12 great free beat makers
From kick designers to full-on drum machines we have all your beat-making needs catered for, free!
Manda Audio
MT Power Drum Kit 2
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
Many freeware drums are understandably electronic in scope, but if you want a real rock feel, look no further than this. “Choose from thousands of rhythms and compose your own accompaniments,” they say. And you can! powerdrumkit.com
AudioSpillage
MiniSpillage
Mac, 64-bit
TS-808 (below) is PC only, so now Mac fans get a Mac-only classic in the form of MiniSpillage. The easy UI offers bass drum, wood drum and hi-hat options, each with different generator methods for very flexible results. audiospillage.com
Synsonic Instruments
BD-909
Mac/PC/Linux, 32/64-bit
Just before we hit the 808 (below) there’s just time to cover another Roland classic, the 909, in the form of this diminutive plugin from Synsonic. However, you only get the kick drum emulation, but it is the best kick of all time, right?
synsonic-instruments.com
Tactile Sounds
TS-808 Drum Machine
PC, 32-bit
It may not look like the best plugin here but TS-808 delivers some mean, classic drums in the style of the classic TR-808, beats behind many a classic dance tune over the last four decades. TS-808 delivers some fine emulations. pluginboutique.com
Bedroom Producers Blog
Cassette Drums
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
And now why not a take on ALL Roland’s classics? This has three plugins in one: Cassette 606 VST, 808 VST and 909 VST with samples from the original Rolands and then resampled from a cassette deck for more warmth. bedroomproducersblog.com
Teragon Audio
Kickmaker
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
With four oscillators dedicated to the kick, this plugin might focus on one beat sound but this ‘narrow but deep’ philosophy pays dividends when you hear the thumping results. teragonaudio.com
Sampleson
Analog Drums
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
If it’s the more liquid sound of analogue you’re after, then Sampleson have a good stab with Analog Drums, which features 18 sounds, six pitch-adjustable, with kick and snare having Click, Delay, Tone and Snap controls respectively. sampleson.com
DopeVST
Beat Machine CM
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
Yep, it’s pretty hard not to include plugins from our own Plugin Suite when they’re as good as this, so we thought ‘well, we’ll just include them then’. So here’s DopeVST’s finest, which you get for free simply by reading this!
dopevst.com
Dopekitz
Rupture Lite
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
Rupture is a 16-track virtual drum machine complete with five drum kits (West Coast, Tribeca, Ever 1da, Crunk’d 2.5 and Danger Drumz) with which you can program and route parts to individual output channels. Flexible and fun. dopekitz.com
Distocore
Bazz::Murda
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
This is designed for kicks of the hard variety, so could be the most important free app you download today… if you are the target ‘hardstyle, gabber, hardcore, terror, uptempo or speedcore producer’. Hard indeed… distocore.net
XILS-lab
StiX CM
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
Forgive us a second, but here’s another cracker from the Suite: Stix CM, a drum synth and sequencer all-in-one. Throw in some effects and modulation and it’s one of the best freebies out there. Don’t believe us? Try it yourself!
xils-lab.com
Studio Linked
Drum Pro
Mac/PC, 32/64-bit
Drum Pro is for producers who make everything from hip-hop to dance and has 20 kits sampled from nine classic drum machines. Yes, it is designed to tempt you to buy more, but comes with enough samples and tweaks for great beats. studiolinked.com