Ryu Yabana has released Taped Drum Kits, a free collection of analog drum samples processed through cassette tape.
It’s been a while since we’ve covered a simple WAV drum pack on BPB, but this one grabbed my attention right away. I’m a massive fan of retro drums and cassette tape saturation, so any combination of these two hits the sweet spot for me.
It also brought back memories of my own BPB Cassette Drums project and the fun of bouncing sounds to tape, cranking the gain, and waiting to hear the magic (or chaos) on the other end.
Thinking about it now, I genuinely miss creating such projects. But time’s not growing on trees these days! So let’s get back on topic.
Taped Drum Kits contains 191 drum hits sampled from analog drum machines and grooveboxes, then recorded through a vintage 1984 Sony TC-FX220 cassette deck. The result is a tasty blend of tape warmth, analog punch, and gritty charm.
The pack includes 16 kicks, 40 snares, 26 claps, 13 cymbals, 17 closed hats, 14 open hats, and a generous selection of 65 percussive sounds.
These aren’t just dry and dull drum one-shots; thanks to the tape processing, they have a raw, saturated texture that really makes them stand out.
Whether you’re into boom-bap, lofi, or just want some characterful layers for your drum stack, there’s plenty to explore here.
Each sample has been cleaned and sculpted in the DAW to make sure it’s mix-ready, while still retaining that tape-processed grit. Yabana also applied SP-404MK2 effects during the final stage of processing, adding more flavor and personality to the already saturated recordings.
If you like what you hear in the Taped Drum Kits demo, check out Yabana’s Nebula Pulse sound pack for the Novation Circuit Tracks. It includes 64 synth patches and 64 bonus drum samples from this very collection, designed to pair nicely together.
You can download Taped Drum Kits for free from Ryu Yabana’s website. Enter zero to grab it for free, or drop a few bucks if you want to support the project.
The samples are provided as WAV files, ensuring compatibility with any DAW or sampler on Windows, macOS, or Linux. No fancy paid software required. Just drag them into your project and start making vintage beats.
Download: Taped Drum Kits (FREE)
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Last Updated on July 21, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
