# Free drum samples: kicks, snares, hats and breaks > Free drum samples by sound: kicks, snares, claps, hi-hats, percussion and breakbeats as WAV one-shots and loops, each with a clear licence verdict. Drums are where most tracks start, and where a weak sample shows first. These collections group free drum sounds by what they are: punchy kicks, crisp snares and claps, closed and open hi-hats, shakers and congas, and chopped breakbeats. Results come from Freesound, Wikimedia Commons, Kenney, Free Wave Samples, the Strudel drum-machine banks and more, and every card says whether you can release a track that uses it. Updated 2026-10-23. ## Collections - [Free breakbeats and drum breaks](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-breakbeats.md): 36 samples from 5 sources. Free drum breaks and breakbeat loops for jungle, drum and bass, hip hop and breaks, with tempo where known and a licence verdict, including cleared breaks. - [Free clap samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-clap-samples.md): 36 samples from 3 sources. Free hand clap and snap samples, from stacked crowd claps to tight drum machine claps, ready to layer with snares, each with a licence verdict and preview. - [Free crash cymbal samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-crash-cymbal-samples.md): 33 samples from 4 sources. Free crash cymbal one-shots, from short trashy splashes to long cinematic crashes, to mark the start of a section, each with a preview and licence verdict. - [Free hi-hat samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-hi-hat-samples.md): 33 samples from 3 sources. Free closed and open hi-hat samples for programming grooves, from crisp drum machine hats to acoustic cymbals, each with a preview and licence verdict. - [Free kick samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-kick-samples.md): 36 samples from 5 sources. Free kick drum samples for any genre, from punchy acoustic kicks to drum machine thumps, each with a preview and a verdict on commercial use. - [Free LinnDrum and Linn drum machine samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-linndrum-samples.md): 18 samples from 2 sources. Free LinnDrum and Linn LM-1 drum machine samples: the tight 1980s kicks, snares, claps, toms and percussion behind classic pop records, with licence verdicts. - [Free open hi-hat samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-open-hi-hat-samples.md): 28 samples from 2 sources. Free open hi-hat one-shots, from tight half-open barks to long washy sizzles, for house, disco, trap and breaks, with a licence verdict on every sound. - [Free percussion samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-percussion-samples.md): 22 samples from 3 sources. Free percussion one-shots and hits: congas, bongos, cowbells, tambourines, woodblocks and more, for Latin, afro, house and hip hop, with licence verdicts. - [Free ride cymbal samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-ride-cymbal-samples.md): 32 samples from 3 sources. Free ride cymbal one-shots, including bell hits and bow strokes, for jazz, house and techno grooves, with previews and a commercial-use verdict on each. - [Free rimshot and side-stick samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-rimshot-samples.md): 23 samples from 2 sources. Free rimshot and side-stick samples: dry cross-stick clicks and sharp rim hits for reggaeton, ballads, house and lo-fi, each with a commercial-use verdict. - [Free shaker samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-shaker-samples.md): 15 samples from 2 sources. Free shaker one-shots and loops: egg shakers, maracas, cabasas and rattles that add movement to house, pop and Latin beats, each with a commercial-use verdict. - [Free snare samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-snare-samples.md): 36 samples from 5 sources. Free snare drum samples, from tight acoustic snares and rimshots to crunchy drum machine hits, with a playable preview and a licence verdict on each. - [Free tom drum samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-tom-samples.md): 31 samples from 3 sources. Free tom drum one-shots, from high rack toms to deep floor toms and electronic toms, for fills and tribal grooves, each with a licence verdict and preview. - [Free TR-808 drum machine samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-tr-808-drum-samples.md): 28 samples from 3 sources. Free Roland TR-808 drum machine samples: the booming kick, snappy snare, clap, cowbell, rimshot and hats that shaped hip hop, electro and trap, with licences. - [Free TR-909 drum machine samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-tr-909-drum-samples.md): 20 samples from 2 sources. Free Roland TR-909 drum machine samples: the punchy kick, clap, snare, open hat and ride behind house and techno, with previews and a licence verdict on each. ## Building a beat from one-shots Most modern drums are programmed from one-shots: a kick on the pulse, a snare or clap on the backbeat, hats on the subdivisions, and percussion to add swing. Pick the kick first, because it sets the low end everything else has to fit around, then choose a snare that answers it. Audition sounds in a loop with the rest of the kit rather than solo, and keep a choke group between closed and open hats so they behave like a real hi-hat. ## Acoustic, machine or both Recorded acoustic drums bring natural dynamics and room sound; drum machine samples such as the TR-808, TR-909 and LinnDrum bring the punch and character of the records that made them famous. Many producers layer the two: an acoustic snare for body with a machine clap on top, or a sampled kick with an 808 underneath. Free drum machine banks vary in licence, so check each verdict. ## Licences for drum samples Drum one-shots are among the most openly licensed sounds online. Kenney's packs are CC0, many Freesound and Wikimedia Commons drums are CC0 or CC BY, and the vintage-machine samples on Free Wave Samples come with a royalty-free licence. Breaks lifted from old records are the exception: they belong to whoever owns the recording, so use breaks that their drummers licensed openly. ## Questions **What drum sounds do I need for a basic kit?** A kick, a snare or clap, a closed hi-hat and an open hi-hat cover most beats. Add percussion, toms and a crash or ride as the style needs, and an 808 for trap, drill or hip hop. **Are drum machine samples legal to use?** A recording of a drum machine belongs to whoever recorded it, so it is legal to use when that person licensed it for your use. Each sample here shows the licence and whether it is cleared for a release. **What is the best format for drum samples?** A lossless WAV or AIFF at 44.1 or 48 kHz. Drum transients suffer first in lossy formats such as MP3, so use previews only for auditioning. ## Guides - [What is an 808? The drum machine and the bass](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/what-is-an-808.md): An 808 is Roland's TR-808 drum machine (1980), and in trap and hip hop its long, tuned bass drum used as a bassline. History, tuning and free 808 samples. - [One-shots vs loops: which samples should you use?](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/one-shots-vs-loops.md): One-shots are single hits you program yourself; loops are recorded patterns that repeat at a tempo. When to use each, how to match them, and how to search. - [How to build a drum kit from free samples](https://sound.shep.bot/guides/build-a-drum-kit-from-free-samples.md): Pick a kick, snare, clap, hats and 808 that suit each other, check every licence, then play the kit in Strudel or any sampler via an SFZ or General MIDI map. ## Other kinds - [Free 808 and bass samples](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/bass-808s.md) - [Free loops by genre and tempo](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/loops.md) - [Free vocal samples: chops, a cappellas and shouts](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/vocals.md) - [Free sound effects for music: risers, impacts, sweeps](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/fx.md) - [Free foley sounds and ambience recordings](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/foley-ambience.md) - [Free instrument samples: piano, guitar, synth, strings](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/instruments.md) --- Source: https://sound.shep.bot/samples/drums