Selection of links to help you with drum programming software and where to download them from.
Here’s a getting started guide:
https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitars/drum-programming-basics-for-guitarists-613063
Goran Grooves Handy Drums – https://library.gorangrooves.com/ – (paid)
Midi Drum Loops – https://library.gorangrooves.com/midi-loops-2/ – (paid)
I couldn’t agree more with what it says on the website:
“VSTi/AU/AAX/ Standalone, Hi-end, easy-to-use, sampled drum plugins, mix-ready for your DAW”
…but, to add to that: I got a couple of the Handy Drum sets a year or so back, and also some of their fantastic midi packs. So easy to use because the midi packs aren’t very complex, so it inspires you to make more with them. The drum sample libraries are massive sounding and really high quality. It really helps when you’re in the zone and simply want to have fun with excellent sounding drums, and creatively it’s a massive time saver to use their midi packs which are really rather good!
MT Power Drum Kit 2 – https://www.powerdrumkit.com/ – (free)
One of the few highly regarded completely free drum plugins on offer out there . It has great features that make it not only fairly competitive but perfect for getting started with programming patterns and contains a very usable sounding kit to start right away with shaping your music projects. A donation is welcomed by the developers – and their website is definitely a good source of more info to help you on your way.
Compatible with Windows / Mac / Linux operating systems and most DAWs.
Stephen Slate Drums 5.5 Free edition – https://www.stevenslatedrums.com/ssd5/#SSD5FREE – (free and paid)
A great introduction to the world of Stephen Slate Drums, the free version comes with 1 kit / 3 presets and includes features that are all you need to get started on making grooves, whether you need it for production or to jam out and practice to something more interesting than a click metronome. A very easy to use plugin which will help you learn to get your own drum beats together, use patterns to create song structures, and it gives you a taste of the rest of SSD’s products.
MonsterDaw Drum Plugins – Free
*New version announced July 2022:
https://agushardiman.tv/monster-drum-the-best-free-drum-vst-plugin-with-multi-kit-genre/
Ugritone’s Heavy Metal Drum Samples, Drum Plugins and Midi Collections – (paid)
https://ugritone.com/collections/heavy-metal-drum-samples-and-vst-plugins
A big selection of choices for all your drum needs. Midi packs and Drum Sampler Plugins, all at very decent prices often with sale prices to get you started. Choose what genres you’d like from punk to power metal, death and black metal, speed metal and more. Choose the right drum plugins for the right job, and grab some midi packs to get you where you need to be. They’ve recently released Riot Drums 2 – but they have a whole bunch of other great things to check out, not just drums but the Trve Cab IR loader, some impressive IR packs, and some other midi and audio effect plugins too.
Toontrack – Ez Drummer 2 – https://www.toontrack.com/product/ezdrummer-2/ (paid / free trial)
A drum plugin for an all in one solution – great for quickly creating drum tracks on the fly. Best for people who are learning to make beats, or needing to make a quick drum pattern for a project idea when inspiration is hitting. It comprises of several kit presets – a modern and a vintage bank selection, and there are extra expansion packs available. It includes various useful ready made patterns, a midi pattern editor for creating and exporting midi for your projects, which can also be used to control other drum sample plugins. Nice and intuitive controls for adapting and tweaking beats, a mixer with some included effects like room ambience and compression.
Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 – https://www.toontrack.com/product/superior-drummer-3/ (paid)
Toontracks flagship – Superior Drummer 3 is a far more advanced drum program than EZ Drummer 2, and comes with a massive range of options to edit, tweak and arrange your drum sounds for when you need to be very precise and tune everything in a final production. I think I’d recommend this for more advanced users – once you’ve gotten used to using EZ Drummer 2, as you could get quite quickly become overwhelmed with the amount of great features that Superior Drummer has to offer. One of the best plugins around for producing drums to a professional standard.
Get Good Drums – https://www.getgooddrums.com/ (paid / free trial)
If you already use, or want to try Native Instrument’s Kontact Player, the GGD drum libraries are a brilliant addition for you. Their drum libraries are available to use in NI’s Free Kontact Player, and there are many libraries to choose from. They have midi groove packs, and lots of other great products to check out on their website. They offer 14 day free trials, and are highly regarded in the industry, so definitely worth checking out.
Rayzoon Jamstix – https://www.rayzoon.com/ (free and paid)
There are 7 different versions of the Jamstix available on their website, ranging from a free version all the way to an ultimate version that is their flagship and has a price point that reflects that. I would say that the free version is probably as useful as any other free version drum plugin, whilst the top of the range version is as fully featured as any flagship plugins I’ve seen out there. Check them out and let us know what you think.
Beat Scholar by Modalics – https://www.modalics.com/product-page/BeatScholar – (paid)
“Beat Scholar is a Modern Beat-Making Powerhouse. It presents an entirely new way to compose rhythm in the digital domain, Beat Scholar is the ultimate rhythmic playground that will make sure your beats sound like non other.”
* I’m sure there are many other options for drums other than those found on this page….
Let us know if there’s anything we really should include in this list, but please be aware this is intended as a small list of known and familiar plugins, and not a comprehensive list by any means.