“Old School” is a free Boom Bap drum kit inspired by the likes of influential Hip Hop producers like J. Dilla, The Alchemist, 9th Wonder, DJ Premier, Havoc, or Pete Rock. It’s filled with 106 royalty-free old-school samples, including kicks, snares, and everything else you need to create head-nodding drum beats. Click on the button below to grab your copy.
Click Here to DownloadAbout the Kit
To compile this Boom Bap drum kit we cut out samples from old vinyl records and recorded a bunch of drum machines. Then we refined all samples using both analog and digital equipment. As typical for the genre, we aimed for hard-hitting kick drums and snappy snares. Although the idea behind “Old School” was to produce a drum kit specifically made for Boom Bap it can certainly also be used for styles like West Coast Old School or Lo-Fi Hip Hop.
Tip: Following up this freebie, we released a huge (1000+ files) Boom Bap sample pack, called “Artifacts” via bvker.com.
What You Get
Contents
- 25 Hats
- 30 Kicks
- 20 Percs
- 31 Snares
Details:
- License: Royalty-Free
- Genres: Boom Bap, Old School & Lo-Fi
- 106 Total Files
Get To Work
In addition to the sample pack, we want to share a few paragraphs on making Boom Bap beats. Just follow all of the steps below and you should get some decent results.
How To Make a Boom Bap Beat
- Pick some cool drum samples
If you want to make a Boom Bap beat you need some fitting drum samples. Our free “Old School” sample pack should be enough to get you started.
- Place a snare on every second quarter hit
Set the BPM of your project file around 80 BPM and place a MIDI note on every second quarter note. You can, later on, add variations or delay some of the hits.
- Record the kick pattern
Boom Bap is a rather organic genre, so in order to avoid a robotic feel, you should record the kick pattern with either a drum pad or MIDI keyboard.
- Add a closed hat
Once you’re happy with the kick and snare pattern it’s time to record a closed hat. For an organic feel try to record it, too, rather than just drawing in the MIDI notes.
- Adjust the levels
To get the volume levels of all individual tracks right compare your mix to some of your favorite Boom Bap beats. Adjust all levels until your mix sounds balanced.
- Tweak until you’re satisfied
The snare isn’t punchy enough for your taste or the hi-hat doesn’t flow, right? Tweak everything until the beat is perfect!
Questions
Boom Bap is a subgenre of Hip Hop, which was popular in the East Coast area of the USA during the late 80s and early 90s. The term “Boom Bap” describes the kick & snare sounds, which are typical for the genre. Hard-hitting acoustic kick drums are usually placed on the downbeats, whereas snappy acoustic snares are placed on the upbeats.
Boom Bap is usually based around 80 BPM. Some beats might be slower or faster.
Also read: The Best Free Sample Packs of 2021.
