Since the 1990s, trance music has remained a mainstay in electronic dance music (EDM). And EDM, of course, succeeded in a full-on takeover of the pop charts in preceding years.
Its popularity has gone through peaks and valleys, just as any other genre has, but it is unlikely trance will ever fall off the map completely.
Whether you’re looking to make your first-ever trance beat or you’re an experienced producer looking for inspiring audio material, we’ve got something for you. This guide looks at the best free trance sample packs and loops.
SampleRadar: 293 free trance samples by MusicRadar
If you’re not hip to MusicRadar’s SampleRadar initiative, you’re in for a treat. They have an expansive collection of sample packs covering just about every instrument, style, or genre you can name. My best tip would be to bookmark them so you can go back to the well any time you’re low on supply.
Now, depending on what you’re looking for, SampleRadar may be in scarce supply, but, luckily, you’re looking for trance material, and they’ve got plenty of that.
SampleRadar: 293 free trance samples are as good a place to start as any. This kit was created to furnish you with pro-level, high-quality sounds you can use to create those hypnotic, euphoric dance tracks you’ve been chasing all summer.
The genre has enjoyed some crossover success. Then again, most electronic genres have something in common – drum machines, synthesizers, etc.
The 293 free trance samples pack comes with boundary-breaking basslines, drums, pads, leads, trance piano, and explosions. You’ll find both loops and single hits in the drums folder.
The files come in 24-bit WAV fidelity, which makes them easy to use in any compatible audio editing tool, sampler, or Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Use the samples as you please, but don’t redistribute them or MusicRadar will come knocking at your door (probably not literally though).
The sounds are great, but they seem quite dry to my ears. You’ll probably want to find reverb and delay VST plugins to coat them with.
Download: MusicRadar
SampleRadar: 165 free euphoric trance samples by MusicRadar
As I said, we have more to explore via MusicRadar, and how lucky is that? Second up on our list is SampleRadar: 165 free euphoric trance samples.
I’m not sure what the difference between trance and euphoric trance is (they’re both supposed to be euphoric), but setting aside the naming convention, this pack is free, so why cry over spilled milk?
This 90s rave-oriented selection featuring over 150 samples is largely made up of synth sounds, including arpeggios and polysynths, all adorned with sidechain compression, modulation, reverb, and even delay.
All the files have been slotted into six folders, five of them tempo labeled. The sixth folder comes with chord hits and multi-samples. All samples are available as WAV files to make quick work of importing and using them in your favorite sampler or DAW.
You can use the samples as you see fit. Again, don’t redistribute them though.
Having listened to a few of these, I can say with a degree of certainty that many of the samples are mix-ready out of the box. The rest is up to you – combine, layer, and experiment plenty.
Download: MusicRadar
SampleRadar: 193 free trance basics samples by MusicRadar
Have you got your basics covered? If you just started initiating your search for trance samples, the answer is probably “not yet.”
MusicRadar comes to the rescue again with SampleRadar: 193 free trance basics samples – a mix of loops, beats, hits, rolls, and FX for making killer trance beats.
Trance’s staying power is well-documented and with this sample pack, spanning nearly 200 samples, you’ll get access to the essential project elements you need to get your beats off to a running start.
The 24-bit WAV files have been slotted into five convenient folders – Loops, Beats, DrumHits, Rolls, and FX.
Use the samples as you see fit, just don’t redistribute them.
There are a ton of fun sounds in this toolkit, so grab it now and start experimenting with it to see what you can come up with.
Download: MusicRadar
SampleRadar: 382 free trance essentials samples by MusicRadar
Here’s one more MusicRadar sample kit that’s sure to come in handy for your trance-inducing trance tracks.
SampleRadar: 382 free trance essentials samples are ideal for anyone looking to get into the genre, those looking to expand their toolset, or even experienced pros.
The 24-bit WAV samples have been slotted into six convenient folders – beats, basslines, synth loops, SH-101 loops, TB-303 loops, and trance FX.
As with other MusicRadar collections, I have no doubt you’ll find plenty of usable material in this, the largest of all SampleRadar trance sample packs.
Use them as you please. Just don’t redistribute the samples.
Download: MusicRadar
138bpm Trance Free Sample Pack by HighLife Samples
Ready for more samples? Good! Moving away from MusicRadar and now onto other creators, here’s HighLifeSamples’ 138bpm Trance Free Sample Pack (funny name – kind of makes you think there’s no trance in it!).
This one is a little different. It includes 10 construction kits containing melodies, bass, leads, arps, plucks, and FX. But the more sample packs you find, download, and use, the more you will probably become familiar with the concept of construction kits.
Anyway, 138bpm Trance Free Sample Pack also includes drum loops, MIDI files, and stem files, for maximum customization.
The significance of 138 bpm, by the way, is that almost all trance music has a tempo of 135 to 150 bpm. So, 138 would be right in line with the common tempo.
This kit is no joke. It weighs in at over 3 GB in total, with over 700 WAV files, and that doesn’t include MIDI files or presets!
To download the 138bpm Trance Free Sample Pack, you will need to enter your email and sign up for the HighLife Samples newsletter. Small sacrifice for a cool pack, I say.
Download: HighLife Samples
700 MB Free Samples Loops DJ Music Production Tools by LucidSamples
Whoever said “Trance samples are in short supply” probably didn’t know about 700 MB Free Samples Loops DJ Music Production Tools. To be fair, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say that.
Either way, this toolbox was updated as recently as January 2023 (as of this writing), and it includes plenty of usable material in different forms.
You get access to loops, drums, synths, sound effects, and DJ samples, in WAV, Rex2, MIDI, and Apple Loops formats.
LucidSamples says this package is ideal for most dance, electronic, and urban genres. So, while it’s not specifically for trance music, and you may need to parse through the files to find the ones that will work for you, it’s still worth it – especially if you plan to explore other genres.
The included samples were taken from a vast array of premium LucidSample packs, which is cool to know.
Download: LucidSamples
Free Psytrance Samples by Function Loops
Function Loops either likes to be mysterious or didn’t think it would be worth their time to write up a description for their sample pack. But that’s okay, I’m sure I can find something to say about it.
Why don’t we start here? Function Loops is a great place to go to find sample packs of a different ilk. Their products have been featured on Loopmasters, Loopcloud, Splice, Producer Loops, LANDR, and other popular platforms.
You can find audio material for an array of genres – pop, synthwave, reggaeton, hip-hop, trap, neo-soul, tech house, techno, dubstep, and much more. They also have instructional materials and VST plugins on their website.
As for the Free Psytrance Samples pack, it weighs in at a little over 250 MB. All files have been conveniently slotted into five folders – melodies, kit, FX, drums, and basslines. There are a total of 78 loops, one-shots, and stems in the package.
If you want to add some psychedelia to your trance tracks, you will love this selection. Give it a go.
Download: Function Loops
Trance Vocal Sample Pack Freebie by AudioVat
AudioVat is another website you might want to bookmark, especially if you’re constantly on the lookout for new sounds. You can find packs of various persuasions, including loops and presets for house, tech house, techno, dancehall, EDM, new age progressive, and much more.
Trance Vocal Sample Pack Freebie is relatively small in scale, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need to get your creative juices flowing. The toolkit comes with just over 30 files in the categories of drums, bass, lead, pad, piano, pluck, vocals (dry and wet), and MIDI files.
The included material sounds great and should provide a more than adequate starting point for getting into trance.
Download: AudioVat
Free 420 Techno Pack by Victek Music
On Free Sample Packs, you can find sample packs for a variety of genres. So, it should not come as a surprise that they might have some sample packs suited to trance in their archives.
Free 420 Techno Pack is one such entry. This toolkit should prove effective for techno, EDM, house, hardstyle, hardcore, EBM, and trance.
Just as its name would suggest, you get more than 420 loops, one-shots, MIDI files, and Xfer Records Serum presets for use in your projects – synth loops, bass loops, drum loops, claps, crashes, kicks, risers, and much more.
This pack could end up proving the perfect starting point for an array of electronic music projects. Check it out for yourself.
Download: Free Sample Packs
Free 1GB of Black Octopus Samples by Black Octopus Sound
The people at Black Octopus Sound are some cool cats… or some cool octopuses, as the case might be.
Their website is beyond cool. And they’ve got more than just sample packs, with articles, presets, software, and more. I would suggest keeping an eye on them, especially if you end up liking this – Free 1GB of Black Octopus Samples.
Right off the bat, what is there not to like? With over 500 files measuring in at 1 GB, you’re not about to run out of material you can use for psytrance, trap, cinematic, dubstep, lo-fi, and much more, any time soon.
Inside the pack, you’ll find drum loops, top loops, shaker loops, percussion loops, bass loops, synth loops, synth pads, vocal loops, percussion one-shots, bass one-shots, synth one-shots, vocal one-shots, FX glitch one-shots, foley one-shots, 30 Serum presets, and much more.
To download the Free 1GB of Black Octopus Samples pack, you will need to sign up to receive the Black Octopus Sound newsletter.
Download: Black Octopus Sound
Top Free Trance Sample Packs, Final Thoughts
And there you have it. Thousands of free samples and loops to take advantage of, as well as websites and destinations where you return to find plenty more!
Putting together a new trance track doesn’t need to be difficult. Samples and loops make it easy for anyone to begin the process of experimentation to find their flow.
So, download those packs and get to work. Have fun!