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Free Drum Machine VSTi/AUi Plugins For Windows & Mac

By 17 Comments3 Mins Read
Free Drum Machine VSTi/AUi Plugins!

Free drum machine samples were previously covered in Free Sample Shootout #5. Now it’s time to complete your arsenal of drum machine sounds with some high quality freeware drum machine VSTi/AUi plugins, as well as a couple of awesome free NI Reaktor drum machine instruments.

Follow the links for screenshots & download info:

Extended List: AREX 2011, Tatapoum.

So, the freeware world still doesn’t offer a real alternative to powerful virtual drum synthesizers like the recently released Tremor, for example. However, I think these freeware drum machines are great tools, and there’s little you won’t be able to achieve using them in tandem with a bit of creativity and imagination.

TS-808 by Tactile Sounds.
TS-808 by Tactile Sounds.

My favorite free drum machine VST has to be the TS-808 by Tactile Sounds. It’s probably the best free Roland TR-808 clone out there (no sequencer, though). TS-808 doesn’t use samples – all sounds are carefully modeled and synthesized in real time.

Grooove BPB (Sample Editor)
Grooove BPB by brunsandspork.

If you prefer loading your own drum machine samples, make sure to check out the excellent Grooove BPB drum sampler by brunsandspork. It comes with a decent selection of drum machine hits and supports loading external samples in WAV format.

Drumatic 3 by E-Phonic.
Drumatic 3 by E-Phonic.

Drumatic 3 is the most versatile drum machine plugin on the list. It’s basically a poor man’s µTonic (although Clone Tonic for NI Reaktor fits that description even better!). Lots of different sounds can be crafted with Drumatic 3, from classic drum machine tones to straight-up glitchy madness.

V-Pops by Ben Anderson.
V-Pops by Ben Anderson.

V-Pops and Rhythmus are nice little emulations of the Korg MiniPops drum machine. Some will find them bland and boring, but I love these old and simple analog-ish drum sounds.

And that’s all for today. Check out the other plugins on the list too, as there are some real gems out there. If you need more drum machine sounds, check out the free drum machine samples list and load those up in your favorite free sampler.

Have you enjoyed this article? Please help us spread the word by sharing the link on your favorite social network. Thanks and happy beatmaking!

Tomislav is a music producer and sound designer from Belgrade, Serbia. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief at Bedroom Producers Blog.

17 Comments

  4. boot-cheese-3000

     on

    There’s another one I downloaded but haven’t used yet but I’ve heard the results and they blew me away:

    Hydrogen Music
    http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/

    Hmmm…..I think I’m showing how much of a novice I am. I gave a link to a drum machine software, this is for vsti plugins. Sorry about that.

    Reply

  7. Ian

     on

    A long shot but I’m at a loss… I can’t get the TS-808 working on Windows 7 in Reaper 5. It loaded the first time I installed it, then crashed every time after that. If I clear cache & re-scan my VSTs it will run once but then keep crashing again. I absolutely love this plugin, does anyone have it working in Reaper?

    Reply

  8. Wally

     on

    You are very confused about what a Drum Machine is. Most of these plug-ins are drum MODULES (generators, synths, choose a name) but not drum MACHINES at all. A drum machine features a built in step sequencer to generate a rhythym itself. Seems to me that TheDrumSource by Mats Lindfors is the only “drum machine” present in this fake list.

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Not the slightest bit confused. People, more often than not, use the term drum machine as a general term for all sorts of drum modules, hence the headline.

      Reply
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