Free Stompbox Volca Kick Sample Pack Released By Goldbaby

Goldbaby has announced the release of Stompbox Volca Kick, a freely downloadable sample pack featuring the sounds of the Volca Kick analog bass drum synthesizer.

Similar to the previously released StompBox808 ($29) sample pack, Stompbox Volca Kick contains electronic drum sounds which were processed with guitar pedals. Goldbaby used a variety of guitar effects for the purpose, including the inevitable Ibanez Tube Screamer and Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff, among others. The big difference between the two releases is that Korg Volca Kick was used as the sound source this time around. Also, the pack is completely free to download from Goldbaby’s website, unlike the StompBox808 which is a paid product.

Although some people question the practical usefulness of the Volca Kick, there’s no doubt that it can produce great sounding kick drum sounds. The synthesized kicks come with plenty of bass and thump, sporting a sound character which sits somewhere in between the classic 808 and 909 kicks, at least to my ears. Goldbaby took Volca Kick’s sonic capabilities to a whole new level, though, thanks to a variety of hardware effects which aren’t normally used to process drums. The result is a collection of 103 original kick drum sounds, all provided in 24-bit WAV format.

The samples are labeled by their length (long, medium, short) and the guitar pedal which was used for processing. The included sounds range from super long distorted bass drums to short glitchy ones and even a set of hits with a “talking bass” character. All things considered, Stompbox Volca Kick is a versatile and well-made collection of kick drum sounds. Thanks to the sound design process that went into creating it, the library is worth the download even if own the actual Volca Kick. The pack can be downloaded completely free of charge from the page linked below, along with various other freebie packs provided by Goldbaby.

Stompbox Volca Kick is available for free download via Goldbaby (33.1 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 103 audio samples in 24-bit WAV format).