For some reason one of the most searched terms in the music industry is "Is It Cheating to Use Drum Samples?"
Short answer: no.
Long answer: absolutely not—and anyone telling you otherwise is stuck in the past.
I make indie rock music. A genre that prides itself on being authentic, raw, and DIY. And here’s the truth: I never use live drum kits in my music. Still, my songs have racked up over 20 million streams on Spotify alone.
So if using drum samples is “cheating,” it’s a pretty effective kind.
The Real Problem With Drum Samples (And How to Fix It)
Most people who think drum samples sound fake are reacting to one-shot drum kits.
The human ear is incredibly good at detecting repetition. When the exact same snare hit or kick is triggered over and over again, your brain clocks it immediately. It starts to feel stiff, robotic, and tired—because it is.
That’s not a samples problem.
That’s a bad sampling problem.
Multisampled Drums = Human Feel
If you want drums that feel human, the answer isn’t “record everything live.”
The answer is multisampled drum kits.
Multisampled drums include:
Multiple velocity layers
Slightly different hits of the same drum
Random rotation between samples
This creates natural variation—just like a real drummer. The groove breathes. The hits feel alive. And the listener never gets fatigued hearing the same sound repeated.
You still get all the benefits of samples:
Faster workflow
Easier editing
Lower cost
Cleaner mixes
…but with none of the lifeless, robotic feel.
Why I Built Tuesday Samples Drum Packs
This exact problem is why I built:
These aren’t generic one-shot packs. They’re drums I actually use and trust in my own releases—built to sound human, gritty, and musical without needing a live drum room.
Because let’s be honest:
Most people don’t have space for a drum kit
Most people can’t afford studio drummers
Most people don’t want to spend days mic’ing, tuning, and editing
Samples aren’t cheating.
They’re practical.
Final Verdict: Is It Cheating to Use Drum Samples?
No.
If your music feels good, connects with people, and sounds alive—that’s what matters. Listeners don’t care how the drums were made. They care how the song feels.
Use the tools that help you finish music.
Use samples that sound human.
And stop letting outdated gatekeeping slow you down.
That’s exactly what Tuesday Samples exists for.