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In future bass music, there’s no point keeping things subtle. As masters of the dark arts like REZZ, Zeds Dead and WHIPPED CREAM show us, boisterous, ear-grabbing basslines and dramatic, ethereal atmospheres make a successful pairing.

• READ MORE: REZZ just wants to keep it simple

Whether you want to cause carnage or transport ravers to an epic space, creating electronic sounds for future bass music can be tough. Introducing a sample into the mix can help inspire you and drive your project forward.

We’ve partnered with BandLab to gather a selection of the best sample packs from the BandLab Sounds platform that suit this ruckus future bass sound. They’re all completely free, instantly downloadable, and royalty-free. There’s a range of sounds on offer, from modern, hard-processed bass riffs, to psychoacoustic textured bass and subs and packs that deliver otherworldly inspiration with ethereal melodies.

Big Room Bass Vol. 1, 2 & 3

Big Room Bass has become so popular among producers that BandLab has gone on to release two more editions. This trio of free sample packs are full to the brim with speaker-rattling bass risers, atmospheric effects, “sizzling basslines”, and loads more.

In each, you’ll find 100 loops that will elevate any project, whether it’s in the style of DnB, dubstep or house.

Download Big Room Bass Vol. 1
Download Big Room Bass Vol. 2
Download Big Room Bass Vol. 3

Textured Bass II

When it comes to future bass, a track’s distorted, dark bassline tends to be the track’s main character. Pushing melodies to the back, it’s important to let your crushing bass sit front and centre, growling, giving your track a dose of raw attitude.

One way to make your basslines rich is with a textured bassline. This sample pack, Textured Bass II, contains 100 loops of “ripped, modified and manipulated” bass riffs that add another layer to your track.

Download Textured Bass II

Textured Subs

You can’t make bass-heavy music, without a strong sub-bass.

This pack, Textured Subs, is sure to rattle ravers’ skulls, featuring 80 loops of “hard-hitting sub-basses processed with psychoacoustic magic”, BandLab says. There are processed 808 bass hits, driving reese basses, analogue basses and loads more on offer.

Download Textured Subs

Dubstep Essentials

Dubstep has evolved vastly from its beginnings in the London suburb of Croydon. Today, the typically 140 bpm, head-bopping genre has been amplified, compressed, distorted, and able to cause chaos in huge venues — not just grimy basements.

This sample pack, Dubstep Essentials, explores sounds that suit many facets of modern dubstep. You’ll find punchy dubstep beats, dramatic synth leads and arps, strings, pads – all the sounds you need to build up to that bassy drop.

Download Dubstep Essentials

Kawaii Future Bass FX & Kawaii Future Bass Vol. II

Kawaii future bass is a subgenre of future bass, known for its happy and cute timbre and strong Japanese pop culture influences. It’s all about rising, rising, rising… and then switching up on the drop with a booming bass and a dramatic crash.

These two Kawaii bass-orientated sample packs, Kawaii Future Bass FX and Kawaii Future Bass Vol. II, help deliver those main stage moments, offering “ambient melodies, swooshing downlifters, and impactful sub drops” that tie segments of a track together. There are also some gnarly drum loops.

Download Kawaii Future Bass FX
Download Kawaii Future Bass Vol. II

Future Bass

The fundamentals of future bass lie in the relationship between the drums and bass. This pack, aptly called Future Bass, is sure to give you the tools to build a strong basis for a future bass track that will get the crowd moving.

The free sample pack focuses on the more upbeat side of bass music. Inspired by the likes of Flume and Marshmello, it features 98 loops, from intense, scene-setting basslines to shuffly hi-hat sequences, intriguing claps and clean percussion.

Download Future Bass

ARIUS: Bass Lab

When they’re not delivering mindblowing live shows, Australian EDM duo ARIUS are busy helping producers by creating their own awesome free-to-download sample packs. These packs reflect the duo’s own dubstep-led sound, offering destructive low-end sonics and high-end dreamy melodic elements.

This collection, Bass Lab, follows that thumping sound, offering melody loops, dramatic risers, plucks, chords, and one-shot samples of slamming snares and kick drums.

Download ARIUS: Bass Lab

Ambient Downtempo

Although electronic music can be high-energy, brash and chaotic, at times it’s allowed to be soft, sombre and melancholic. If you’re more inclined to create the latter, you might find inspiration in downtempo, ambient sounds evoking the likes of Photek, Phaeleh or Kelly Lee Owens.

This BandLab sample pack, Ambient Downtempo, features 50 electronic loops that can be layered to produce mellow soundscapes. Even if you’re building up to a big drop, this diverse collection of sounds – synths, pads, bass, drums, voice samples and effects – set the tone instantly.

Download Ambient Downtempo

Jordan Blackmon: Low-Budget Sci-Fi

Jordan Blackmon is an American artist who up until recently was the live guitarist for Toro Y Moi. Now, he goes solo, having created a wide-ranging catalogue of music, dipping his toe in funk, soul, or even experimental noise.

This sample pack, Jordan Blackmon: Low-Budget Sci-Fi, has been created using Blackmon’s array of specialist hardware in his studio. Included are a series of one-shots that evoke retro sci-fi movies. They feel very Solaris – and when played as melodies, will give you an eerie vibe that works well with bass-heavy, dark music.

Download Jordan Blackmon: Low-Budget Sci-Fi

For more sample pack guides, head to MusicTech.

[Editor’s note: MusicTech and BandLab are both part of the Caldecott Music Group.]

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