Free kick samples
Four kick drums from Core Kicks Vol. 1, two tight and two punchy. CC0, so they work in house, techno, hip-hop or pop with no credit needed.
What's in the ZIP
- Kick 01 · Tight
- Kick 02 · Punchy
- Kick 03 · Tight
- Kick 04 · Punchy
Previews are 128 kbps MP3. The download is the original WAV, plus LICENSE.txt and SOURCES.txt.
Picking and fitting a kick
- Choose the kick by its tail before its click. A long, boomy tail suits sparse tracks; a short one leaves room for a bass line.
- Find the fundamental on a spectrum analyser and tune the kick to the root of the track, or to the fifth if the root sounds too low.
- Decide which sound owns the sub: the kick or the bass. Then shorten, EQ or sidechain the other one so they don't fight.
- Compare kicks at the same loudness. A louder kick always sounds better, so turn them to matching levels before you choose.
Longer walkthrough: What actually makes a kick punch.
Can I use these in a release?
Yes. Every sound here comes from a recording released under CC0 1.0 (public domain). Use it in commercial tracks, beats and videos, with no royalties and no credit required. The one thing you can't do is resell the sounds themselves as a sample pack. SOURCES.txt in the ZIP lists the original recording for each file. More on licensing.
The full pack: Core Kicks Vol. 1
60 sounds, same source and same checks as these four. $12 · royalty-free, no credit required.
All 24 full packs: the Infinity Vault
Every genre on this page and the rest of the catalog, full packs instead of four-sound kits. $47 once, instead of $288 for the 24 packs one by one.
Get all 24 packs — $47 →Want more? 40 free sounds from 20 of our 24 packs
The free CC0 sampler has two sounds from every pack: kicks, bass, synths and music loops. We email you the link, plus a note when a new pack comes out. Unsubscribe anytime.