Roundup: Free Drum Kits

When a drum kit comes from sampling kings Spitfire Audio, you know it’s going to be good. Simplicity is the name of the game here – you won’t get access to a huge swathe of controls like in the company’s commercial instruments, just volume, velocity sensitivity and reverb (each set from 0% to 100%) – but the quality is very much on display.

The LABS drum kit contains a good range of samples: all the basic drum kit elements and articulations you’d expect, mapped to the standard GM key map, with some double hits thrown in for good measure. The whole thing is surprisingly velocity-sensitive to start out with, which is great if you’ve got the keyboard-drumming chops to nail a great beat, but that velocity-sensitivity dial can be employed to get everything into line and keep things more consistent. The reverb has a wide range of operation, from close-and-tight to wet-and-roomy. A brilliant free kit that’s ready to rock – once you’ve downloaded the LABS container plugin. spitfireaudio.com

VERDICT 8.8