The Best: Free Virtual Drums (ML Drums)
If you need drums but don't have any, or a drummer, the great news is there are dozens of virtual drum options out there. The not so great news? If you're on a budget or just getting started, many of them cost hundreds of dollars.
But there are a few completely FREE options out there.
Today, we are going to talk about one of the best free options, the free version of ML Drums by ML Sound Lab.
But first, if you want to start your own home studio, or you already have one but think it could be better, download Home Studio Starter HERE to get your free in-depth guide that details everything your home studio needs.
What Is It?
ML Drums is a modular drum sampler from ML Sound Lab. Instead of offering a huge, expensive pack of multiple kits, they took a more affordable, modular approach. You get a free base kit and can add paid expansions later if you want more options.
This lets you build the exact kit you want without paying for pieces you'll never use.
The free base kit includes:
Kick T SCWB B91A 22"x16"
Snare T SCWB 14"x5.5" (1 tuning)
Snare T SCWB V1 14"x5.5" Mid
Tom T SCWB 12"x8"
Floor Tom T SCWB 14"x12"
Hihat S AX Stage 14"
Ride S HH Rock 20"
Crash S AX 18"
China S HX 20"
There's also a built in mixer with compression, EQ, reverb, and saturation options to get a solid drum mix without even leaving the plugin.
How Does It Sound?
Every kit piece has been carefully sampled to sound as good as possible, even the free kit. Each piece has been multi-sampled at different velocities, which gives the kit a dynamic, natural feel. There’s also a humanize feature that does a great job making the kit sound real without having to do tons of manual velocity and timing edits.
The built-in mixer gives you everything you need to shape the sound exactly how you want it. But, if you’re more comfortable working in your DAW, you can easily route the drums out to individual tracks and process them that way instead.
Overall, the free kit sounds great and works especially well in modern rock and metal mixes.
Why's It The Best?
If you need great sounding drums but have little to no budget, ML Drums will get you most, if not all the way there.
It's easy to use, sounds great, and its modular design makes it convenient and affordable to add new kits and pieces through expansion packs. You're not forced into buying a drum sampler for hundreds of dollars with 15 drum kits you'll never use.
What's Missing?
If the free kit had another crash on the right side and one more rack tom, this kit would be THE best free virtual drums, not just ONE of the best. However, it’s clear why these were left out. The free kit is just a limited version of the Essentials Kit which includes more cymbals, toms, tunings for the snares, and more mic options for the kick. If you like the free kit, you can get the full Essentials kit for just under $50 (€39,99 EU) which is a great bargain.
It would also be nice to have a MIDI groove player or built-in MIDI performances for those that just need something quick, a starting point, or don't know how to program drum parts. But to be fair, even the "full" version doesn't offer this. If you go back and read Basics: Writing Drums, you won't miss the lack of MIDI performances much.
Final Thoughts
The free ML Drums kit does everything it needs to: it sounds great, it's easy to use, and (most importantly for ML Sound Labs) it makes you want to buy the expansions to unlock its full potential.
This isn't a free kit that was just thrown together. It's a full experience that lets you decide whether ML Drums is the right sound and workflow for you.
It's more like a demo for a video game than a trailer for a movie, and that's a good thing.
ML Drums has become my go-to choice for drums. The modular design lets me mix and match the expansions I want and get the sound that’s in my head.
You can find out more about its expansions and download the free kit HERE.
Have you ever used virtual drums? Leave a comment below with what you've tried and liked!