RouteNote Blog

Explore hundreds of thousands of samples you can do whatever you like with and it won’t cost you a thing with these 5 great sample sources.

Chopping and sampling is like it’s own instrument in creating music nowadays. There’s infinite possibilities available when you’re sampling sounds and music, but if you want to release anything containing samples you have to make sure you have the rights to do it.

Sampling big label music or finding quality one-shots and cool sounds to use can cost a pretty penny and if you want to create without having to dig deep then thankfully there are loads of royalty-free and free to download samples out there.

The Library of Congress – Citizen DJ

This only came out this year in beta and already we’re in love with it. The website features thousands of copyright-free sounds from the US Library of Congress including orchestral recordings, old sound effects, and notable speeches.

There are so many collections to explore and so many unique sounds to inspire you to get creating with – but there’s another secret weapon from the Library of Congress!

Their website features a built-in beatmaker so you can snap up samples and preview them in a hip-hop mix straightaway. It works so incredibly efficiently and really helps inspire you in how you might use this vast library of samples in a creative way.

It’s set to launch fully later this Summer.

SampleRadar

We’ve shared SampleRadar quite a few times before and that’s because they’re bloody brilliant! They have such a wealth of really good, high quality samples covering just about every sound or loop you could think of wanting to produce with.

There are packs full of drum loops and hits, guitar samples that cover Western to heavy metal, house music samples, keys loops, fx shots, vocal recordings, and so much more!

It’s really worth exploring what they have available and if you have a certain sound in mind then they probably have something that will fit the bill that you can download and mix with – completely free.

Hip Hop Makers

For all the hip-hop producers out there, Hip Hop Makers bring together thousands of wicked samples of all sorts. They don’t release them themselves but collect some of the finest free sample packs from around the web so you don’t have to go searching for each one.

You’ve got more drum breaks and hits than you could fit in a Lil B album including packs from some of the genre’s biggest producers. Beyond that there’s loads of vocal samples to flip, instrument loops and more.

Looperman

Looperman has a ridiculous range of loops, samples and sounds that you can preview and download easier than ever. The range of content on here is so varied that just looking at the first page you’ll find an inspiring sound to enliven some creative spirit in you.

Unlike the others, you can search Looperman for keywords to find exactly the sound you’re looking for if you have something in mind. They also have a huge category and genre list you can explore to browse by type.

Gameboy sounds, ‘type beat’ snippets, instrument melodies, ringtones, and more. All sorts of interesting sounds are to be found here and it’s just a fun website to explore.

Shutterstock

Hold on, isn’t this a photo website? If that’s what you’re thinking then I was right there with you but lo-and-behold they have a great selection of free music samples that are completely copyright clear to use however you like.

There’s drum and bass samples to pick from, tropical guitars to get juicy with, gorgeous flutes to fit into your mix, and a lot more. It’s a treasure trove of high quality music samples that you can explore and use to your hearts content.

If you’re feeling generous, they take submissions if you’d like to add your own high quality recordings to be made available for free on their page! It’s a music source built on the generosity of others, how lovely.