The crackly, hiss-laden sound of magnetic tape is an increasingly popular aesthetic in modern music production, as producers eschew the polish of the contemporary DAW for the retro colour and lo-fi warmth that tapes provide.
Sure, there are plenty of decent tape emulation plugins out there – including some commendable free ones – but what better way to get the sound than by using the real thing? Tape machines can be expensive, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
The latest edition of SampleRadar is a veritable menagerie of tape-treated goodness. Inside, you’ll find individual drum hits, drum loops and FX sounds that’ve been run through a tape machine, a ton of tape-worn synth multi-samples, and a treasure trove of atmospheric tape loops.
Latest Videos FromMusicRadar
Head over to the SampleRadar hub to download over 95,000 more free samples.
Example sounds
Tape treated samples: click to download
What you need to know
This sample collection offers a variety of loops and one-shots in six folders, labelled by the type of sound they contain.
All the samples are supplied as WAV files so can be imported directly into your DAW or sampler of choice. Because they’re royalty-free, you’re welcome to use the samples in your music in any way you like – all we ask is that you don’t re-distribute them.
The samples are supplied in a zip file, so you’ll need to extract them before you can see them. Enjoy!
