- Eager to expand and diversify your collection of sound libraries?
- We’ll list the nine best free Kontakt libraries for you to audition.
- From synths to drones and the bells of furious bike riders!
- Also, check out our article on 6 Free Reverb VST Plugins (w/ Audio)
About a month ago, Native Instruments’ world-class sampler Kontakt was on sale. Jumping at my chance to finally own it, I was excited to add a fresh bunch of new sample libraries in my arsenal.
This was until I realized it was at least another $400 to get the Komplete sample pack, as Kontakt itself only came loaded with a few libraries. Maybe, like me, you failed to do thorough research before purchasing and wound up feeling disappointed.
Luckily, there are plenty of great sample libraries available for Kontakt that are free.
So, whether you are starting out fresh or expanding your collection, I’ve rounded up 10 of the best free Kontakt libraries to add to your collection.
Note: Many of these free libraries require the paid version of Kontakt to work properly. They only run in the free version for 15 minutes, and some don’t work in the free version at all.
9 Free Sample Libraries for Kontakt (2023)
Here’s my selection of the top 9 free Kontakt libraries available for 2023:
- Klang Series by Cinematique Instruments
- 99 Sounds by Project Exodus
- The Free Orchestra by Project SAM
- Signal by Output
- VSCO 2 by BigCat
- Amore Grand Piano by Precision Sound
- Shreddage 3 Stratus by Impact Soundworks
- Old Tape Drums by Waves Factory
- Lockdown Kitchen by Rattly and Raw
1. Klang Series by Cinematique Instruments
The Klang series offers a bunch of unique instruments for creative sounds. While many cost five euros a pop, there are free options, including field recordings of the bells of furious bike drivers. Say what, now?
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Full KONTAKT 5.x or higher
- Cost: Free
- Top feature: Unique sounds structures
- Best for: Textures and ambient sounds
What I like:
The Klang Series is a collection of free Kontakt instruments, updated each month with a new addition to keep things fresh.
The instruments are particularly great for unique textures, making it easy to recommend it to those seeking high-quality ambient sounds.
Here are some examples of what’s included:
- Paul’s Glass: A collection of field recordings of a 90’s digital piano.
- Sine Beauty: A basic sine wave, plus various quirky variations
- Guitar Harmonics: Realistic harmonic notes on an electric guitar.
- Frozen Pan: Handpan sounds that can be tweaked or combined.
It’s worth noting that each instrument is free only for the first year but costs only few dollars to purchase. Plus, by the end of a year, you’ll know whether you want to continue using it or not.
Overall, the clever and versatile sounds make the Klang Series a nifty addition to your sound collection. Visit the website, audition the sample sets, and I’m (almost) certain you’ll be using them in your future tracks.
P.S. – If you’re on the lookout for realistic handpan sounds (who isn’t?), check out our article on the 5 Best Handpan VST plugins!
2. Project Exodus by 99 Sounds
Designed by Bryan Lake, Project Exodus is a free collection of analog pads, sound effects, and cinematic soundscapes and sequences.
It is available for download on the 99 Sounds website, which also contains a ton of instruments and other free sample libraries to consider.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Kontakt 5 or higher
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Lots of patches and extensive controls
- Best for: Excellent all-around resource for every producer
What I like:
This free Kontakt library is great shout for electronic musicians and sound designers looking to infuse cinematic elements into their tracks.
Some of the soundscapes and sequences can also be a go-to resource for game and film score composers.
To put it concisely, Project Exodus has 127 patches split into 3 categories:
- Atmospheres: Drones, textures, and ambience.
- Instruments: Synth pads, leads, and basses.
- Sequences: Looping, percussive, and melodic lines.
After messing around with it for days, I can assure you it has exceptional sound quality and versatility. I also enjoyed the hands-on control over delay, tube distortion, reverb, filter cutoff, and ADSR envelopes.
For a freebie, that’s a lot of controls to seriously customize patches.
P.S. – Explore more freebies in our roundup of the 9 best free synth VSTs.
3. The Free Orchestra by Project SAM
While there’s no dearth of free orchestral libraries for Kontakt, I chose to recommend this Project SAM’s offering for three reasons: Clean GUI, extensive controls, and it works with the free Kontakt version.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: N/A
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Useable presets and flexible controls
- Best for: Customizable orchestral sounds
What I like:
This free Kontakt library packs 16 cinematic instruments, along with full instrument control and in-depth tutorials on how to use it on the website.
It also comes with 1.5 GB of samples, including acclaimed sounds from Project SAM’s Symphobia series.
Here are few examples of the instruments included:
- Heroic Horns: An eight-piece French horn section for epic sounds.
- Power Strike: A cinematic percussion ensemble.
- Tongue in Cheek: Clarinet, double bass, piano, and wah trumpet.
- Luminous Choir: A combination of 6 altos, 6 tenor, and 6 bass voices.
The Free Orchestra also offers attack/release controls, a lowpass filter, a “boom” knob, reverb and limiter controls, a preset master EQ you can turn on/off, an octaver, and reverser. Phew!
These flexible presets and controls allow you to transcend the confines of a traditional orchestra sound, so I feel this free Kontakt Library will appeal to a broader spectrum of music producers and composers.
P.S. – Discover more options in the 5 Free Orchestral VST Libraries (2023)
4. Signal Free by Output
Best known for their Arcade sampler, Output also offer top-tier virtual instruments like this free pulse-engine synth Signal.
This synthesizer is a remarkable resource for crafting rhythmic, pulsating synth sounds, and it offers flexible control options for sound sculpting.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Kontakt Player 5.3.1 or higher
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Useable presets
- Best for: Pop and EDM producers
What I like:
Signal Free is a cut-down version of Output’s flagship $199 sample library, which contains 50 sound sources, 40 GB of content, and 500 pulse instrument presets. Here’s what you get in the free version:
- 4 sources: Muted guitar, gritty bass, felt piano, detuned polysynth
- Access to two pulse engines and 2 GB of content
- 25 pulse instruments (presets)
You also get access to all the effects, macro controls, and control parameters available in the paid version. You can’t save custom user presets, but you can save them as NKI patches and load them in Kontakt.
All things considered, Signal Free is worth downloading for Pop and EDM tracks or adding cinematic sounds across various musical genres.
5. VSCO 2 by BigCat
BigCat has turned Versilian Studio’s Chamber Orchestra (VSCO) into a free Kontakt library! The VSCO Community Edition is an open-source library of sounds that developers can use to make your own sample library.
What I like:
This VSCO 2 is an excellent resource to create the kind of ensembles you like through Kontakt as it’s recorded using transparent equipment.
The bare minimum room coloration and processing ensure producers have full control over how the instruments sit in their tracks and projects.
Here’s a concise list of what you’re get in free Kontakt library:
- 12 instruments, including rarities like the circular alto horn.
- The ability to create ensembles by combining different instruments
- EQ, ASDR, reverb, and other controls
Moreover, the scripted legato, faux RR, and mod wheel cross-fading controls also give you plenty of flexibility over each instrument’s sound.
This is the library that BigCat is drawing from for their Sketching Chamber Orchestra, made specifically for Kontakt. Take a listen to these demos, I was very impressed by how realistic these samples sounded:
All in all, VSCO 2 could be the best fit for anyone in need of a free orchestral library that’s a more traditional than Project SAM’s offering.
6. Amore Grand Piano BY Precision Sound
Precision Sound’s Amore Grand Piano is a really great-sounding piano that is free to use in Kontakt. That’s pretty much its entire appeal.
While it may not offer the same level of control as other free piano libraries, it a solid bread-and-butter piano VST to consider.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Kontakt Player 3 or higher
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Space and CPU-efficient
- Best for: Grand piano under 200 MB
What I like:
Designed for NI Kontakt, Amore is a Yamaha grand piano sample library. It’s a straightforward sample set, with a 3-page GUI and controls for decay, EQ, IR reverb, delay, and keyboard response.
I found the closed miked stereo sounds to be usable, and it never hurts to add another grand piano to a collection, especially if it is under 200 MB.
Take a listen to these demos to hear the quality for yourself:
If you dig the demo, you can download it from the official website.
Note: This free Kontakt library does not work in the free version of Kontakt. Also, if you are on Mac, the program downloads as a .RAR file (a type of .zip file) that may require external software to unpack.
7. Shreddage 3 Stratus Free
If you are unable to record electric guitar, Shreddage 3 Stratus is a must-have in your Kontakt collection. Despite being free, it is capable of helping you create an pretty natural-sounding guitar performance.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Kontakt Player 3 or higher
- Cost: Free, with the option to donate $5
- Top feature: Intuitive GUI and great sounds.
- Best for: Convincing guitar sounds.
Shreddage 3 Stratus Free does an exceptional job at capturing the nuances of a live electric guitar performance.
With a 3-octave range and up to 24 samples per notes, this free library nails sampled sustain, palm mutes and everything in between. This free Kontakt library also features a few other goodies:
- Console mixer
- Modular FX rack
- TACT 2.0 (Total Articulation Control Technology)
TACT is particularly useful for performance options: vibrato, hammer-on, slide volume, and more. Having this much control, makes it easy to create natural-sounding guitar performance.
While I generally record guitars live, I turn to Shreddage 3 for quick work, and it invariably impresses with its ease of use and realistic sounds.
I believe its one of the most inexpensive way to incorporate electric guitars into your music, and here are the demos to back up that claim:
8. Old Tape Drums by Wavesfactory
Wavesfactory offers a handful of free Kontakt libraries, but the Old Tape Drums library stuck out to me the most.
It is essentially a collection of recordings of a Ludwig Vistalite drum kit – famously played by John Bonham – onto a cassette tape. Grungy stuff!
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Kontakt Player 3 or higher
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Effective and easy to use
- Best for: Lo-fi or grungy drum sounds
What I like:
ICYMI, Ludwig Vistalite drum kits were introduced in the 1970s. They featured acrylic shells instead of traditional wood, and shot to fame based on their distinctive looks, bright sounds, and loud projection.
This Wavesfactory sample set offers cutting Vitalite tones with up to six round robin and six velocity layers per articulation. Furthermore, the GUI has controls to adjust the tuning, noise, color, and speed.
Reminiscent of old cassette players, you’ll also find buttons to stop, play, pause, rewind, and fast forward the sounds. Plus, you can add a bunch of effects like chorus and distortion to add more old school character.
P.S. – If you are into hazy, nostalgic sounds, check out our article covering the
9. Lockdown Kitchen by Rattly & Raw
Lockdown Kitchen came about when Rattly & Raw’s in-house mix engineer, Emre, was bored out of his skull during quarantine.
He channeled his creativity into sampling kitchen utensils and surfaces, transforming the sounds into a quirky, fun, and unique sample library.
Key Highlights:
- Requirements: Paid Kontakt Player
- Cost: Available for Free
- Top feature: Found percussion and quirky bits.
- Best for: Percussion elements with unconventional sound sources.
What I like:
As someone constantly on the lookout for unique percussion sounds, I was particularly intrigued when I discovered this free sample library.
I’ve since used it over a dozen times to augment or add a touch of creative flair to the main drums in productions.
On top of all the cool samples, Lockdown Kitchen allows you to apply a bunch of effects like reverb, compression, and distortion to these samples.
Overall, Lockdown Kitchen is a versatile resource for producers, composes, Kontakt users who compose for films and video games.
P.S. – Rattly & Raw also offer other imaginative and idiosyncratic free instruments, including my two favorites: “The Hipster’s Bongos” and a mobile game that can be played within Kontakt!
Before You Go
If you want more resources to populate your production toolkit, check out these 10 Free Sample Pack Websites/Sources For Electronic Music.
Here are a few more articles music producers may find interesting:
- 7 Best Bass Guitar VSTS (All Budgets, All Styles)
- VST Shootout: 6 Best Free Compressor Plugins (w/ Demos)
