Free Synsonics drum synth samples

SYNSONICS DRUMS
The Synsonics Drum Machine was a quirky little analog drum synth released by Mattel (yep, the toy company) back in 1981. On the surface, it looked like a toy — plastic build, stick-playable pads, battery-powered — but don’t let that fool you. This thing actually packed some legit sound and earned its place in a few pro studio sessions.
It came with four pads and six onboard sounds: two toms (one you could tune), a snare, cymbal, hi-hat (closed), and a kick. All analog. The kick didn’t even have its own pad — you had to trigger it through the built-in sequencer, which was super basic but kind of cool for the time. You could set up patterns using quarter, eighth, or sixteenth notes, and there was even a rudimentary tap tempo feature — one of the first of its kind. No way to sync it to external gear though, and all sequences vanished when you powered it off. Old school.
As far as sound, the toms were probably the highlight. The snare and cymbal were noisy — like, white noise heavy — and the kick was a bit of a letdown: clicky, thin, and lacking low end. Still, for the price back then, it gave a lot of folks their first taste of electronic drums.
And yeah, it was actually used by some big names. Kraftwerk reportedly had one in their arsenal, and the band Saga even worked it into their live shows — there’s a track called “A Brief Case” where Michael Sadler brings a Synsonics on stage in a road case and trades drum licks with Steve Negus on a Simmons kit. Classic moment.
Interestingly, the pads were velocity-sensitive and have held up pretty well over the years. There’s even a DIN jack on the side that looks like MIDI, but it’s not — MIDI didn’t exist yet. It was for a foot controller to handle the kick and hi-hat.
Now here’s the fun part — we actually stumbled across one of these gems ourselves. Soundtrack Loops found a Synsonics collecting dust in a shed in Denver, Colorado. It was super cheap, a total score. We cleaned it up, sampled it, and put together a small drum sample pack using the original sounds. And we’re giving it away for free to anyone who spends $1 or more on our site.
The pack includes:
- 32 Royalty-Free ’80s-Inspired Loops
- 18 Synsonics Drum One-Shots
- Universal .WAV + Apple Looped .AIFF formats
- 48.1kHz / 24-bit Stereo Audio
Perfect for retro vibes, lo-fi beats, synthwave, or just adding some nostalgic texture to your tracks.
https://soundtrackloops.com/shop/free-synsonics-drum-samples/
WHO WE ARE
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Soundtrack Loops represents the combined expertise of two seasoned entrepreneurs and producers, boasting over 30 years of experience in the royalty-free sample industry. Founded by Matthew Yost in 2006 and Jason Donnelly, the founder of Peace Love Productions (established in 2001), this collaboration aims to bring simplicity and proficiency to the digital music landscape.
Matthew and Jason first collaborated in 1998 while holding audio positions at Sonic Foundry Inc. (now Magix). Over the years, they have produced, formatted, created, and marketed hundreds of loop packs for some of the world’s largest loop companies, software DAWs, and well-known apps. Their impressive client list includes Audiokit, Native Instruments, 1010 Music, Muse Group, NAMM, Acoustica Mixcraft, PreSonus, Peace Love Productions, and Antares.
Together, Matthew and Jason embody the essence of the royalty-free loop industry, continually transforming it with their vast experience and innovative approaches.
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