Last Updated on January 1, 2024
Nexus is awesome for making beats. But you knew that already.
With its librarian, arpeggiator, effects, sequencer, and fast workflow, there’s just so much you can do. It’s efficient, and they just keep updating it and adding more features too.
But if you want to unlock the full power of Nexus and achieve more in less time, you’ve got to get your hands on some expansion packs and presets. And there are a ton of them out there.
Which can make Nexus incredibly addicting. Let’s just say it can become an expensive habit very quickly (be forewarned).
Fortunately, there are plenty of free Nexus expansion packs, and in this guide, you’re going to find some of the best free presets available. Let’s get into it.
Contents
Holy Trap Mary Nexus Expansion (193 Presets)
Everybody is getting into those cicada trap beats these days. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a rapper or an EDM producer. If you make music with pop appeal, chances are some of your tracks are going to be trap.
Holy Trap Mary Nexus Expansion (awesome name) comes with 193 trap presets for Nexus 2. Presets include bass, arps, bells, keys, leads, strings, brass and more.
They even threw in a bonus drum kit with 492 drum samples (designed with trap beats in mind). You could probably find use for these for other musical styles though.
We’ve listened to some of these presets, and we could see them working great for gangsta rap and darker, moody genres. That said, you can make whatever you want with the presets. Be creative.
Download: SoundPacks.com
Wrecks Nexus Trap Expansions (131 Presets)
Like I said, trap is huge right now, and some of the best expansions for Nexus currently are trap expansions. So, you’re going to be seeing quite a few of these on this list.
The Wrecks Nexus Trap Expansions comes with pads, plucks, hits, arps, strings, bells, leads, bass, and others.
If you’re a trap producer, you’re going to love this expansion.
Creating a typical (but professional sounding) hip-hop beat is bound to be a cinch with this expansion. Have fun!
Download: SoundPacks.com
The “Trap Kid” Free Nexus XP (97 Presets)
Yes, more trap. You’ve been warned already.
Here we have The “Trap Kid” Free Nexus XP, which comes with 97 presets.
From what we’ve heard, you can make some huge and aggressive sounding hip-hop beats with this expansion.
We’d give this one a go if we were you.
Download: ProducerGrind
CodeineDream XP
We like the creatively named CodeineDream XP.
This expansion comes with some ethereal, trippy sounds, which are perfect for more mysterious, dreamy sounding beats.
Lots of people dig this one, and we think it’s fire too. You can get it on the generic file sharing site, MediaFire.
Download: MediaFire
Nice Keys Nexus Expansion
Okay, so here’s something that isn’t just trap or hip-hop oriented.
Nice Keys Nexus Expansion was made by Los CJ, and it comes with lots of beautiful sounding piano presets that can work for all types of beats.
Piano can work great in so many styles of music, we can’t see why you wouldn’t want to add this expansion to your library.
Just as you would expect, there are some cool sounding keys in this expansion, and there are more sounds than you would even expect, from heavily effected pianos to aggressive sounding presets, there’s plenty to explore.
Download: SoundPacks.com
Young Chop Nexus Presets (9 Presets)
Young Chop Nexus Presets comes with nine presets for hip-hop and trap producers (I know, I know).
Of course, the sounds were inspired by Young Chop.
Presets include plucked bell, piano, brass, choir, pad, string, synth, and others.
If you’re making hip-hop and trap beats, you might not want to rely on this expansion alone, but I think you’ll take a liking to all the presets, as they sound great and are highly usable.
Download: SoundPacks.com
Free “Trap Luv” ReFX Nexus Expansion Pack (24 Presets)
Free “Trap Luv” ReFX Nexus Expansion Pack was created by RayBeatz808. It comes with 24 presets for beat making.
If you hadn’t figured it out already, these presets have been designed with trap in mind.
There are some weird, abrasive, brash, lo-fi sounds in here. But guess what, that can be great for some aggressive rhyme spitting. For certain rappers, it’s going to be highly complementary.
And, for beat makers that love adding some layers to their tracks, this one is sure to be a hit.
Download: ProducerGrind
Free WAVLAND Nexus Preset Bank XP (50 Presets)
Free WAVLAND Nexus Preset Bank XP was created by FrescoDaTrackGod and comes with 50 presets.
This is yet another expansion suited to trap beats. Could be another fun one to cook up some beats with!
Download: ProducerGrind
A1 Sauce Nexus Expansion (50+ Presets)
A1 Sauce Nexus Expansion comes with 50+ presets. We think the name is dope. It was created by C-RAM & YJ.
This pack comes with arps, stabs, leads, brass, and other sounds.
Lots of lo-fi, creepy, exotic, distorted sounds in this pack, which should be good for horror or Halloween rap.
Download: ProducerGrind
C-RAM’s “Straight From Da Trap 3” Free Nexus XP (50+ Presets)
C-RAM’s “Straight From Da Trap 3” Free Nexus XP comes from C-RAM, who’s had a knack for making some killer Nexus presets in the past.
This expansion comes with over 50 sounds for hip-hop, trap, R&B, pop, and more.
This one contains a lot of old-school, simple, dark hip-hop sounds. Could be just what you’ve been looking for.
Download: ProducerGrind
GratuiTous Nexus 2 Expansion Vol 1 (38 Presets)
GratuiTous Nexus 2 Expansion Vol 1 was created by none other than GratuiTous.
This expansion pack comes with 38 presets.
You get plenty of mood-making synth and key sounds, which could be great for a variety of applications.
If you’re looking to expand your keyboard library, you’ve got to check this one out.
Download: GratuiTous
Big Orchestra Nexus Expansion (30 Presets)
Orchestral sounds are extensive and varied, and they can complement so many musical styles. It would be worth having a Nexus expansion for these types of sounds, right?
The Big Orchestra Nexus Expansion comes with 30 custom orchestral patches designed with trap beats in mind, though you can use the sounds in other styles of music too.
Included here are trumpets, brass, bells, flutes, pianos, strings, and many others.
Having listened to these, we tend to agree. These sounds are suited to trap and hip-hop beats. They aren’t the most authentic sounding, but they certainly get the point across, and they do sound good.
Download: SoundPacks.com
Nexus 6 SFX Sample Pack
The Nexus 6 SFX Sample Pack comes with various drum machine, percussion, and pad sounds. For building out your drum sound collection, this one could come in quite handy.
We hear some big, smooth, heavily effected sounds in this expansion pack. Much more atmospheric than we expected. But that’s not a bad thing.
For more drum sounds, give this one a whirl.
Download: SoundPacks.com
Why Use Nexus Expansions?
Music producers, sound engineers, and beat makers sometimes end up spending hours and even days crafting unique, interesting sounds. Which is awesome in its own way.
But what if you could have some or all these presets right at your fingertips, without the need for endless hours of tweaking and experimentation?
Well, that’s certainly one of the value propositions of Nexus expansions. You can get the sounds you know and love without having to go through the same trouble others have gone through to get them.
Personally, I like the idea of working fast. As a home recordist and producer, I like to go from idea to recording and capture the rawness of the emotion as quickly as possible.
Now, not everyone is like that. There are plenty of perfectionists in the music business.
But if you want to be able to release new music consistently, you can’t afford to lose a lot of time because you can’t get time back.
So, if you knew you had some cool sounds right at your fingertips, it would kind of give you the confidence you need to start creating instead of second guessing yourself, right?
And that’s what’s amazing about the times we’re in. There’s so much available for free. You don’t need to spend hours toiling over the perfect sounds. This type of access is unprecedented.
That said, I still encourage everyone to find their own sound.
It’s nice to be able to emulate our heroes. Most everyone starts there.
And it’s okay to start with their sounds, even if it’s just to map out your tracks.
But I think the greatest gratification is going to come from putting your own spin on things. Finding your signature or trademark sound.
Just because something worked for Method Man (to pull an example out of the hat), doesn’t mean it’s going to suit your voice perfectly. What complements your voice might be something else. And finding that “something” could be a longer journey, but it’s a worthwhile and fulfilling one.
So, at the very least, tweak parameters, add your own effects, or find ways of adding layers and dimensions others don’t. That way, you’re putting your own spin on an established formula. And if you keep at it, you can develop your own signature sound.
What’s popular today isn’t going to stay that way forever. So, look for ways to innovate. Otherwise, you’re quickly falling behind.
Where Can I Find More Free Nexus Expansion Packs & Presets?
There are a few sites out there where you can find free Nexus expansion packs.
We think SoundPacks.com and ProducerGrind are some of the better ones out there.
But you can also find independent creators with a bit of Googling.
There’s no shortage of free expansion packs and presets out there, as far as we’re concerned.
Top Free Nexus Presets And Expansion Packs, Final Thoughts
In this guide, we’ve mainly looked at free options. But don’t forget there are also lots of paid expansions.
If you just can’t find what you’re looking for free, we think it could be worth it to spring for the occasional expansion, especially since it benefits other creators.
Just don’t overspend. It’s so easy to do because Nexus expansions are positively addicting.
Now, go and make some killer beats! Enjoy.
