The 10 Best Synthwave and Vaporwave Sample Packs

Since the 80s synths have been a huge part of modern music—but the synth sounds of today are very different from the way synths were used back in the day.

That’s why the synthwave revival has grown in popularity. There’s tons of mainstream music that pays homage to the sounds of the 80s with classic synth sounds.

But finding and using vintage synths to use is prohibitively expensive and difficult to manage.

The synths that were used by Stevie Wonder and in Blade Runner could literally fill an entire room!

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That’s why you might be better off looking for a high-quality sample of a synth sound you’d like to use.

Fortunately, there’s tons of incredible synthwave samples on LANDR Samples!

Here’s ten of our favorite synthwave sample packs.

1. Turbo Drive Vol. 2 – Synthwave

Synthwave can be a lot of things—but one aesthetic synth wave music goes for is the late-night cruiser.

Whether that be cruising in a video game or real life.

The use of pulsing bass synths, chiming melodies and classic 80s synth percussion is a great way to do that.

You’ll find exactly that kind of sound in Turbo Drive—a high octane synthwave sample pack that delivers samples you’ll want to drive your car to, late at night.

Our favorite sample from the pack: AATD2_Synthwave_Melody_Loop_87bpm_KeyFmin_Bass_Solo

2. Spectrum – Vaporwave & Synthwave

Vaporwave and synthwave are twin trends that make use of a ton of synth samples.

This sample pack focuses on the bubbly side of vaporwave and will add some excellent buzzing melody sounds to your synth sample arsenal.

If you want to dive into producing vaporwave music this sample pack is for you.

Our favorite sample from the pack: AASP_Synth_18_keyGmin_105bpm

3. Synthwave Drums

Synthwave drums take inspiration from that classic 80s drum sound.

You know, the kind of drums Phil Collins would have used in In the Air Tonight!

Get all the gated snares, toms, drum machine sounds and octapad style synth drums you need for your next synthwave track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: ESSD_Synthwave_Full_Drum_Loop_80bpm_Hollywood

4. Van Deran Synthwave

Van Deran Synthwave is the brainchild of Swedish producer Immu Laitalainen.

He’s a world-renowned synth wizard who knows how to put together a great synthwave track.

This pack is proof—if you want inspiring melodies and basslines that sound huge, definitely take a look at this pack.

Our favorite sample from the pack: Nineteen Eighty Seven A Bass BPM 100

5. Soviet Era Synthesizers

For this exclusive LANDR only sample pack, we had the pleasure of sampling a handful of extremely rare Soviet-era synths.

Trust me, you won’t find these synths anywhere except for in museums and maybe a few basements somewhere in Russia.

You’ll find samples from the Polivoks dual oscillator synth and a selection of Faemi synthesizer–all of which were manufactured in communist Russia.

If you’re looking for some rare and strange synth sounds you can miss Soviet Era Synthesizers.

Our favorite sample from the pack: LANDR_SESS_Synth_Organ_09_keyAmin_124bpm

6. Dark Synthwave

Shows like Stranger Things and Blade Runner revived interest in classic retro synth sound due in part to their ability to produce dark and brooding textures that still passed as pop music.

Dark Synthwave builds on this trend, employing tons of intense filter sweeps, detuned oscillators and emotional melodies.

Definitely give this sample pack a try if you’re inspired by those darker 80s style soundtracks.

Our favorite sample from the pack: 122 Synthpop – Bass1 Cm

7. Arcade – 80’s Synthwave

Synth based music and video games go hand in hand, it makes sense since some of the earliest synthesizers came out when the earliest video games were released.

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Plenty of music has taken inspiration from the soundtracks of famous video games too!

If you’re looking to write a video game inspired track, Arcade is absolutely the place to go.

You’ll find bit-crushed synth lines, catchy video game melodies and plenty of percussive sound effects for adding a vintage video game vibe to your production.

Our favorite sample from the pack: AAAR_synth_pad_loop_Dm_86Bpm_02

8. Synthwave Bass

Good synth bass tones are key for writing cool electronic music.

If your bass options are running thin, here’s a quick fix to get you on the right track.

Synthwave bass is a sample pack that’s full of bass sounds, loops, arpeggios and more.

They’re plenty of options for finding the next bass sample you need to inspire your synthwave traffic

Our favorite sample from the pack: Synthwave Bass P3 bpm 2 – Em –

9. Midnight Run – Synthwave

Midnight Run is for those late nights driving home on the highway or watching airplanes take off and land as the sun sets.

This synthwave sample pack is full of chill vibes, dancing basslines and inspiring melody lines.

You’ll find that perfect mix of swirling synths and ambient pads to write a gripping synthwave track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: AAMR_Synthwave_Ocean_Pad_Melody_C#min

10. Neon Nightmare – Dark Synthwave

For more dark and brooding pads, scary samples, and spooky synth-infused lead lines—this is definitely a sample pack to check out.

You’ll find moody passages, low-key melody lines and some punchy drums to fill out the demands of a dark synthwave track.

Neon Nightmare is a great starting point for getting your dark synthwave track on lock!

Our favorite sample from the pack: AAMR_Synthwave_Ocean_Pad_Melody_C#min

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Alex Lavoie works as a staff writer at LANDR by day and writes indie post-punk tunes in his band UTILS while moonlighting as drummer for folk-rock outfit The Painters.

@Alex Lavoie