Rastafarians, potheads, and general chill music lovers all unite in a love of Reggae. Personally, I am a huge fan of Bob Marley and I can listen to “Is This Love” on repeat all day. There is a certain vibe and bounce that is characteristic of Reggae whether it is a slow song or something upbeat. If you want to touch base with some classic Reggae sounds this is the place for you. I tried to steer away from the newer Reggaeton and Dancehall (which we will look at soon). So what you will find in the majority of these Reggae sample packs is raw original Reggae vibes from the drums and little percussion pieces to the horns and organs.
What To Look For When Choosing a Reggae Sample
The usual time signature you will find in Reggae is either 2/4 or 4/4. Throw an accent on the second beat and you’re jammin. But the instruments you want to find for a Reggae sample pack can be pretty specific. You can usually hear an instrument and mentally picture it in a Reggae song. Reggae draws its sounds from guitars, organs, drums, unique percussion instruments, and bass. The low instruments are going to sound low. Bass sits low in the mix right next to the kick. You will not find many kicks in Reggae that has a present attack to them. You will see what I mean when you start going through the packs.
Pricing
You usually have 2 options when it comes to sample packs. You can either purchase the entire pack or you can purchase individual samples. If you have a subscription on websites such as Splice, you work off of a point system based on which subscription you have. This makes it easy to diversify and increase your sample library every month.
Frequency of Use
You want to think about how often you will use these samples. Do you work in this genre often? Luckily samples are versatile in what styles they can be used in. A Reggae sample could be thrown into a hip hop track, a beat for a rapper, or any genre because it adds a certain rhythmic feel.
Skill Level
The bar you have to meet to be able to use a sample pack is luckily low. As long as you know how to keep track of your sample library, import them into a session, and make any changes in the session itself to match temp you will be set.
6 Best Reggae Samples
These packs are not listed in any specific order and each has its own perks compared to the others.
1. Lofi Dub Reggae feat. Ranking Joe – Splice
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
Working with Ranking Joe, Splice built a Reggae sample pack that was true to the souls of Reggae while adding new flavors and tones to the mix. This package contains instruments and samples that will work in different styles of not only Reggae but hip hop, and as the title says, Lofi. This pack hits more in the chill vibes of Reggae but can be vamped into being upbeat and full of power.
- Price: Available with Splice Subscription
- What’s in this pack? 244 Loops and 139 One Shots including
- 30+ Vocals
- 127 Drums
- 33 Melodic Stacks
- 21 Brass and Woodwinds
- 21 Acoustics
2. Dread: Roots Reggae – Big Fish Audio
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
This pack in particular is focused on Reggae percussion and drums. There are plenty of horns, guitars, and piano tracks as well. But what this whole package excels in is the drum sounds as you can hear in the demos.
- Price: $99.95
- What’s in this pack? A Wide Variety of Instruments including
- Guitar
- Horns
- Timbales
- Conga
- Cowbell
3. Ragga Wizard – Singomakers
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
This is one of the best options specifically if you are looking for more keyboard, synth, and clavinet driven Reggae. There are also a lot of vocal passes that almost all come with versions with effects and dry. It’s great if you are wanting to use your own reverbs and delays so you do not have to worry about the reverb already on the track clashing with your sounds.
- Price: Available with Loopcloud Subscription
- What’s in this pack? 325 Loops and 110 One Shots including
- 60 Jamaican Melody Loops
- 20 Kicks
- 123 MIDI Loops
- 43 Ragga Bass Loops
- 80 Vocal Loops
4. Irievibrations- Modern Roots Reggae – Loopmasters
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
Modern Roots Reggae lives up to its name. The samples that come in this pack are a perfect mix of new and old methods when it comes to the sounds. Every tool here is ready to get the vibes started.
- Price: Available with Loopcloud Subscription
- What’s in this pack? 521 One Shots and 196 Loops including
- 420 Drums
- 153 Keyboards
- 82 sirens
- 92 Synths
- 100 Drum Fills
5. Mad Professor- Reel to Reel Reggae Vol 2 – Loopmasters
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
If mood and horns are what you’re looking for, look no further. Mad Professor cut no corners building this pack with some of the best Reggae tones you will find whether it be in the percussion section or the vocals. Get ready for the bounce in your tracks to come.
- Price: Available with Loopcloud Subscription
- What’s in this pack? 268 loops and 335 Single Hits including
- 232 Wind and Brass
- 394 Drums
- 66 Vocals
- 162 Guitars
6. Dub Riddims – Equinox Sounds
Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
With Dub Riddims you will be bobbing your head in no time to the beat. You have a long list of loops and one-shots to fill in every spot of your song. Equinox Sounds is all about delivering the best quality as well as creative sounds.
- Price: Available with Splice Subscription
- What’s in this pack? 260 Samples including
- 50 Drums
- 30 Keys
- 10 Bass
- 10 Guitars
- 10 Organs
Get a Groove
Reggae is all about connection with the music and your soul. If your music doesn’t even move yourself, you cannot expect it to vibe with others. Make the music you want to touch others’ hearts and souls with as well as your own. Gain your fortune from the love you spread and the connection you have with others. Like Bob Marley said, “Possession make you rich? My richness is life forever.”
If you like to work with Reggae samples and are wanting to learn about other genres and instruments, we have a plethora of articles that look at many different genres and styles of samples here.
Jarrett is a hardcore Lover-Jazz Lover-Rock Lover-Blues Lover-just a music lover. He has the hair to match — Jarrett and provides in-depth insight into all things guitar and music engineering.