Wave Alchemy is offering 808 Tape, a free royalty-free sample pack containing 318 drum sounds recorded from the legendary Roland TR-808 through a Studer A80 Mk1 analogue tape machine.
The collection includes clean, saturated and heavily driven variations of classic 808 kicks, snares, toms, hi-hats and percussion. It gives producers the familiar TR-808 character with additional tape warmth, harmonic coloration and analogue weight.
What Is the 808 Tape Sample Pack?
808 Tape is a free drum sample collection created by Wave Alchemy using an original TR-808 drum machine.
Every sound was recorded directly to quarter-inch analogue tape through a Studer A80 Mk1 machine. Multiple tape saturation levels are included, allowing producers to choose between cleaner samples and more strongly colored versions.
The complete pack contains 318 WAV samples in 24-bit quality.
What Is Included?
- 87 kick drum samples
- 90 snare drum samples
- 42 tom samples
- 39 hi-hat samples
- 60 percussion hits
- Claps, claves, cowbells and crash cymbals
- Clean, saturated and driven variations
The different saturation versions make it easier to find a sound that fits the production without adding another tape emulation plugin.
Authentic TR-808 Drums With Analogue Tape Character
The Roland TR-808 remains one of the most influential drum machines in modern music production.
Its deep kicks, sharp snares, metallic hi-hats and distinctive percussion continue to appear across Hip-Hop, Trap, House, Techno, Electro, Pop and experimental electronic music.
808 Tape adds another layer of character by recording the drum machine through real analogue tape. The cleaner samples preserve more of the original drum-machine tone, while the saturated and driven versions introduce additional harmonics and texture.
87 Kicks for Hip-Hop, Trap and Electronic Music
The pack contains 87 kick samples covering different levels of tape coloration.
These sounds can be used as traditional drum-machine kicks or processed further for modern 808-style low-end production.
Producers can adjust pitch, envelope length, saturation and transient response inside a sampler to make each kick fit the key and groove of a track.
Snares, Toms and Hi-Hats
The 90 snares provide a large selection of classic 808-style attacks with different levels of analogue coloration.
The pack also includes 42 toms and 39 hi-hats for programming complete drum patterns from one consistent sound source.
Using sounds recorded from the same machine and signal chain can help a drum kit feel more cohesive than combining unrelated samples from several libraries.
Percussion and Classic 808 Sounds
The percussion folder contains 60 sounds, including claps, claves, cowbells and crash cymbals.
These sounds are particularly useful for Electro, House, Techno and retro-inspired productions, but they can also add recognizable character to Hip-Hop and Pop arrangements.
Best Uses for 808 Tape
- Hip-Hop and Trap drums
- House and Techno grooves
- Electro and Synthwave production
- Pop drum programming
- Lo-fi and tape-colored beats
- Custom drum racks
- Layering with acoustic drums
- Creative resampling
The samples can be loaded into any compatible DAW, software sampler or hardware sampler that supports standard WAV files.
Create Your Own Drum Kits
One of the best ways to use 808 Tape is to build a focused custom drum kit.
Select one kick, snare, clap, closed hi-hat and open hi-hat, then add toms and percussion only when the arrangement needs them.
The clean and saturated variations can also be layered together. A cleaner sample can provide transient definition while a driven version adds body and analogue texture underneath.
Royalty-Free for Commercial Music
Wave Alchemy confirms that its free sample packs are royalty-free and can be used in commercial music productions.
Tracks created with the samples can be released and monetized without additional royalty payments.
The original files cannot be resold, redistributed or repackaged as another standalone drum kit or sample library.
How to Download 808 Tape
808 Tape is available for free from the official Wave Alchemy website.
Add the pack to the basket and complete the free checkout process to access the download.
Download 808 Tape from Wave Alchemy
Final Verdict
808 Tape is an excellent free sample pack for producers who want authentic TR-808 drums with real analogue tape character.
Its 318 royalty-free 24-bit samples cover kicks, snares, toms, hi-hats and percussion, with clean, saturated and driven variations of the original sounds.
For Hip-Hop, Trap, House, Techno, Electro and electronic music production, 808 Tape provides a versatile collection of classic drum-machine sounds without requiring another paid library.
