Hey guys. It's about the end of August, so you know what that means! A lot of words and the next edition of Adrean's Music Producer Freebie Mag!

What's new? Well, besides being a little late to make room for some totally lame artist news -- new releases and a whole 5 hour movie in my last blog that you should definitely not check out (sarcasm), I updated my cymbal pack, got a nice camera, and am actually thinking about doing video clips so you can watch in your spare time, rather than having to read an entire list.

That's probably a relief. I write a lot. But I haven't decided still, so don't get too happy. The idea was, video is just smarter this day and age. (God, am I getting old?) Reason being, it's more accessible, you can reach your audience on YT AND wherever else you decide to embed, and they tend to be shareables. Something to think about.

But anyway, enough about me -- onto the list, starting with my pet project, TMC. Not The Movie Channel -- Take My Cymbals.

Sample Pack Update!

Remember this massive oneshot pack?

And this demo?

I added 6 more cymbals, (48 more in the works). New sample count is 568 samples, from 503. Zip name changed from ADR3-N's Free Metal Drums to Take My Cymbals v2.

INSTALL:

Literally download and unpack. Simple.

If you already have TMC, rename the zip to whatever you saved it as prior, extract and drag and drop into the install location. Some sample convention renaming may have created one or two duplicates. If that's a concern, just drag the Wuhan and Dream folders over. You can always compare the folders using a file duplicate manager or analyzer otherwise.

Changelog:

February 28, 2024

3 New Dream Cymbals, 12in Lion China, 10in Bliss Splash, 10in Han Effect

August 5, 2024

Wuhan Cymbals Folder, 16-in O-China, Wuhan China, Wuhan Dark China; multiple crashes added. Samples marked CUT are patched together from existing hits. I wish I could find more recordings of these budget cymbals. Leave it to China I guess to make some great, if not very breakable Chinas. In some senses having these samples might be better than owning a set of Wuhans, lol.

At present, I haven't programmed these into Kontakt instruments, or SFZs. If you're good at that, contact me via PM or Discord. Willing to pay!

I could just jerry rig them onto an existing cymbal patch and copy the presets in the TMC folder for a test drive. What I'm doing currently is loading each individual cymbal (select all, drag and drop) into a separate track onto OmniSampler, which is a spinoff of an entire piano roll of MPC. Save patch, write some midi. This allows me to choose the exact articulation I want. Then I mix and pan as I like.

I have tons of cymbals I plan to add, including and especially little known artisans and rare pieces. The same old cymbals just get old, even if analog doesn't! So, as I add new cymbals, expect more announcements!

PS: Send me your tracks if you use these -- I'd love to hear (and feature) them!

PSS: I am taking requests! If you find a cymbal recording I can sample, even if it isn't properly sustained, I'll cut it up and synthesize new articulations for it!

S-Drive Bass OD

We got ourselves a nice little overdrive pedal from Modern Music Solutions. I usually don't go for these as I prefer one knobs or dry DI tone going into the amp, but Bedroom Producer's Blog did a nice writeup on the specifics.

What I found really interesting was actually the small section of freebies on the site, including metal mixing tips -- specifically for compressing your live basses!

This has applications outside of metal. Any genre in which you're using a live bass, you're going to want to keep that low end balanced, tight, and out of the way of the kick, whenever it hits. I'm not going to ditch all the secret sauce here and now to spoil the article, because it deserves to be read -- so go read it and take notes!

On another note...

Producer Grind has released Trap Genesis BETA pack (2.8 GB)

Trap Genesis Beta Pack (Landing Page, because it wouldn't let me embed the video)

The biggest standouts I see are the melodies shown. The drums so far are, well, they're drums, lol. We all know hip-hop loves to recycle drums and resell them. That's how it's been done for decades.

BUT, the pack also comes with midi.

Note, these are TECHNICALLY not royalty free unless you buy the license, but the samples are available nonetheless. You can still make beats with them. You can just expect to negotiate with the rights holder at a later date if you see a placement.

This is a new route I see sample vendors taking, and I think it's a good deal. Everyone gets to take great samples for a trial run, and what's the worst that happens to a producer who doesn't have a license? Can they really track everyone down? With content ID and a completely unaltered sample, yes they can, but then you just make an agreement on royalties.

Also, You KNOW for a fact these producers used samples to make they samples, especially the vintage melodies, so... Who fking cares, free sounds! Pack goes up for sale on the 30th, for those interested.

PS, Producer Grind ALSO hasn't changed their search feature since I wrote about it last time, which means you can still find FREE KITS starting on the bottom of this page.

Here's a link for that. Hope you haven't cleared your browser history. I downloaded several pages of kits off this thing and forgot where I put them. XD

Of course, you don't really need the link if you just type FREE in the search box from any other page on the site -- that's what the link is. And good thing. If you try the sort by price feature, I don't even think they show up!

So what are some of the high points?

Well, for the uninitiated, the Spinz 808 is a must. Hands down the most memorable 808 in all of hip-hop and a solid start for any bottom line. Pun intended.

There are also several, several drum kits, community packs, the flagship giveaway I just mentioned (but that one isn't royalty free), analog chord packs, FLPs, FX, you name it. It's a pretty diverse offering. Worth taking a gander at the titles and nabbing.

Real shoutout to whoever makes these sample pack graphics btw. Imma have to take notes.

The freebies go all the way to page 13 with some brief interruptions of sales and so on. Just keep slugging through them and pick what you like. And yes, there are some new ones, or I wouldn't be writing!

MONSTER SAX sounds like a 90s jazz writer's dream. And it's free!

A noice demo by @jernemies

And next up we got ourselves a video. Our guy actually reviewed 16+ free drum kits that work with an e-kit ;)

I Played 19 FREE Realistic Drum VST Plugins

I also found some free midtempo samples ;)

All the links on the above page will open up to a new tab. I haven't checked them all because I don't (gasp) use FL Studio or Serum, but let's take a look at my personal favorite goldmine:

The unassuming Free Midtempo Sample Pack

For the price of a little email spam (and confirming your email btw), you'll get to …. Dig around for this pack, because it's old af. And as you're digging, you'll discover several other packs, quick and easy, no fuss.

Where is this Midtempo pack hiding?

Turns out, it's nestled in zipped and rezipped folders under the LEGACY pack, which contains all their older drops. Nifty, if a little annoying, but you just found yourself a trove of drums, presets, and in some cases demos to study!

Antidote Audio, where we found this little list, also has their own section of freebies

Same deal as the last, confirm an email -- a little annoying when you already opened a bunch of tabs after reading what you wanted, but it is what it is.

There are serum presets, dubstep drums, bass shots, neuro basses, ableton projects, advent packs with various loops, you name it! Also, I found out opening a bunch of tabs was completely unnecessary. Everything downloads right from the page. So props for that.

94 Royalty Free Tracks for your Remixing, Covering, and Interpolating Pleasure

An anonymous birdie sent me this royalty free music catalog. You know what that means, a trove of musical ideas you can sample, remix, cover, or interpolate into your own compositions with complete impunity. ;)

https://dsmagnum.newgrounds.com/audio

Also, if you weren't aware, 99Sounds has a slick collection of SFX for cinematic production!

I was aware of these before, but a certain birdie dropped this link to my inbox. We got braahms, swooshies, transitions, and quite a few nice surprises just from the demo alone!

Oh, and no talking.

Free Sound Effects (Royalty-Free)

DEDICATION

I'd like to thank a certain anonymous birdie for sending more than one of these my way. When I first started this mag, I just wanted to do something useful with my particular data hoarding obsession, and well, I guess I have been if I'm getting this kind of response. I'm also proud that despite being super prone to burnout, it's been years now, and multiple consecutive months of posting these types of resources!

That amazes me, because you know, I started out on Newgrounds in elementary school, playing Punchout and Club a Seal, not a care in the world besides how to get to the secret nudie pics hidden in some RPG or best troll the BBS. I never thought I'd be sitting here 20 years later, a semi-accomplished music producer eye-ball deep in a community of creators, actually BEING one of them, helping people get to where I am!

Even though ADHD makes keeping a schedule so, so difficult I do that! So I guess what I'm trying to say is thanks, to everyone who reads this, and of course my supporters for encouraging me to keep going. Y'all are awesome.

SPECIAL THANKS

PS, TomFulp, if you're reading this, you've got a good thing going. Because of this website, memes have come, cultures have gone, labels have raged, and… we're getting old. If there's anything we can do to keep this thing rolling long after we're gone, think about it and let us know. I don't care if it's starting up a freaking stock. I'll invest. And bring friends. ;)

Also, there is one totally unrelated thing I read about, webtorrent -- a peer to peer solution that could potentially lighten the load on our servers by decentralizing file hosting. Seems pretty lit. FAQ. Wonder what we could do with that kind of service?

Anyway, if you're still here, have a great rest of your day wherever you are. I'll see you next month, or announcement. You know how I be. ;)

Love y'all!

-A