Stock up your samples folder and find new inspiration without opening your wallet.

There are millions of sample packs available online right now — from archives of old sample CDs from the 90s, right through to daily-updated sample pack platforms and artists releasing sounds on a Patreon page. This is awesome for creators wanting to manipulate royalty-free audio into a new track or just find inspiration for a new sound. But that’s a daunting number of samples to trawl through, right?

We’re gonna try and help you out.

Our list gives you a ton of sample pack recommendations, all of which are free to download and free to use. The only thing you’ll need is a bit of imagination and an internet connection. We reckon you have both of those. We’re obviously going to include the ones that we, MusicTech, have created for you, but we’re also throwing some more in so you have a strong variety.

This month’s best samples

 

Analog Synth Loops

Get the sound of classic analogue synth hardware without the hassle and expense of buying and maintaining the real thing. This collection of 100 two and four-bar loops is sampled from vintage instruments with the melodic and rhythmic parts capturing the essence and groove not only of the synths but of analogue sequencers too.

Timed at 126BPM they can easily be stretched to different tempos and even keys in your DAW, making them super flexible. Covering a wide range of styles from gritty electro through foot-tapping dance and even lighter, sparling pop loops, it’s the perfect collection around which to build tracks in any number of genres – just layer up some beats and you’re good to go.

Cinematic Guitars

Not an experienced guitarist or maybe don’t even own a guitar? That’s not a problem with this collection of 50 beautifully produced cinematic guitar samples. A mixture of loops and one-shots, they are perfect for movie, TV or game scoring, creating ethereal atmospheres or moody soundscapes. Pre-processed through a range of guitar effects, you’ll find everything from shimmering textures to stabs and rhythmic patterns. While the guitar might not be the first instrument you think of when it comes to cinematics, the endless tones and textures you can get especially when using effects chains actually makes them the perfect way to set the mood. Save yourself the work of playing and recording by short-cutting straight to the right tone with this collection.

Vocoded Beats Vol.1

Some of the most creative music comes from combining sounds and processing that might not immediately seem to fit together. This 99-sample collection takes the classic robot voice effect – the vocoder – and uses it to process a series of beats, resulting in a set of rhythms that sound both classic and futuristic at the same time. While keeping the pattern of the original beat, the vocoding process forces the different drum elements into new frequency bands resulting in a truly unique sound. Timed at a stately 70 BPM they are easy to stretch to new speeds in a DAW or even add more processing to carry on your experimental journey. Whether you’re using them as the backbone of a track or for variation in a breakdown, these loops are sure to give your productions a unique flavour.

BandLab MusicTech Sample Packs

MusicTech’s Free samples

Free sample packs by genre

More free loops and sample packs online

Check out more buyer’s guides on MusicTech.