Drum loops are a quick and easy way to set up the foundation of a song. We’re lucky to have so many ways to chop up loops and samples, so they can actually become an integral part of any production and not just a starting point or placeholder.
Plus, if you’re working in a new genre for the first time, drum loops give you a sense of what ‘works’ in a given style. They’re incredibly useful for producers overall, and a solid part of any well-rounded toolkit.
Premium Drum Loops
It’s never been a better time to source high-quality drum samples. There are a ton of great companies making really fantastic stuff in any genre you could imagine.
The Loop Loft
Founded by drummer/producer/loop guru Ryan Gruss, The Loop Loft is an amazing boutique sample shop. The Loop Loft records the some of the best musicians in the world to create the highest quality loops, ReFills, Ableton Live Packs, and multitrack sessions available. Native Instruments acquired The Loop Loft in January 2018.
The Loop Loft offers a range of loop collections for not only drums and percussion, but guitar, bass, saxophone, and more. They record everything with real musicians and never use samplers or programmed beats. This sets The Loop Loft apart, because they provide excellent sounding human performances; this keeps everything organic and musical, as opposed to overly processed or ‘fake’ sounding.
You can search the website by musician to find packs they contributed to, or just browse through the countless loop libraries all together. Indie, jazz, pop, odd meter, funk, hip-hop, etc. The Loop Loft has it all!
Big Fish Audio
35 years ago, Big Fish Audio recorded and created the first commercially available virtual instrument: the PreSonus brand of orchestral libraries.
Since then, Big Fish consistently produces some of the finest loop and sample libraries out there. Their sounds have been in hundreds of chart-topping songs and top film/television soundtracks. Big Fish is the largest distributor of sample libraries in the world, and they produce the most up-to-date loop and virtual instruments libraries using their own recording facilities and team of producers.
Big Fish Audio has always sold license-free sounds, and that remains true to this day. When you purchase a product of theirs, that is the license; you have unlimited right to use it in your music.
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Big Fish Audio produces drum loops in a multitude of genres as well, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Beta Monkey
Beta Monkey has specialized in drum loops since 2002. They pride themselves in making 100% acoustic and live loops, which are powerful, versatile and, above all, usable. Over 75,000 artists worldwide, in metal, blues, pop, country, and jazz, have made use of these excellent loops in countless productions.
The Beta Monkey mission is to offer musicians a viable alternative to expensive drum loops and produce genre content not typically offered. They’ve since created over 50 drum libraries for many styles of music including rock, alt rock, heavy metal, blues, country, fusion, jazz, and world music.
Beta Monkey Music is a wonderful resource for acoustic drum loop libraries for artists seeking an alternative to virtual/MIDI-drum VSTs. These drum loops are some of the most affordable, with the average price coming in between $29.99 and $49.99 per pack.
Loopmasters
Loopmasters in 2003 with the goal of producing flexible sample libraries for producers and musicians who require top-tier playing from experienced musicians.
Their HQ is based in the South East of England with a healthy music scene, and the producers that work on our material are of some of the best in their class from all over the world.
Loopmasters has drum loops and sample packs for House, Techno, Drum & Bass, EDM, and plenty more, with live music sample packs and instrument sample libraries to embellish and develop your unique sound.
Drum Drops
Creators of some of the finest live drum multitracks, stems, drum loops, drum samples, and one-shots. Drum Drops are constantly developing and recording new drum loops and samples. They even take suggestions from customers, so if you have a genre or style in mind they haven’t touched yet, you can reach out and let them know!
Their current lineup includes ’60s pop, ’70s new wave, soul, trap, funk, Motown, disco, dub, and so much more.
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Conclusion: Best Drum Loops in 2023
There are an overwhelming amount of drum loops out there. So many great companies are making incredible sounding libraries in every genre imaginable. This is a good place to start if you’re looking to add high-quality loop packs to your collection!