Free Rubber Filter VST plug-in by Christian Budde is a highly versatile 6-384 dB/Oct filter. It features low pass, high pass, band pass, and band reject (notch) filtering, with individual control of left- and right channel. Best Free Drum VST My mother always told me “march to the beat of your own drum”, but I guess she was wrong, because I found a bunch of really good free drum vsts. Amongst them, is the T.REX 606, a classic sound that could have easily cost hundreds of dollars, but for some reason is free.

Filters have become some of the more familiar tools in the studio these days, due in large part to their ubiquitous use in dance music.

Even if you aren’t especially fond of resonant sweeps and acid basslines however, there are still many good reasons to stockpile a handful of filter plug-ins.

So in this article we’ll take a look at some of the best free filter VST and AU plugins you can use to get your feet wet.

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Introduction

About Filters

Filters are actually similar to equalizers, in that they cut or boost certain frequencies of sound. The now-familiar swooshing “wow-wow” sound heard on thousands of dance tracks is typically the result of cranking the resonance and sweeping the cutoff frequency, either by hand, via ADSR envelope control, LFOs, or automation.

There are more utilitarian applications for filters as well. Steep high-cut filters can tighten up the low-end of a mix by eliminating sub-bass frequencies that eat up headroom and cause bottom-end flab. Low-cut filters for their part can reduce harshness in the high-end.

Many producers agree that analog filters produce the warmest, most vibrant, and most satisfying sounds. But filter plug-ins have come a long way since the advent of the earliest software effects. Some of them can even replicate analog circuitry to an astoundingly accurate degree.

As you will see from these free filter plug-ins, you can get those wonderful swirling and wooshy sounds right on your computer.

Best of all, you can do so without having to cough up the cash for an expensive analog device.

Free Filter Plugins

The List

Plugin Roundup

Stillwell Audio’s Oligarc Filter is a midi-controllable plug-in emulation of the ladder filter design found in classic Moog analog synthesizers.

The same filter utilized in the company’s own Olga virtual analog synthesizer and Oligarc effects suite, the standalone Oligarc Filter has pretty much all the tonal and response qualities of vintage designs.

Like classic analog filters, the Oligarc Filter is non-linear in its response and performance, which lends a bit of desirable instability and loads of character.

And like the filter employed in the Minimoog, it gives off more than just a hint of unpredictability and danger in its sound.

In deference to those with more fragile sensibilities, the Oligarc Filter comes with a soft-clipping limiter that helps keep things from getting too out of control.

Nevertheless, this is one filter for which the word “restraint” doesn’t apply. This is apparent by its readiness to go into self-oscillation with no apparent resonance limit.

TAL’s Filter 2 is a much less rambunctious filter, although it’s perfectly capable of tiptoeing dangerously close to the edge of aural assault. It syncs quite nicely with your host DAW’s tempo, enabling you to produce rhythmic filter effects and wobbling modulations that would be right at home in your next dubstep track.

Those that have used TAL’s excellent NoiseMaker virtual analog synthesizer plug-in will recognize the wide array of filters in the Filter 2. From multiple flavors of low-pass and high-pass to band-pass and notch, they’re all here in all their 4x oversampled glory.

Like all respectable filter plug-ins, the Filter 2 can be pushed into saturation, in this case, by cranking the input control. You can also modulate the panning or volume level of an incoming signal, so this filter can do triple-duty as a tremolo or gate effects device.

Tekit Audio 8kut 2 is an eight-band frequency cutter plug-in that isn’t quite like your typical filter plug-in. Intended specifically for DJs and live performers, it probably isn’t the first plug-in that most would think of when looking for a studio mix tool. Nevertheless, its ability to cut frequencies via eight pads could make for some interesting sonic experiments.

8kut 2 provides control over the bass, mids, high mid, and treble ranges. Although it is a fairly simple plug-in, the assortment of presets that it comes with gives you a good idea of the vast range of sounds possible.

The biggest strength of 8kut 2 is its ability to cut frequency bands via the eight pads, all of which can be mapped to a MIDI controller. Even though you might prefer a more “traditional” filter plug-in for most other tasks, the 8kut 2 could be very useful as an idea generator.

Now in its second version, Brainworx’s bx_cleansweep is a duo of high and low-pass filters that are better suited to subtle tone shaping than dancefloor-friendly filter freak-outs. Designed to filter out excessive low- and high-end, it draws inspiration from the onboard filters found in classic studio mixing consoles.

You could say that the bx_cleansweep is the odd one out in this roundup, which is mainly populated by more resonant and sweep-y filter plug-ins. Nevertheless, its ability to tighten up the bottom end and eliminate top-end brittleness makes it a useful addition to any plug-in collection.

Furthermore, Brainworx’s Anti-Crush technology gives it a very musically pleasing sound that will find a welcome place in your productions.

Top Pick

For the familiar filter sweeps and resonant effects that have become indelible parts of the dance music lexicon, the Oligarc Filter is the one to beat. Thick, chunky, and satisfying, it still isn’t quite a Moog filter…but it does come close.

The TAL Filter 2 is no slouch either. With the ability to modulate the filter cutoff, the volume, and the pan, it definitely has a bit of an advantage in the rhythmic department.

As for the 8kut 2, you could very well use this as an idea generator, even if you have no plans of playing out. And if you need a quick and simple mix-assist tool that sounds great and is easy to use, you could do a lot worse than the bx_cleansweep.

One of the most important tasks while making beats is picking the right drum samples. Fortunately there are countless free drum kits available on the internet. I spent hours finding + downloading them and finally came up with this list of the best picks.

Most of these packs are particularly made for Trap or Hip Hop, but they can definitely be used for some other styles as well (like Pop or LoFi for example).

Let’s get right into it!

Free Trap Drum Kits

The following kits are suitable for Trap. No matter if you’re searching for classic 808 drum kits or packs that fit modern productions. You’ll definitely find something cool in here!

Drillers – UK Drill Drum Kit

The Drillers Kit is our take on UK Drill. It’s filled with dark melodies, MIDI files, drum shots and sliding 808s, suitable for all kinds of Drill music.

Drip Kit – Metro Boomin Drum Kit

Metro Boomin is without any doubt one of the greatest beat makers of our time. The Drip Kit contains 100 one shots and tuned 808s inspired by his most successful productions.

Bad Kit – Wheezy Drum Kit

If you’re looking for dirty 808s, oversaturated claps or crispy hi hats the Bad Kit is probably the right choice for you. It’s inspired by Wheezy’s best known productions, including “Yes Indeed” or “Going Bad”.

Born Kit – Pierre Bourne Drum Kit

For fans of Pierre Bourne or Playboi Carti the Born Kit is the right choice. You’ll get 100 royalty-free drum one shots, key-labeled 808s and a bunch of cymbals.

Chaos – Trap Samples

Chaos is our biggest free trap pack. It’s literally filled with everything you need to produce beats, including drum samples, drum loops, melody loops and matching MIDI files.

Free Drum Kit Download 2020! by TheKitPlug

According to The Kit Plug this pack has been made by Multi-Platinum Music Producers. All samples are in .WAV format, which means that it works with every DAW.

Free Drum Samples & Drum Kits by ProducersBuzz

50 free FL Studio sound packs designed for hip-hop and trap music producers.

Andromeda by Kyle Beats

Kyle Beats is one of the biggest YouTubers in the whole beat making game. Andromeda is filled with a total of 95 high-quality sounds including 808s, drums, real guitar loops & vocal chants.

DrumStar Vol.3 by FabeStar

DrumStart Volume 3 comes with over 300+ loops and one shots that can be used for Trap or R&B. If you want to learn more about this one click on the link and watch the demo on YouTube.

FL4ME Trap Drum Kit by prodbyaido

Another free drum kit filled with 15 808s, 10 claps, 5 crashes, 20 FX, 5 open hats, 20 hihats, 10 kicks, 10 percs, 10 snares and 10 loops.

Trap Drum Kit by Sumeenk

The cool part about this kit is that it not only contains drum sounds. It further comes with 6 reese bass samples, vocal chants and some really cool sound effects.

The Blue Diamond Kit by Loopcrate

The Blue Diamond Drum Kit has everything you need, including crispy drums, one shots and melodies in wave format, that can be dragged right into your DAW.

Summer Walker x Bryson Tiller Drum Kit

This kit contains more than 130 sounds and is the perfect pick for every trapsoul or R&B producer. In addition to the drum sounds this one also comes with some cool ambiences.

August 2020 Trap Drum Kit by Hipstrumentals

This Trap drum kit by Hipstrumentals contains 300+ drum shots and has been released in August 2020. As a bonus they included some pretty interesting bonus drums.

50+ Free Packs by FreeDrumKits.net

This is probably the biggest collection in this list. 50+ downloads inspired by artists including Murda Beatz, Blvnt$, JetsonMade, Zaytoven, Young Chop & Wiz Khalifa.

Free Sound Kits by The Producer’s Plug

Plenty of free sound kits, loop kits and preset banks by The Producer’s Plug. They also offer some interesting artist packs you might want to take a closer look at.

Deep Trap Freebie by Samplephonics

This freebie from Samplephonics comes with a bunch of samples taken from their premium library “Deep Trap”. The full version contains 198 lush beat loops and samples in 24 bit.

FourOneSix Drum Kit by TopSounds

24 kicks, 16 snares, 12 claps, 22 hats, 18 percs, 13 808s & 10 original vox loops by TopSounds – all in the style of OvO and Toronto Artists.

Car Drum Kit by Kimbo Beatz

Download the Car Drum kit and instantly access 50 unique drum samples, including snares, snaps, hi hats, effect sounds, kicks + mixed percussion.

Free Lex Kit by Hex Loops

24 one shot samples inspired by world famous Trap producer or beat maker Lex Luger.

808 Trapstep Vol. 1 by TriSamples

This one is definitely one of my favorite packs. I already downloaded it years ago when it initially came out and I’ve been using it on a regular basis since this day.

808 Trapstep Vol.2 by TriSamples

Just like Volume 1, this is one is without any doubt a great freebie. The download has a size of 162.9 MG and it contains more than 400 files in total.

Desiigner Panda Trap Samples by Free Beats & Samples

Desiigner’s “Panda” was a huge hit when it came out a few years ago. This pack includes over 20 free trap drum loops, drums, synths and Desiigner type vocal samples.

Energy Drumkit by The Highest Producers

The Energy Drumkit by The Highest Producers comes with 39 free to download drum sounds you can pick for your next Trap or Rap beats.

Fornuto Zone 6 Drum Kit by Producergrind

21 essential drum samples inspired by Zone 6 East Atlanta rappers & the producers that have crafted their sounds. You can preview some of the sounds on the pack’s webpage.

Straight From The Trap Drum Kit V1 by C-Ram Beats

“Straight From The Trap” is a freebie by C-Ram beats, which includes heavy 808s, brass stabs, clean & punchy kicks, trap snares, mixing presets, tags, FX and more.

Warm 808 Bass Samples by Your Local Musician

This FREE Warm 808 Bass Samples pack contains 500 royalty-free 808 sounds giving you everything you need to be able to make smooth Hip Hop, Future Bass, Trap, and more.

Free Hip Hop Drum Samples

Although Old School Hip Hop and Boom Bap aren’t as popular as they used to be anymore it can still be cool to play around with some old vinyl loops or vintage drum samples.

Lunar – Lo-Fi Hip Hop Sample Pack

Lunar is packed with 100+ royalty-free loops and samples taken from our upcoming project “Afterlife”, which will be filled with over a thousand total files for lo-fi hip hop.

Urban Drum Samples by SoundPacks.com

This library has been made by the founder of SoundPacks.com. It’s packed with 316 samples, including drums, 808 kicks and 18 sfx. The zipped size is 37,6 MB.

Classic Hip Hop Break Loops Vol. 1 by TheSample.net

This pack contains 50 drum loops that have been sampled from real songs. Keep in mind that you may need to get these samples cleared if you want to use them in your commercial productions.

Free Vinyl Drum Kit by ProducerSpot

Missing that vintage vinyl crackle vibe in your productions? ProducerSpot supplies 39 MB of vintage claps, snares, kicks, percs and drum loops.

Classic Reborn Boom Bap Kit by JGBeats

The Free East Coast Drum Kit “Classic Reborn” by JGBeats contains 222 high quality drum sounds including extraordinary vinyl breaks and one hitters. It’s a great choice for old school, east coast or boom bap beats.

1st Aid Kit by Beats 24-7

The guys from Beats 24-7 are giving away the “1st Aid Kit” for free to say ‘Thank You’ for continued support! It contains one shot samples and presets for 3x Osc & FL Studio.

Free Hip Hop Drum Samples by R-Loops

A collection of 349 sounds inspired by Hip Hop musicians like Drumma Boy, Scott Storch or Timbaland. They’re all licensed as royalty-free.

Hip Hop Sound Kits by Just4Beats

If you’re searching for some old school sound kits, inspired by rappers like 2Pac, Big Sean, Dr. Dre, DMX you should check out the website from Just4Beats.

Boom Bap Addict Soundkit by Hipstrumentals

A huge Boom Bap sound kit with almost 200 kicks, snares, hihats and some mixed sounds.

Free Drum Machine Kits

Steel Drum Vst Free

A lot of Pop or Hip Hop artists like Post Malone or The Weeknd started using sounds from classic drum machines again in their songs. Here’s a collection of the best ones I could find.

Free 909 Sample Pack

210 drum shots and loops processed in different ways to fit both lo-fi or modern production styles. All drum loops have been made using the 909’s famous groove. Enjoy!

Yamaha DD-8 Drum Sample Pack by Bedroom Producers Blog

If you’re lookin’ for something different you might like this pack of samples from the Yamaha DD-8 toy drum machine. Here are 28 files in 16-bit WAV format for you.

Free Drum Samples by Samplefino

60 free drum hits, taken from Samplefino’s premium packs Analogue Drum Samples and Analogue Kick Drum. All 100% royalty-free.

Analog Kick Pack by Rekkerd

65 free kick drum samples that have been released via Rekkerd. They’re based on the Jomox MBase 01 drum machine and have been recorded with an RME audio card in 24 bit quality.

Drumbrute Kicks by Beat Production

A bunch of kick samples made with Arturia’s Drum brute and processed through analog equipment, such as the Elysia Karacter, X-Filter or Xpressor to refine the sound.

Free Drum Vst Instruments

Final Words

Free Vst Drum Samples

As you can see, the amount of free drum kits you can find online is insanely high (and there are way more packs than the ones from this list). If you don’t want to miss out on upcoming posts feel free to join my Inner Circle. You’ll get plenty of free sample packs, Serum presets, some helpful PDFs + updates whenever I release another piece of content.