Reverb offers the Reverb Drum Machines ($900 value) sample library collection as a completely free download from their website for a limited time only.
Reverb Drum Machines – The Complete Collection features the sounds of over 50 different drum machines. The collection includes various classic drum synths of the past and quite a few lesser-known drum machine gems that are sure to provide some inspiration for your drum sequencing endeavors.
The featured instruments span across different eras of drum synthesis. Explore the vintage sounds of the LinnDrum and Drumulator, go classic with some tasty 808s and 909s, or explore some quirky alternatives like the Suzuki RPM-40 or the Panasonic RD-9844. The collection also features some more modern instruments such as the AdrenaLinn and the MFB 503.
Earlier this month, Reverb was offering the Waves Berzerk plugin as a free download, too. Sadly that promo has expired. However, you can always sign up for a free Reverb account and get notified about similar freebies in the future.
You can download the Reverb Drum Machines collection as an all-in-one download. Alternatively, you can download the individual packs separately and only grab those drum machines that you want to check out.
To download the sounds, simply login to your Reverb user account (or register if you don’t already have one) and visit the Reverb Drum Machines page. Clicking the download button with instantly start the download process.
Over 50 volumes of vintage, rare, and landmark drum machines that narrate this modern instrument’s history—from the inception of this invention to relevant contemporary devices—this collection covers all electronic rhythm needs and sonic character.
For each sample pack, you can also find the info about the recording chain that was used. For example, the modded TR-707 sounds were captured through the Dizengoff D4 Tube Preamp using an Apogee Symphony I/O sound card. That said, the included drum sounds are quite transparent and capture the original instrument’s sonic characteristics.
The samples are provided in WAV format, meaning that the content is compatible with almost any sampler plugin or digital audio workstation on the market. Most of the sample packs in the collection also include Ableton Live session templates.
Earlier this month, Reverb was offering the Waves Berzerk plugin as a free download, too. Sadly that promo has expired. However, you can always sign up for a free Reverb account and get notified about similar freebies in the future.
That’s not to say that there aren’t additional freebies to be found on the Reverb website. Visit the and scroll down to the See Similar Software section to find various other sound libraries that are currently free to download.
More info: Reverb Drum Machines (1.4 GB download size, ZIP archive, 24-bit WAV format, includes session templates for Ableton Live 9)
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22 Comments
Jamie
onThanks for the news. I’ve recently fallen in love with old drum machine samples, so the timing was perfect!
What packs do you recommend?
MRG
onYou have to understand the silliness of the question, right? Good thing for you, I’m silly.
So… the Roland TR-707. No question about it, it’s the most versatile drumkit in existence. It’s been used in funk, house, techno, industrial, electro, synthwave, pop and anything in between. You can’t go wrong with loading a bunch of 707 in a sampler as long as you’re being creative with it. That Radel CT-24 Taalmala, tho. o_O;
Tomislav Zlatic
onThe Roland ones are a must. LinnDrum, too. My personal old-school favorite is Sequential Circuits DrumTraks.
Synthiemental
onBy the way: you don’t have to download the entire collection, but you can also only download the individual packs you like: https://reverb.com/software/samples-and-loops
One of many other great sample packs they currently offer for free is this Motown inspired acoustic drum sample pack: https://reverb.com/software/samples-and-loops/reverb/3214-studio-sampled-sounds-hitsville-usa-in-detroit-mi-by-ian-ballard
Tomislav Zlatic
onThanks for the tip! That Motown acoustic drum kit looks so cool, I’ll check it out.
marti garaughty
onExcellent, looking forward to testing out these wav files with Kontakt !
Tomislav Zlatic
onIt should work in Kontakt, no problem.
Dee.P.Tree
onLast year it was made free… for some time.
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2019/08/28/reverb-drum-machines/
Grab it, if missed last time and celebrate X0X months.
Tomislav Zlatic
onYeah, a limited-time freebie last year, too, but I think I accidentally deleted the collection after downloading it. Now it’s safely stored on my samples HDD. :)
Sam Day
ondownload appears to work – but I’m left with an empty folder. Anyone else had trouble using the 50 link?
Garmen
onThe folder is not empty. On Windows you have to use 7zip to extract the files. On the Reverb.com website they explain it and also a user comments on it in the section at the bottom of the page.
-
onFirst it was difficult but then I had it work. Right clicking the file and then 7-zip and extract files was the wrong way. It looked fine but if you copied the files they didn’t go elsewhere. I find the right way was: Right click > 7-zip > open archive > zip. Then comes a window. Choose file and then click extract. Then you open the same way all those zipped drum machines one by one.
Kenzo Cervoni
onReverb’s samples are not royalty free for use in Library music. For this reason, I’m unfortunately not getting them because it’s not worth the legal troubles.
Kenzo Cervoni
onIf you’re sure you’re never going to make music fo a music library in your life, you should still get them. But I don’t want to make that mistake, or have to remember it in the back of my mind. (Always make sure your samples are royalty free!)
MRG
onMmm, can you point out the licenses where it clearly states you cannot use them for Library Music, I couldn’t find one. The ones I checked actually do permit such use.
They only forbid reselling the samples in isolation (which is fine) but also as loops, which is kinda a composition in many respects… But not the biggest problem, I suppose. Just put a pad over it all and make it long enough to be called muzak? :-P
Doc Brown
onI just went over the license agreement for a few of the machines, and it expressly says that you CAN use the samples in library music. Not sure where you got this info.
From the TR-707 pack: “The licensee MAY modify the sounds and MAY use the material for commercial purposes as part of a musical composition with other sounds. To clarify a musical composition may also include synchronised film and video scores , multimedia productions and music or sound design created for the gaming industry. The Licensee MAY use this product in the creation of so called Library Music.”
MRG
onBesides, I thought you weren’t supposed to make noise in a Library… -_-;
Michal O.
onNot sure why this post mentions limited time offer. This Drum Machines collection has been free for a year. I got it in August 2019. I visited Reverb website from time to time and these sample packs were still offered with no charge.
Zachary Bennoui
onCan anyone confirm whether these packs have any viruses or malware? I heard on some other forms that they were infected with viruses? Not sure.
Michal O.
onI had no issues with this pack regarding malware or viruses. I’ve had it on my hard drive for over a year and it has been scanned for sure.
I did find a different type of problem with Oberheim DX pack. I had some silent samples with no data. I reported it to developer, but after one month they did not fix it. I’m still waiting and checking occasionally.
MRG
onUntil they fix it, or not… http://www.electrongate.com/dmxfiles/eproms.html
They are WAV extracted from the EPROMs so they might sound ‘too clean’, but it’s better than nothing.
MRG
onMoar Oberheim DX!! From Alex Ball’s YouTube channel, link to a dropbox in the description.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H2gdm1yDZA