It might seem simple, but how you get from a verse to a chorus can be crucial. Drum fills are an integral part of a songs transition, so do not skimp!
A good transition sets up the next section of the song, with the best transitions adding weight and power.
Think of ‘In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins. What is the first thing that comes to mind?
Is it the man in the Gorilla suit from the Cadbury’s advert?
Maybe. Is it that enormous drum fill? Probably!
Do you follow up that massive drum fill with your rendition of the chorus? Definitely.
Fills add excitement so if you need to add some urgency and animation to your music, check out the fill packs explored below.
Quick Rundown
Below is a short list of the drum fill samples we talk about in this article. Scroll down for more details or click for audio demos.
- Freaky Loops – Ultimate Drum Fills
- Black Octopus – Really Really Good Drum Fills
- Singomakers – EDM Fills & Build-Ups
- Freaky Loops – Ultimate Drum Fills 2
- Wave Alchemy – Drum Fills & Builds
- IQ Samples – IQ Drum Fills
- Zenhiser – Drum Rolls And Fills – Club
- Soundbox – Supreme Drum Fills
1. Freaky Loops – Ultimate Drum Fills
Ultimate Drum Fills from Freak Loops is a combination of groovy electronic fills, stunning live drums, complex drum fills and glitched electronics, making this collection perfect for use across Electronic Dance Music and its sub-genres.
Each fill is loopable and synced to 128 beats per minute. Every sound in this pack has been processed using high-end outboard pre-amps, EQ, and compressors, as well as a host of extra processing in the box. This level of processing provides you with a pack of fills that can be used straight away.
What We Love About This Pack
The sound! It can be quite difficult when working with Electronic Dance Music to find an appropriate fill to help level up the excitement in the track.
The level of detail that has gone into these drum fill samples ensures that every sound is full of power and depth.
Drop one of these fills into your DAW, balance the fader and leave it alone! Dancefloor ready!
Another big love is the stylistic range of the fills. Whether it is a funky fill, a complex EDM build or something that slams into your breakdown, this pack has you covered.
Ultimate Drum Fills is 115 individual drum fills, ideal for people working within Electronic genres.
2. Black Octopus – Really Really Good Drum Fills
Really Really Good Drum Fills? It’s in the name! This sample pack is packed to the brim with incredible drum fills, innovative FX, and a variety of tools to help users craft top-of-the-line drum fills with ease. Legends Steve Roland and Ahee worked together to bring together a versatile collection of phat, crispy, and groovy loops, one-shots, and racks.
There are four main folders in this pack, which range from 1-2 bars in length, as well as 11 different BPMs, which range from 85-170 BPM. You can pick from the variety one-shots too if you want to customize the loops to your production.
Plus, you have the additional FX folder to add some mind-melting insanity to you clean and crispy drums.
What We Like About This Pack
As most electronic music producers are working within Ableton in some capacity, we love the fact that they’ve added drum racks and Ableton project files for easy setup.
If you’re looking for a pack that can provide you with a wide range of fills for easy drag-and-drop production, the Really Really Good Drum Fills pack is an excellent choice. We highly recommend this pack for electronic music producers who are looking to add engaging sequences and realism to their tracks.
3. Singomakers – EDM Fills & Build-Ups
What makes the professional EDM producer stand out against the bedroom amateur? The intensity.
Flick through your list of reference tracks and pay close attention to how sections transition. Fills and build-ups. A powerful fill or build before the drop can be everything your production needs to help it rub shoulders with your favorite tracks.
This collection contains 300 fills and build-ups and extra loops. Perfect for helping craft extra energy into your tracks. All audio files are recorded at 44.1 kHz / 24 bit and include 150 REX2 files for extra editing.
What We Love About This Pack
Creating intense fills and build-ups for Electronic Dance Music can be difficult, but this pack takes the hard work out of it, allowing you to focus on the most critical part – the song!
The variation of fills and builds available in this collection are the packs greatest strength. Whether you need a quick one bar fill for your EDM tinged pop track, a four-bar fill to keep the club on edge before your drop, or triplet fills for your Dubstep smash; this pack has you covered.
Ideal for producers working across a range of EDM genres, with the REX2 compatibility allowing each fill and build to be sliced and sequences to your taste.
4. Freaky Loops – Ultimate Drum Fills 2
We loved Freaky Loops’ Ultimate Drum Fills. Ultimate Drum Fills 2 is more of the same! So, if you liked the examples you heard for the above pack, UDF2 brings the same high-quality processing and range of genres, with 115 new drum fills!
All the fills in this pack are synced to 128 beats per minute, like its predecessor, so if you are producing in the harder Electronic Genres, this may not be the pack for you.
What We Love About This Pack
UDF was standout for its potential to completely transform a dull EDM track into a main room smash. What we love about these drum fill samples is that Freaky Loops have followed on with the same high-quality format, to bring more variation.
Just like the Wilhelm Scream in film, people tend to latch onto samples in audio, and can soon sound unoriginal and boring. UDF2 builds on the fantastic foundation of the debut pack and brings a further 115 drum fills to help keep your productions moving and the dancefloor grooving. Check the demo tracks on the website to hear the variation for yourself!
5. Wave Alchemy – Drum Fills & Builds
Wave Alchemy’s Drum Fills & Builds is a collection of versatile, well-crafted and inspirational builds and fills. This pack contains 173 audio files spread across three different tempo ranges; 70, 105 and 126 beats per minute, covering a wide range of styles.
From crackling drum breaks, vinyl-infused grooves, layered fills, experimental fills, epic sounding percussive builds, morphed vocals and more, this pack is ideal for producers looking to expand their sonic pallet.
Each audio file is formatted as WAV, REX2, and Apple Loops.
What We Love About This Pack
This pack sounds unique and stands out from the crowd. When listening to the drum fills in this collection, sound design came to mind. You can feel the movement, suspense, and impact in each fill.
Due to the level of processing involved in this pack, these drum fill samples are ideal for the producer looking to drag and drop a fill, with minimal tweaking.
Another big love for this pack is the range of genres. As much as the manufacturer describes the pack as being ideal for Electronic Music producers (and we agree!), it’s obvious that the slower samples would be ideal in Hip-Hop and Trap.
The final big love is the REX2 compatibility. Combine REX2 with the range of tempos provides and you have the flexibility of being able to edit these fantastic sounds to suit any production you are working on.
6. IQ Samples – IQ Drum Fills
The IQ Samples IQ Drum Fills pack works with a wide variety of genres, as it comes with multiple fill packs neatly organized under one umbrella. One sample pack is made for House and EDM music, one is made for Hip-Hop, RnB, and Drum and Bass, and one is made for Trap and Future Bass.
There are a variety of fills to be found throughout the 172 MB of content, ranging in tempo from 75-150 BPM. The samples were recorded at 24 Bit and 44.1 kHz. Altogether, you get 90 Hip-Hop drum fills, 90 House drum fills, 90 Trap drum fills, and a variety of bonus fills from the demo track.
What We Like About This Pack
Buying drum packs can be hard, especially if you make multiple genres of music. You don’t want to limit yourself by spending money on one sample pack to find that it only truly works for one genre. The beauty of IQ Drum Fills is that it was made with range in mind. Whether you are making Hip-Hop, House, Trap, or anything in-between, these drum fills can add a bit of realism to your productions.
7. Zenhiser – Drum Rolls And Fills – Club
Drum Rolls and Fills by Zenhiser is a must have collection of percussive transitions for Dance Music producers and remixers.
This pack contains 200 clubby drum rolls and fills, processed to drag and drop into your track at a club friendly 128 beats per minute.
These intrinsic rolls and fills have been created from the ground up, delivering a whole new arsenal of sounds to your hard drive that you never knew you needed until now.
From classic 808 sounding fills to analog breaks reminiscent of early Dance music to reversed, flanged rolls, this pack ticks a lot of boxes!
Included in this pack are 200 drum roll and drum fill loops. Perfect for people working with House, Techno, Electro House and Progressive House.
What We Love About This Pack
Zenhiser has built themselves quite the reputation for no-nonsense sample packs. Masterful processing has been carried out for each of the drum rolls and fills, allowing you to drag and drop the fill or roll you need straight into your production.
Just listening to the preview on the website demonstrates the aural attack available with this pack. Dropping in a pre-filtered roll allows you to spend less time automating filter cut-off frequency and more time on crafting the perfect banger.
What we find most enjoyable about the pack is the variety. From heavily glitched samples to phat analog snares. Whether you need a fill to cover a bar or four, Zenhiser provide the goods again with Drum Rolls and Fills.
8. Soundbox – Supreme Drum Fills
Soundbox is widely known for crafting eclectic, high-quality sample packs, and the Supreme Drum Fills pack is no different. There are 100 drum fills in gorgeous live rooms, as well as effected beats and techy fillers for experimental and electronic genres. The fills come organized in 1, 2, 4, and 8 bar loops for added versatility.
You can decide whether you are just adding in a simple fill to break up song sections or crafting dramatic buildups for added intensity. The loops have been synced up at 122 BPM to suit dance music styles, including house, techno, dubstep, electro, and more.
The in-house production team at Soundbox organized the sounds into analog vs. digital, programmed, and live, helping users to easily find the right fills for their productions in a heartbeat.
What We Like About This Pack
Whether you are a fan of old-school breakbeat and trip-hop music, such as music from Groove Armada, or modern EDM styles of heavy hitters such as Calvin Harris and Martin Garrix, you’ll love the Supreme Drum Fills. These fills are perfect for breaking out of the programmed realm for a minute to add unique flavor to what might be sterile, electronic drums.
Roll With It
Well, that is a wrap!
This article’s intention was to introduce you to some of what we believe to be the best drum fill sample packs on the market today.
With that in mind, it puts producers of all experience levels and genres in good stead at finding the perfect pack for them.
We’ve covered the bedroom producer who wants to add a drummers’ feel to a track with a live drum kit fill.
We’ve covered the producer who is getting tired of using the same MIDI loops over and over again.
We’ve covered a weight of samples available for those trying to build the intensity of their latest EDM smash before the drop.
As always, make sure you visit the manufacturers’ website and listen to the audio examples. Listen for what the fills can add to your track, whether it is a simple drag and drop function or something you are going to have to tweak a little further to fit.
Another important recommendation is to think about what you want to be creating. If you are looking at competing with people higher up the ladder in your genre, what are they currently doing that sets them apart? Find that missing ingredient in a drum fill pack above, and transition your way to the next step in your music career.