Are Afro house sample and preset packs worth it?

If you produce Afro house music, you’ll know the importance of sound selection in the production process. Afro house is all about melodic and hypnotic plucks, organic percussion and smooth basslines.

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Finding the right sounds for Afro house can sometimes be tricky, especially if you’re just starting out. When I’m producing, I find it’s really important to have a library of presets and sounds I can turn to quickly to help me stay in the creative zone — and that’s where Afro house sample and preset packs can help.

So are sample packs and preset packs worth it when it comes to Afro house? In this article, I’m going to cover what you need to know, including when and how these packs can help, the downsides, and more.

What Afro house sample and preset packs actually are

Genre-specific sample packs will usually contain a range of royalty-free audio samples that you can drag and drop into your DAW to add to your track. In the case of Afro house, these samples could include drum loops, shaker loops, tonal loops, vocal loops and more.

Preset packs are slightly different as they do not contain standalone samples. Instead, they offer finely-tuned presets for popular virtual synths like Serum and U-He Diva, crafted specifically for the genre. A good preset pack will usually offer a range of different types of presets, such as plucks, pads, bass and more.

Why producers use Afro house packs

Finding samples and presets that fit the specific Afro house genre can be tricky, so having some packs that you can rely on can help speed up your workflow and keep you in the creative groove.

I view sample and preset packs as tools that help me to stay in the creative groove and also offer inspiration when I’m struggling to piece together a part of a track. Whether it’s building the percussion or adding some tonal pads to a track, using sample or preset packs is a crucial part of my workflow when producing Afro house music, including on my track “Beginnings”.

I feel that the key thing is to make sure that the pack you’re using is specific to the genre you’re producing in. Afro house is something of a niche genre, so choosing the right pack can really help to support your production.

Where sample packs can help

For me, sample packs serve two main purposes: to add layers and to inspire.

The sample packs I use most often in my productions are percussion packs. I’m a huge fan of Production Music Live’s excellent sample packs and I’ll often lean on them for shaker loops, claps and other textural percussion as I’m building the drums for a track.

Sample packs featuring melodic elements, which I tend to use less often than drum layers, can also serve as a source of inspiration. For example, you might start off with a tonal loop that acts as a pad throughout your whole track.

I find that genre-specific sample packs work best because they offer sounds that are designed to fit into the style of track you’re working on.

Where preset packs can help

Preset packs, for virtual instruments such as Serum or Diva, are an excellent way to find sounds that are specific to the genre you’re working in. Especially if you’re just starting out, using preset packs can save you lots of time when it comes to learning how to use synths and VSTs while also helping you quickly find sounds close to what you’re looking for.

I use sounds from preset packs as starting points for the sounds I include in my tracks. Usually, I’ll pick a preset that sounds good, and then tweak from there in the synth to make it my own.

One of my favourite sample and preset packs is the Organica 5 pack from Production Music Live. Not only does this pack contain some of my favourite shaker and drum loops, but it also comes with an excellent selection of presets for Diva, which I’ve used as starting points for sounds in my tracks many times.

The downsides of using packs

There are some downsides to using sample and preset packs in my opinion. For example, if you end up relying too heavily on preset packs for your synths and virtual instruments, you may not feel inclined to bother learning how to use that instrument yourself. I always think it’s worth taking the time to study each of your instruments, and presets are better used as a starting point you can build from.

Using sample packs too often without processing the samples and editing them yourself can also end up making your tracks sound too similar or “samey”.

Overall, I prefer to use packs as starting points for inspiration rather than dragging and dropping their contents into my tracks as they are.

When Afro house sample and preset packs are worth it

For me, Afro house sample and preset packs are worth it when they’re actually designed for the genre, come from a reputable source, and are royalty-free. Using the right pack means that you’re not wasting time trying to force generic sounds into your tracks, and you know you can use what you make without any uncertainty around rights.

A great example is Production Music Live’s Afro House Bundle. It’s built specifically for Afro house, includes 2,000+ royalty-free samples, 300+ Serum presets, and also comes with a full Afro House Start to Finish course, so it’s an excellent choice if you use Serum and want both sounds and educational material in one product.

If you want a solid Afro house pack starting point from a trusted source, it’s definitely worth checking out.

When they’re not worth it

Sample and preset packs aren’t worth it if you’re expecting them to do all the work for you. If you’re just dragging in loops, samples or using presets without tweaking them, your tracks can quickly start to sound generic.

I also think that they’re not worth it if the pack itself isn’t really built for Afro house. In that case, you’ll often spend more time trying to force the sounds to fit than you would just finding better source material in the first place.

I always think packs work best as creative tools and starting points — not shortcuts.

Final thoughts

Overall, I think Afro house sample and preset packs are absolutely worth it — as long as they are good quality and you use them in the right way. The best packs can speed up your workflow, keep you inspired and help you find sounds that fit the genre much more quickly.

For me, the key is to treat them as starting points rather than shortcuts. Used well, they can be a really valuable part of the production process.