Embrace retro-gaming nostalgia with these free chiptune libraries for KONTAKT

Noizedrumz Volume 2 (NanoLoop)

Where to begin with this wacky creation? The 918 Game Boy samples themselves are neatly delivered as category folders with familiar names such as Noise, Kicks and Hats. Then there are additional folders of processed samples where these handheld sounds have mutated into electronic basslines and effects. It’s in the KONTAKT patches themselves that things get more complicated, with separate patches for drum kits and bass. The amount of customization on offer within these ‘BooTweak’ patches is insane, with 8 preset groups, each containing tuning, LFO, and effects controls. The cryptic way things are set out on the interface won’t be to everyone’s taste, but even novice sound designers will get plenty of joy from flicking through the preset banks and auditioning the sounds. If you have the time to digest the densely-packed 33-page instruction manual, you’ll find it’s full of rewarding tips and tricks to get the most out of the engine. For everyone else, just load the patches and noodle around for authentic lo-fi vibes.

Download Noizedrumz Volume 2 (NanoLoop)

Commodore 64 Synthesizer Sessions Deluxe

For digital musicians of a certain age, the Commodore 64 will have a special place in their hearts. Sounding far more musical than similarly priced systems of the 1980’s, this home computer boasted a remarkably capable sound chip which could produce a wide variety of oscillator shapes. When clever tech heads figured out how to dig deep into the 3-channel chip’s synthesis capabilities and coax out a 4th voice for drums and primitive speech, a classic was born. This collaboration between Rhythmic Robot and Bedroom Producer’s Blog is a suite of Commodore 64 sounds, sampled from 4 different machines and hosting 30 separate patches. With an authentically styled interface, the patches cover many of the signature C64 sounds, including major and minor versions of fast arpeggio chords and an entire drum kit. Despite being aimed squarely at chiptune fans, some of the fat bass patches wouldn’t sound out of place in modern house music. The functions within the interface are impressively comprehensive for a freebie and include filter and amp envelopes, glide mode, stereo placement and vibrato. Drive the filter resonance hard to produce some stunning sweeps.

Download Commodore 64 Synthesizer Sessions Deluxe

Super Audio Boy

Arguably the granddaddy of Kontakt chiptune sampling, developer Impact Soundworks is the brainchild of vintage console enthusiast Andrew Aversa. He loves retro gaming so much that he’s even created a full-blown dungeon crawler video game. So it’s no surprise that he developed the aptly named Super Audio Cart and this freebie spin-off to give a taste of the main attraction. It only contains samples from the Game Boy (whereas the full version has 7 other consoles) but all of the other extensive features are included. Layer up to 4 waveforms and apply myriad FX, envelopes, modulations, and LFOs. The arpeggio section of the interface is a particular highlight and includes over 30 arp presets covering everything from traditional chords and faux-delay sequencers to full melodies. Assigning different waveforms to each step of the sequence can be used to mimic the pulse-width wizardry of the original handheld. It’s easily overlooked, but make sure to install the almost 50 snapshots which have been expertly designed to demonstrate how modern these basic Game Boy waveforms can sound when you layer them and throw a few effects on top.

Download Super Audio Boy

Game Bot Drum Kit

Don’t be fooled by the teeny tiny download size of just 5 MB – this collection of samples punches well above its weight. Culled from a real-life gameboy running some nifty tracker software, the 64 included samples are clean and dry with bags of potential to twist them into your own unique sounds. Three of the included KONTAKT patches are pretty standard, mapping the samples across the keyboard and offering perfunctory dials for reverb, envelope shaping, delay and filtering. The mod wheel is assigned to a bitcrush effect, just in case these lo-fi samples weren’t crunchy enough already! The real fun comes with the 4th “gamebot” patch which pushes the sounds through a semi-random drum machine with a bewildering array of tweakable options. Synced to your host DAW tempo, the sequencer will generate drum patterns and modulations based on the seed values of the various dials. The reverb space can also be randomized to access some very weird ambiences. Thankfully this head-scrambling drum machine comes with a helpful manual which is essential reading if you really want to dig deep.

Download Game Bot Drum Kit