Well, do you want to get rocked? The opening line to Def Leppard’s “Let’s Get Rocked” seems poignant for this particular article. There was a time when Rock and samples weren’t used in the same sentence.
Samples in Rock have existed since the mid-80s; whispered about more than openly stated, and have grown in popularity at a similar rate to the accessibility of recording technology to the mainstream public.
This article explores the range of rock drum samples on the market today.
Free Drum Loops. Browse our collection of free drum Loops, drum breaks, loops packs, drum loop libraries, drum samples and percussion sounds. All free drum loops are available to download 100% royalty free for use in your music production or sound design project.
Whether you’re looking to retrigger a drum kit recorded in a limited environment, wanting to supplement individual drums to add weight or in need of loops for inspiration, listen and read below to find the pack for you.
The free loops, samples and sounds listed here have been kindly uploaded by other users. If you use any of these loops please leave your comments. Read the loops section of the help area and our terms and conditions for more information on how you can use the loops. Download 1000+ high quality free samples, Serum presets, Massive presets, project files, and more from Cymatics and improve the quality of your music production today!
Quick Rundown
Below is a short list of the rock drum samples we talk about in this article. Scroll down for more details or click for audio demos.
For more rock samples be sure to check these articles: Hard Rock Drum Samples & Indie Rock Drum Samples
1. Modern Samples – Analog Snares
First up is Analog Snares from Modern Samples. A collection of high-quality snare drum samples recorded and mixed through analog gear. This pack contains 11 different snare drums recorded in 3 different sonic environments.
This versatility provides a wealth of different snare flavors and ambiances. Each sample has been individually mixed, incorporating drum machine layers, providing 440 colors, textures and variations to use in your productions.
The 440 samples have been divided into 7 folders. Each folder represents a different texture.
The ‘Clean’ folder contains the least processed samples. A blend of top and bottom snare microphones with light compression and EQ, ‘Clean’ is ideal for the producer wanting HQ, natural sounding snares they can shape themselves.
‘Dirty’ is a collection of snares recorded using a valve tube microphone, aggressively compressed during the mixing stage for more color.
‘Game Over’ snares are a blend of various microphone configurations, heavily processed. These samples also have drum machine samples blended in for maximum coloration and texture.
‘Layered’ takes the ‘Clean’ samples and blends drum machine sounds. This concoction of real snare and artificial give the snare serious spank to cut through a mix.
‘Punch and Click’ is a randomization of recording configurations, slammed through an analog compressor. This compression seriously shapes the transient, adding punch and click.
‘Rimshots’ are exactly that. If you need your snare to sound like the drummer is hitting it with an anvil, it’s this folder you need.
Finally, ‘Textures’. ‘Textures’ is a combination of rooms, overheads, drum machines and percussion to bring a softer snare to your production. The attention to detail with this entire pack is evident at first listen. A superior snare collection for those looking to punch with those at the top.
What We Like About This Pack
From the moment you audition your first snare from this pack, it’ll be evident what we like about it. Every single hit has something to say. Every snare has an attitude.
Rock is such a vague description of an entire genre, yet this pack covers it all. Whether it’s the Led Zeppelin sound of the 60s, a furious 80s Metallica snare or a hybrid Imagine Dragons type of snare, this pack caters for all. I’m wary of saying much more. Visit the site, and hear for yourself.
2. Loopmasters – Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums
Progressive Rockers can often struggle to find loops and samples to suit their genre. The sheer complexity of the music and instruments (have you seen the size of Neil Peart’s kit?) make it a much less attractive area of the market for manufacturers. Luckily for you us, Loop Masters have created Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums. Scott Rockenfield is considered one of the most accurate drummers in the business, and the proof is in the pudding with his INCREDIBLE work with Queensrÿche.
This rock drum sample pack provides Scott Rockenfield’s signature sound in readily available loops. His inventive playing style ranges from subtle to aggressive. A collection of 60 stereo loops ranging in tempo from 130 – 183 beats per minute, as well as 165 multi-track loops.
The multi-track loops give you full flexibility in balancing the individual components of the drum tracks, to craft the sound that suits your project. There are also 76 one-shots available too!
All drum loops are REX2 formatted, making editing a breeze. As well as loops and one-shots, Loop Masters have also provided 10 software sampler patches. These patches are compatible with NNXT, Halion, Kontakt, SFZ, and EXS24. Having access to software sampler patches for these drums allows the programmer producer to craft their own beats, with Scott’s sound.
What We Like About This Pack
Hard Rock is poorly represented in the loops market, with many people gravitating more toward using Virtual Instruments to program their drums. Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums brings you one of Hard Rock’s greatest drummers, straight to your DAW, for you to drag and drop the grooves that inspire you.
Not only that, but they sound great and being able to rebalance the multi-track loops to suit your taste sets my praise for this pack even higher.
If you’re writing or producing the harder spectrum of Rock, this collection of loops and one-shots is ideal.
Free Drum Samples For Fl Studio Mobile
3. Image Sounds – Ultimate Studio Drums
When it comes to modern rock music, the idea of the “pocket” is so important. The Ultimate Drums Studio Edition Rock Drums Sample Pack from Image Sounds is a prime example of tight, modern loops.
The drums in this sample pack were played by Terl Bryant, otherwise known as one of the best players on the scene. The kit you here in this sample pack is a top-notch Mapex kit recorded in the studio with a variety of SE microphones, including E4400s, Rupert Neve RNR1, sE1as, SE4s, and a 2200 ambient microphone.
These rock drum kit samples were recorded at 96 kHz and 24 bit before being carefully edited. There are loops, one-shots, and readymade song stems to get you started!
What We Like About This Pack:
We love drum packs that really hone in on interesting rhythms and grooves. With the might hand of Terl Bryant and a gorgeous sounding kit, Ultimate Drums Studio Edition hits hard right out the gate, perfect for modern rock music.
The selection of drum samples is eclectic, to say the least. Image Sounds has organized the loops and stems really nicely too, allowing users to create without roadblocks in the flow.
4. Frontline Producer – Love Drums
Looking to create some sensual rock drum grooves?
If so, there is nothing quite like the Love Drums collection from Frontline Producer. Love Drums provides users with 271 MB of classic drum kit loops and one-shots. All of the kits were recorded using vintage microphones and an analog desk for that warm, vintage feel. The grooves are mostly soulful downtempo loops in terms of style, giving users a unique flavor to work with compared to many rock kits.
The loops run from 65-132BPM, making this an excellent drum collection choice for those looking for versatility as well. All of the audio was recorded at 24Bit and 44.1 kHz for the utmost high-quality tones. Included are 126 live drums loops, 30 drum hits, 126 Rex2 Files, and four soft samples Kontakt, EXS24, Halion, NNXT, and SFZ patches
What We Like About This Pack:
The drum loops in this pack have a nice, loose feel to them, giving this sample pack a distinct feel compared to other rock drum sample packs. For those who are looking to record vintage-style rock or rock ballads, the pack provides a timeless feel.
For incredibly realistic live drum work, it can’t be beat.
5. Big Fish Audio – Rock N Indie Songwriter
Sometimes sample libraries are a little too niche. You’re a producer working in a wide range of sub-genres, but instead of having a single collection to pick from, you end up with 6 or 7 smaller libraries.
Big Fish Audio have recognized this gap and bring Rock N Indie Songwriter to the table. Covering Pop Rock, Indie and Modern Rock, this sample library will help you to compete with Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, U2, Muse, Paramore, Coldplay and more.
Unlike the other sample packs in this article, this collection is not drums only, however, for this piece of content, I’ll focus on the drums.
Rock N Indie Songwriter contains 179 individual audio files, compatible with all Digital Audio Workstations and drum computers.
What We Like About This Pack
The drum grooves included add an authentic pulse and feel that will help transform your static tracks. The drums within this collection are available as individual channels, allowing you to remix the grooves to whatever style you desire.
Need more kick? No problem, turn it up!
Want to add a spring reverb to the snare? No problem, insert the plug-in and away you go!
The drums are also Kontakt compatible for those who prefer triggering via MIDI. This collection is ideal for any producer looking to inject that Indie Rock bounce to their productions.
6. Image Sounds – Session Drums Rock 01
When rock and roll really hit the big time in the 70s, so did the drums.
The Session Drums Rock 01 pack by Image Sounds is 2GB in size and the tempos of the loops range between 90-200 BPM. There are eight kits and 664 loops in total, ranging through different styles of rock. There are 17 different parts in each kit, including organized packs for intros, verses, pre-choruses, choruses, and more, allowing users to build songs out with ease.
The kits contain mixed stereo drum loops and dry versions with EQ and light compression. Each has been carefully recorded with top-of-the-line studio equipment in 24 Bit 44.1 kHz.
What We Like About This Pack:
If you’re looking for hard-hitting rock drums, Session Drums Rock 01 is a solid pack.
The sounds are very impressive, giving you powerful and realistic samples for your rock productions. These are great for either subtle additions to mixes or as driving forces. The tracks are recorded by professional musicians, giving you a professional feel compared to many drum sample packs out there.
7. DrumDrops – Modern Folk Rock Kit
Natural sounding Folk-Rock drums with samples sounds a little oxymoronic, doesn’t it? What if I told you there was a collection of Folk-Rock drums recorded by one of the best recording engineers in the business and one of the best Folk-Rock drummers, too? I thought so.
DrumDrops’ Modern Folk Rock Kit is a whopping collection; if you buy the multi-sample pack, of 2861 samples recorded by Phill Brown (Laura Marling, John Martyn, The Rolling Stones), played by Martyn Baker (Rufus Wainwright, Richard Hawley, Katherine Williams).
Unlike other drum packs, this collection has been sampled using sticks, hotrods, and brushes, presenting the ultimate Folk-Rock drum experience.
The Modern Folk Rock Kit is a multi-mic’d 80s Gretch Kit, though DrumDrops also captured shaker and tambourine.
The ‘Multi-Sample’ pack provides up to 24 velocity steps of each articulation, offering a phenomenal level of realism. The ‘Multi-Sample’ pack also comes with a host of software sampler patches, allowing you to program beats via MIDI with the included 700 MIDI grooves.
If you’re not interested in the flexibility of the ‘Multi-Sample’ pack, there is also the ‘Single Hits’ pack with 3 different velocity layers, so if you don’t have a wealth of velocity articulation, this pack is great. If you’re just looking for Folk Rock one-shots, there is also the ‘One Shot Sample’ pack.
What We Like About This Pack
Bigger isn’t always better, but with Modern Folk Rock Kit we’re grateful. The sheer size of this collection is staggering. Having access to almost 3000 samples recorded by one of the best engineers in the business is producer’s gold mine. Any producer creating Ray Lamontagne, Elliot Smith or Bon Iver styled tracks would set themselves off on a great start with this collection. Professional, but still raw enough to allow you to shape the samples to your aesthetic.
8. Drum Drops – Mapex Heavy Rock Kit
If you love the sound of drums in Rock, you no doubt like the sound of a Mapex drum kit!
To record this collection a Mapex Saturn Kit was used along with 3 different snares including the heralded Black Panther Hammered Series snare. This package also includes three crash cymbals, a china crash and a ride cymbal.
Each component of the drum kit has been recorded at 16 different velocity levels; exclusive to the ‘Multi-Sample’ pack, and multiple articulations for realism.
Each hit was recorded at The Garden Studios; responsible for recording many great drum sounds throughout the years from the likes of The Cure and The Arctic Monkeys, through a vintage Neve console. The detail that has gone into this collection is evident, and I am fond of the tone of each component.
The packages most defining feature is the MIDI loops included in the ‘Multi-Sample’ pack. Having access to 500 MIDI grooves played by one of the genres best drummers; Martyn Ford, brings an authentic Heavy Rock sound to your track, both from the drums and drummer. These MIDI grooves can be triggered by any of the included patches; such as Battery, to combine the sound of the drummer with the sound of these excellent drums, though can also be retriggered with other Virtual Instruments. The ‘Single Hits’ pack offers similar to that of the ‘Multi-Sample’ pack, but with 3 velocity layers instead of 16. For those in need of one-shots, there is also a ‘One-Shots’ pack. This collection is perfect for those working in the harder Rock genres.
What We Like About This Pack
As mentioned in a previous Hard Rock drum sample collection, the heavier genres tend to favor programming drums with Virtual Instruments than using loops.
With Mapex Heavy Rock Kit you get Bullet For My Valentine’s drum kit, captured impeccably and presented in a range of formats including as a Battery preset. All of a sudden you can combine a realistic Hard Rock drum sound with MIDI to program a machine accurate drum part capable of melting faces.
The fusion of the loop and sample based world, with the MIDI programming world, makes Mapex Heavy Rock Kit a unique player in the heavier Rock drum libraries.
9. Drum Drops – Yamaha Hybrid Kit
Drum Drops’ Yamaha Hybrid Kit is a pack of recorded sounds from producer Ben Hillier’s drum kit. Ben’s kit is made up of a combination of different Yamaha drums to provide this truly outstanding library.
Heard on countless hit records and recorded at Miloco’s Pool Studio, this sample collection is full of sounds suitable for deep rock, ballads, and pop.
The unique selling point for this collection is the snare drum. Anybody who knows anything about snare drums knows about the Ludwig Supraphonic 402. The Supraphonic is the sound of Led Zeppelin. Think bright, crisp, cutting and phat. The real king of the snares, and worth the investment alone.
The drum components captured for this pack are kick, snare, rack tom, floor tom, ride and two crash cymbals. Perhaps the only downside to this collection is the lack of options.
Alike the previously reviewed Drum Drops packages, this collection comes with 500 MIDI loops to experiment with, as well as being available in ‘Multi-Sample’, ‘Single Hits’ and ‘One-Shot’ configurations. This pack is perfect for producers working in the alternative rock space that may need to flirt between Indie, Folk and Pop.
What We Like About This Pack
Did I mention the Ludwig Supraphonic 402 samples? Just like guitarists fetishize over early Fender Stratocasters, or the Hip Hop guys fetishizing a real TR-808, the Supraphonic snare is the ultimate turn on for drummers.
John Bonham’s drum sound is one of the most popular in recorded history, and what’s at the center? The Supraphonic snare. Add a legend to your sample library with Yamaha Hybrid Kit.
Let’s Get The Rock Out Of Here
So, we started with a Def Leppard lyric, and we’re ending with another from the same song.
Rock is about as descriptive to the genre as Pop is. The range of styles and sub-genres explored within this article should provide you with enough scope to cover most bases.
I love the timbral differences between the Analog Snares. I love that there are packs available where you can transport some of the genres best-loved drummers straight into your DAW. I love the availability of MIDI grooves that can be edited and retriggered to however you desire.
Having this much flexibility can be a blessing and a curse, but one thing is for sure: the quality of drum samples available in Rock drumming today is superb.
Once a dirty word in Rock, samples have become a reliant feature to help the snare hit you in the face, or the kick to punch your gut. Sit back, flick through the audio examples and find your next punchy pack.
One of the most important tasks while making beats is picking the right drum samples. Fortunately there are countless free drum kits available on the internet. I spent hours finding + downloading them and finally came up with this list of the best picks.
Most of these packs are particularly made for Trap or Hip Hop, but they can definitely be used for some other styles as well (like Pop or LoFi for example).
Let’s get right into it!
Free Trap Drum Kits
The following kits are suitable for Trap. No matter if you’re searching for classic 808 drum kits or packs that fit modern productions. You’ll definitely find something cool in here!
Drillers – UK Drill Drum Kit
The Drillers Kit is our take on UK Drill. It’s filled with dark melodies, MIDI files, drum shots and sliding 808s, suitable for all kinds of Drill music.
Drip Kit – Metro Boomin Drum Kit
Metro Boomin is without any doubt one of the greatest beat makers of our time. The Drip Kit contains 100 one shots and tuned 808s inspired by his most successful productions.
Bad Kit – Wheezy Drum Kit
If you’re looking for dirty 808s, oversaturated claps or crispy hi hats the Bad Kit is probably the right choice for you. It’s inspired by Wheezy’s best known productions, including “Yes Indeed” or “Going Bad”.
Born Kit – Pierre Bourne Drum Kit
For fans of Pierre Bourne or Playboi Carti the Born Kit is the right choice. You’ll get 100 royalty-free drum one shots, key-labeled 808s and a bunch of cymbals.
Chaos – Trap Samples
Chaos is our biggest free trap pack. It’s literally filled with everything you need to produce beats, including drum samples, drum loops, melody loops and matching MIDI files.
Free Drum Kit Download 2020! by TheKitPlug
According to The Kit Plug this pack has been made by Multi-Platinum Music Producers. All samples are in .WAV format, which means that it works with every DAW.
Free Drum Samples & Drum Kits by ProducersBuzz
50 free FL Studio sound packs designed for hip-hop and trap music producers.
Andromeda by Kyle Beats
Kyle Beats is one of the biggest YouTubers in the whole beat making game. Andromeda is filled with a total of 95 high-quality sounds including 808s, drums, real guitar loops & vocal chants.
DrumStar Vol.3 by FabeStar
DrumStart Volume 3 comes with over 300+ loops and one shots that can be used for Trap or R&B. If you want to learn more about this one click on the link and watch the demo on YouTube.
FL4ME Trap Drum Kit by prodbyaido
Another free drum kit filled with 15 808s, 10 claps, 5 crashes, 20 FX, 5 open hats, 20 hihats, 10 kicks, 10 percs, 10 snares and 10 loops.
Trap Drum Kit by Sumeenk
The cool part about this kit is that it not only contains drum sounds. It further comes with 6 reese bass samples, vocal chants and some really cool sound effects.
The Blue Diamond Kit by Loopcrate
The Blue Diamond Drum Kit has everything you need, including crispy drums, one shots and melodies in wave format, that can be dragged right into your DAW.
Summer Walker x Bryson Tiller Drum Kit
This kit contains more than 130 sounds and is the perfect pick for every trapsoul or R&B producer. In addition to the drum sounds this one also comes with some cool ambiences.
August 2020 Trap Drum Kit by Hipstrumentals
This Trap drum kit by Hipstrumentals contains 300+ drum shots and has been released in August 2020. As a bonus they included some pretty interesting bonus drums.
50+ Free Packs by FreeDrumKits.net
This is probably the biggest collection in this list. 50+ downloads inspired by artists including Murda Beatz, Blvnt$, JetsonMade, Zaytoven, Young Chop & Wiz Khalifa.
Free Sound Kits by The Producer’s Plug
Plenty of free sound kits, loop kits and preset banks by The Producer’s Plug. They also offer some interesting artist packs you might want to take a closer look at.
Deep Trap Freebie by Samplephonics
This freebie from Samplephonics comes with a bunch of samples taken from their premium library “Deep Trap”. The full version contains 198 lush beat loops and samples in 24 bit.
FourOneSix Drum Kit by TopSounds
Drum Samples For Fl Studio Free Download
24 kicks, 16 snares, 12 claps, 22 hats, 18 percs, 13 808s & 10 original vox loops by TopSounds – all in the style of OvO and Toronto Artists.
Car Drum Kit by Kimbo Beatz
Download the Car Drum kit and instantly access 50 unique drum samples, including snares, snaps, hi hats, effect sounds, kicks + mixed percussion.
Free Lex Kit by Hex Loops
24 one shot samples inspired by world famous Trap producer or beat maker Lex Luger.
808 Trapstep Vol. 1 by TriSamples
This one is definitely one of my favorite packs. I already downloaded it years ago when it initially came out and I’ve been using it on a regular basis since this day.
808 Trapstep Vol.2 by TriSamples
Just like Volume 1, this is one is without any doubt a great freebie. The download has a size of 162.9 MG and it contains more than 400 files in total.
Desiigner Panda Trap Samples by Free Beats & Samples
Desiigner’s “Panda” was a huge hit when it came out a few years ago. This pack includes over 20 free trap drum loops, drums, synths and Desiigner type vocal samples.
Energy Drumkit by The Highest Producers
The Energy Drumkit by The Highest Producers comes with 39 free to download drum sounds you can pick for your next Trap or Rap beats.
Fornuto Zone 6 Drum Kit by Producergrind
21 essential drum samples inspired by Zone 6 East Atlanta rappers & the producers that have crafted their sounds. You can preview some of the sounds on the pack’s webpage.
Straight From The Trap Drum Kit V1 by C-Ram Beats
“Straight From The Trap” is a freebie by C-Ram beats, which includes heavy 808s, brass stabs, clean & punchy kicks, trap snares, mixing presets, tags, FX and more.
Warm 808 Bass Samples by Your Local Musician
This FREE Warm 808 Bass Samples pack contains 500 royalty-free 808 sounds giving you everything you need to be able to make smooth Hip Hop, Future Bass, Trap, and more.
Free Hip Hop Drum Samples
Although Old School Hip Hop and Boom Bap aren’t as popular as they used to be anymore it can still be cool to play around with some old vinyl loops or vintage drum samples.
Lunar – Lo-Fi Hip Hop Sample Pack
Lunar is packed with 100+ royalty-free loops and samples taken from our upcoming project “Afterlife”, which will be filled with over a thousand total files for lo-fi hip hop.
Urban Drum Samples by SoundPacks.com
This library has been made by the founder of SoundPacks.com. It’s packed with 316 samples, including drums, 808 kicks and 18 sfx. The zipped size is 37,6 MB.
Classic Hip Hop Break Loops Vol. 1 by TheSample.net
This pack contains 50 drum loops that have been sampled from real songs. Keep in mind that you may need to get these samples cleared if you want to use them in your commercial productions.
Free Vinyl Drum Kit by ProducerSpot
Missing that vintage vinyl crackle vibe in your productions? ProducerSpot supplies 39 MB of vintage claps, snares, kicks, percs and drum loops.
Classic Reborn Boom Bap Kit by JGBeats
The Free East Coast Drum Kit “Classic Reborn” by JGBeats contains 222 high quality drum sounds including extraordinary vinyl breaks and one hitters. It’s a great choice for old school, east coast or boom bap beats.
1st Aid Kit by Beats 24-7
The guys from Beats 24-7 are giving away the “1st Aid Kit” for free to say ‘Thank You’ for continued support! It contains one shot samples and presets for 3x Osc & FL Studio.
Free Hip Hop Drum Samples by R-Loops
A collection of 349 sounds inspired by Hip Hop musicians like Drumma Boy, Scott Storch or Timbaland. They’re all licensed as royalty-free.
Hip Hop Sound Kits by Just4Beats
If you’re searching for some old school sound kits, inspired by rappers like 2Pac, Big Sean, Dr. Dre, DMX you should check out the website from Just4Beats.
Boom Bap Addict Soundkit by Hipstrumentals
A huge Boom Bap sound kit with almost 200 kicks, snares, hihats and some mixed sounds.
Free Drum Machine Kits
A lot of Pop or Hip Hop artists like Post Malone or The Weeknd started using sounds from classic drum machines again in their songs. Here’s a collection of the best ones I could find.
Free 909 Sample Pack
210 drum shots and loops processed in different ways to fit both lo-fi or modern production styles. All drum loops have been made using the 909’s famous groove. Enjoy!
Aesthetic Vaporwave Drum Kit
The Aesthetic kit contains over a hundred drum machines samples from brands, such as Roland, E-Mu or Oberheim. It’s suitable for all 80s genres, including Vaporwave or Synthwave.
Yamaha DD-8 Drum Sample Pack by Bedroom Producers Blog
If you’re lookin’ for something different you might like this pack of samples from the Yamaha DD-8 toy drum machine. Here are 28 files in 16-bit WAV format for you.
Free Drum Samples by Samplefino
60 free drum hits, taken from Samplefino’s premium packs Analogue Drum Samples and Analogue Kick Drum. All 100% royalty-free.
Analog Kick Pack by Rekkerd
65 free kick drum samples that have been released via Rekkerd. They’re based on the Jomox MBase 01 drum machine and have been recorded with an RME audio card in 24 bit quality.
Drumbrute Kicks by Beat Production
A bunch of kick samples made with Arturia’s Drum brute and processed through analog equipment, such as the Elysia Karacter, X-Filter or Xpressor to refine the sound.
Final Words
As you can see, the amount of free drum kits you can find online is insanely high (and there are way more packs than the ones from this list). If you don’t want to miss out on upcoming posts feel free to join my Inner Circle. You’ll get plenty of free sample packs, Serum presets, some helpful PDFs + updates whenever I release another piece of content.