Tentacles Neuro DnB Starter Pack
- 15 kicks, snares and top loops for heavy drums
- 25 neuro bass samples
- 10 FX samples
- 50 royalty-free samples in total
Ableton project files
Free Access · No card needed
Free DnB Sample Packs, Presets & Lessons
Sign up free and download 5 drum & bass sample and preset packs (neuro, liquid, all-round and Vital presets), mixing and mastering e-books and a 3‑day DnB challenge for Ableton and FL Studio.
Get free accessJoin 40,000+ producers in DNB Academy Free Access
- Just your artist name + email
- Beginners welcome
- Works in any DAW
Free Access / Packs
01Tentacles Neuro DnB Starter Pack50 samples · Ableton project
02Motion Liquid DnB Starter Pack26 samples · FL Studio project
03174 Marathon Sample PackDrums, bass, FX, melodics
04Discord DnB Production Toolkit50 samples + 20 presets
05Vital Starter Preset PackNeuro bass, plucks, leads
+ E-books · 3-day challenge · Track breakdowns
Where can I get free drum and bass sample packs?
You can download free drum and bass sample packs from DNB Academy Free Access, a free membership with 40,000+ producers. It includes neuro and liquid DnB starter packs, the 174 Marathon sample pack, a sample and preset toolkit, Vital presets and mixing and mastering e-books. Sign up with your artist name and email, then download from your library.
What's inside
Everything in Free Access
Five free DnB sample and preset packs, two e-books, a production reference, a 3-day video challenge and artist track breakdowns. All in one free account.
Free sample & preset packs
5 packs for neuro, liquid and all-round drum & bassMotion Liquid DnB Starter Pack
- 16 kicks, snares and top loops for rolling liquid drums
- 10 musical and FX samples
- 26 royalty-free samples in total
FL Studio project files
174 Marathon Sample Pack
Made for International Drum & Bass Day and our 174 Production Marathon.
- 100+ samples
- Drums, bass, FX, melodics and more
Audio samples
Discord DnB Production Toolkit
A sample and preset pack first made for our Discord community.
- 50 samples
- 20 presets
- Drums, bass, FX and more
Vital Starter Preset Pack
A neuro DnB starter pack for the Vital synth, which has a free version.
- Neuro bass presets
- Pluck presets
- Lead presets
Vital (free version works)
All 5 packs, one free account
No payment details. Download them from your Free Access library.
Get free accessFree e-books & resources
Finish your tracks, not just your loopsDNB Mixing Roadmap
- Intro to mixing drum & bass
- 10-step mixing checklist
- 23-page e-book, works with any DAW
DNB Mastering Roadmap
- Intro to mastering drum & bass
- 7-step mastering checklist
- 17-page e-book, works with any DAW
DNB Production Bible
A drum & bass production reference you'll find in the Resources section of Free Access.
Free video lessons
Learn to use the sounds3-Day DNB Challenge
A short video challenge to get you writing drum & bass, in two versions so you can follow along in your DAW.
- Ableton Live: 3 days of video lessons
- FL Studio: 3 days of video lessons
Ableton LiveFL StudioBeginner friendly
Track breakdowns
See how released DnB tracks are put together, step by step.
- Kove "Tonight"Track breakdown + Q&A
- Icicle "Outer Planes"Track breakdown + Q&A
- GLXY "3C Roller"Track breakdown
- Dossa & Locuzzed "Play"Track breakdown
Which free pack fits what you're looking for?
| Looking for | Free in Free Access | Go further |
|---|---|---|
| Free neuro DnB samples | Tentacles Neuro Starter Pack + Vital Starter Preset Pack | Neuro preset bundles in the store |
| Liquid DnB sample pack | Motion Liquid Starter Pack (with FL Studio project) | Liquid courses and packs in the store |
| Free DnB drum samples | Kicks, snares and top loops in Tentacles, Motion and 174 Marathon | DNB Drums series (e.g. Primal Jungle) in the store |
| Free Vital presets for DnB | Vital Starter Preset Pack (neuro bass, plucks, leads) | Preset bundles in the store |
| Jungle drum kit | No dedicated jungle pack; the free drum hits and loops are a good start | Primal Jungle drum sample pack in the store |
| DnB vocal samples | No dedicated vocal pack in Free Access | Soul Vocals vocal packs in the store |
How it works
How to get the free DnB packs
Three steps. You only need your artist name and an email address.
Sign up free
Enter your artist name and email on the Free Access form. No card or payment details.
Activate your account
Check your inbox and confirm your email. Your Free Access library opens in your DNB Academy account.
Download and make music
Open a pack or e-book and click its download button. Load the samples into your DAW and start your track.
Production tips
How to use DnB samples in your track
Downloading a sample pack is the easy part. These seven habits help free DnB samples sound like your own track, not a demo loop.
Build the beat first, at 170–175 BPM
Start with a two-step groove: kick on beat 1 and the "and" of beat 3, snares on beats 2 and 4. Get the kick and snare working together before you add anything else.
Layer top loops under your main hits
Put a top loop or break under the kick and snare for movement. High-pass it so its low end doesn't fight your kick, then blend it in quietly.
Tune samples to your track's key
Pitch kicks, bass shots and melodic samples so they sit in key. A tuner plug-in on the sample makes this quick; out-of-tune low end is a common reason mixes sound muddy.
Leave headroom
Pack samples are often loud. Turn them down before you process, and keep your mix peaking well below 0 dB so you have room to mix and master later.
Make the sample yours
Chop, reverse, re-pitch, layer and resample. Change the attack and release, add saturation or reverb, then bounce it. Small changes stop your track sounding like everyone else's using the same pack.
Keep the sub clean and mono
Keep low bass mono and give the kick space, for example with sidechain or volume ducking. In drum & bass, a clear kick and sub matter more than extra layers.
Release your tracks with them
Every free pack is royalty-free, so you can use the sounds in music you release. Make them your own: layer, resample and process them so your track sounds like you.
Want these steps on video? The 3-Day DNB Challenge in Free Access walks you through writing a DnB track in Ableton Live or FL Studio, and the DNB Mixing Roadmap has a 10-step mixing checklist.
Why DNB Academy
A drum & bass school since 2019
50,000+ producers have joined DNB Academy. We teach drum & bass production through artist courses, structured programmes and free resources like these packs.
50,000+
Producers have joined DNB Academy
40,000+
Members in Free Access
~50K
YouTube subscribers
5,300+
Producers in our Discord
Want more?
Where to go after the free packs
Free Access is a good place to start. If you want to go further, there are three ways to keep learning.
The Vault
Every artist course, preset bundle and sample pack we make, including the vocal and jungle drum packs.
Browse coursesDNB Foundations
A step-by-step drum & bass course with weekly live feedback calls on your tracks.
See FoundationsMentorship
One-to-one guidance on your music. Book a call to see if it's the right fit for you.
See the mentorshipFAQ
Free DnB sample packs: questions
Yes. Free Access is a free DNB Academy membership. You sign up with your artist name and email, with no card or payment details, and download the packs, e-books and lessons from your library. You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time.
DNB Academy Free Access gives you five free drum and bass packs: the Tentacles Neuro and Motion Liquid starter packs, the 174 Marathon Sample Pack, the Discord DNB Production Toolkit and the Vital Starter Preset Pack. Sign up at app.dnbacademy.net/free-access-form to download them.
Yes. Every free pack in DNB Academy Free Access is royalty-free, so you can use the sounds in your own tracks and releases.
The packs are made for producers to use in their own tracks. All of the free packs are royalty-free, so you can release music that uses them.
The samples are audio files, so they work in any DAW, including Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Bitwig and Cubase. The Tentacles pack also includes Ableton project files, the Motion pack includes FL Studio project files, and the 3-Day DNB Challenge has Ableton and FL Studio versions.
Not for the samples: they are audio and need no synth. The Vital Starter Preset Pack needs Vital, which has a free version. You don't need Serum for any of the sample packs. For the presets in the Discord toolkit, check the pack notes to see which synth they are made for.
Sign up on the Free Access form, confirm your email, then log in to DNB Academy. Open Free Access, choose a pack or e-book and click its download button. You can come back and download them again from your library later.
Neuro DnB (Tentacles pack and Vital presets), liquid DnB (Motion pack) and all-round drum and bass (174 Marathon pack and Discord toolkit). Free Access has no dedicated jungle or vocal pack; those are in the DNB Academy store, for example Primal Jungle and Soul Vocals.
Yes. Beginners are welcome. The 3-Day DNB Challenge walks you through making drum and bass in Ableton Live or FL Studio, and the Mixing and Mastering Roadmaps give you simple checklists to finish your tracks.
Free Access
Get the free DnB sample packs
5 sample and preset packs, 2 e-books, the DNB Production Bible, a 3-day challenge and artist track breakdowns. Free, with just your artist name and email.
Get free accessJoin 40,000+ producers in DNB Academy Free Access
Free DnB packs5 packs + e-books + lessons
Get free access
