can instantly grab a listener's attention with little processing.
What They're Good For: Splice is an incredibly powerful tool and the free offerings it brings to the table can be second to none. Their rotating stash of free samples is a great way to introduce new sounds that you might not have tried before.
What They're Not So Good For: Overall, one should be watchful of how they are utilizing the power of Splice. When you're in the groove of producing and think you need one specific loop or sound, it can be tempting to pop into Splice and start searching for that tone. But nothing kills creativity and flow faster than mindlessly clicking through a haystack of samples looking for that single, proverbial needle of a sample that will do the trick.
What They're Good For: This pack has a ton of great drum samples, but I was most surprised by their quality bank of 808 and 909 sounds. Dance music producers can never have a big enough bank of these iconic drum machine hits, and this free pack of drums is a great starter kit for new producers and an even better addition to seasoned producers' libraries.
What They're Not So Good For: It might just be due to my background in dance music, but many of these more interesting samples lack a weighty punch that would get a dance floor moving. Sure, it leaves space for vocals and softer elements, but as a DJ and dance producer, I NEED that power.
What They're Good For: I like this pack because it's light, easy, and diverse. Not only does it come with a few killer 808 samples (remember, you can never have enough 808 samples), but also includes a few free presets for popular synths like Massive and Serum.
The Rundown: I used to watch tutorials from YouTuber Shane Robbins with a ferocity only matched by my plugin purchasing habits. I use his Serum presets on pretty much every production of mine, and his samples are just as banging.
What They're Not So Good For: Students of the Hyperbits Masterclass learn ASAP that organization is vital to a producer's workflow, and the delivery of this pack simply makes me anxious. One folder with a laundry list of samples will take extra time to organize into appropriate folders in your sample library.
Pro Tip: You are likely to find 10-20 samples you like enough to actually use in your tracks. So take the time to scroll through this list of samples and delete any ones you know that you will not use. Sort the remaining ones into your "Favorite Drums" folder, and save yourself a TON of time down the road.
What They're Good For: This small sampler of their flagship acoustic plugin offers great texture and authentic-sounding drum samples. When programmed correctly, you can get some genuinely realistic-sounding drum patterns.
Pro Tip: These work amazing for layering! Blend in these samples behind more punchy and crispy digital percussion samples and get the best of both worlds. It brings texture and tone to your percussions while maintaining the punch and power!
What They're Not So Good For: To be honest, a lot of these samples are hit or miss and completely unusable. Strange editing of the samples leaves abrupt edges in the sound and other samples are completely unimaginative and unusable. With the number of samples offered here, it'll take some digging to find samples you want to use (but the digging can certainly be worth it).
The Rundown: You may have heard of the website MusicRadar, which provides all sorts of information and articles to musicians, producers, and audio engineers. They compiled all the samples that came with copies of the magazines Future Music and Computer Music and made an easy download location for them for free. Organized alphabetically, these packs have a super wide variety of sources and styles and can provide an amazing inspiration boost.
What They're Not So Good For: I used to use Loopmasters samples quite heavily in my early days of production. They worked for me for a long while, but the sounds and styles of modern music production began to change and I always felt like Loopmasters did not keep up with the times. Maybe it's because I've used their samples for well over a decade, but they often can sound dated to me (especially when compared to "modern" sounds like Cymatics).
Pro Tip: With a bit of layering and finess, these are the exact samples you want when layering. The digital punch commonly seen in the 200-350hz range can add lots of energy, and layering these sounds with....oh.... maybe the Slate acoustic drum sampler mentioned above and yield nuanced and effective results.
What They're Not So Good For: These samples are great, but can often take a bit of work and processing to have them fit right in your track. This is especially true if you're sourcing samples from off-genre packs like the ones offered in their free banks.
The Rundown: Complete with loops, samples, and textures, SamplePhonics offers genre-specific packs and packs that are more category-based. These can be instrument loops, specific effect style samples, etc. SamplePhonics also has amazing filtering options at the top of their age so you can find exactly the packs that you need.
Making professional music is damn hard and having an amazing bank of drum and FX samples is only the beginning. Heck, just being able to identify good vs. bad drum samples is just one of the many skills a professional procure must master. If you are wanting to start producing music that is as good, if not better, than the artists you look up to, the Hyperbits Masterclass is the perfect solution. Enroll instantly, and start leveling up your music today.
With a pack featuring over 1000 samples curated for cutting edge house music production, big is an understatement. This pack consists of a sample pack and an extensive, completely mixed and mastered project file. Like any 789ten release, this pack comes with a lot of quality content. 2ff7e9595c
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