12 alternatives to Splice (10 free)
12 alternatives to Splice, picked out of 3 saved Instagram reels and 1 liked tweet, from creators like @dotmvsic, @benkaluza, @avstorm. 10 of them are free, freemium or open source.
Freesound is a long-running community platform hosting hundreds of thousands of Creative Commons-licensed audio samples, field recordings, and foley effects. It provides creators with a searchable, open library of sound design assets with waveform previews and clear licensing terms. It serves as a go-to alternative to commercial sample libraries for unconventional textures, ambience, and raw audio.
Citizen DJ is an experimental browser-based audio tool created by Brian Foo for the Library of Congress Innovator in Residence Program. It lets music producers navigate thousands of historical sound recordings, speech clips, and public-domain videos using an interactive visual sampler. Users can audition slices against drum patterns directly in the browser and download sample packs for their own digital audio workstations.
This technique involves browsing the $1 discount bins at thrift shops and used record stores to find sample material. It helps producers source obscure textures, spoken-word dialogue, and vintage instrumentation that are absent from digital platforms like Splice. Digging through neglected physical media yields analog warmth and sounds not picked up by modern streaming algorithms.
An archival collection hosted on the Internet Archive featuring digitized CD-ROMs and audio sample discs from the 1990s and 2000s. It provides music producers access to classic sample packs, Akai formats, and hardware synth soundbanks that defined early hip-hop and electronic music. Files can be directly downloaded in ISO, WAV, or original disk image formats for use in modern digital audio workstations.
Lost World Radio (The Nightly) is an online radio stream and archive featuring obscure vintage vinyl recordings from around the world. It provides continuous broadcasts of rare exotica, forgotten soundtracks, and international world music, making it a distinctive digging resource for music producers looking beyond standard sample libraries.
The NASA Image and Video Library consolidates historical and modern space media from across NASA missions into a single searchable repository. It provides access to public domain photographs, mission video footage, and audio clips like radio chatter and rocket launches. It is especially useful for creators, sound designers, and music producers hunting for unique sample material.
Riveo is a mobile video editing app for iOS built with a suite of creative effects, motion graphics, and filtering tools. It is particularly noted among designers for thoughtful UI details, such as an interactive frosted-glass onboarding sequence.
This technique involves recording your own instruments, vocals, or environmental sounds instead of relying on third-party sample packs. By processing your own recordings with pitch shifting, tape emulation, and audio effects, you can simulate vintage crate-dug samples. It ensures complete royalty ownership and prevents sample clearance headaches.
Tracklib is a digital music crate-digging platform that hosts over 100,000 original master recordings alongside royalty-free sound packs. Instead of lengthy label negotiations, it offers standardized, pre-cleared legal licensing so producers can clear samples quickly for commercial releases.
A curated YouTube channel archiving obscure international disco, funk, synth-pop, and psych music from the 1970s through the 1990s. Uploads cover rare releases from regions like East Asia, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, France, and the Middle East. It is widely used by music producers and DJs for crate-digging, finding melodic chops, and sample inspiration beyond mainstream sample packs.
Vinyl Frontier Extra is a YouTube channel dedicated to curating rare vinyl loops and library music for music producers. It organizes obscure finds into focused playlists by genre, region, and style, such as Japanese vinyl, Latin music, and Bruton library tracks. It serves as an alternative sample digging resource outside mainstream platforms like Splice.
ILLUGEN is an AI-powered sound generator by Waves Audio available both on the web and as a plugin inside DAWs. It produces original one-shots, musical loops, and sound effects based on descriptive natural language prompts. Generated audio can be dragged directly into digital audio workstations, reducing the need to search through traditional sample libraries.