/
Follow us

💿 Free Record Scratch Sound Effects

Scratch sound effects — often called record scratches — are the kinetic, pitch-modulated textures created by a DJ manually pushing and pulling a record against a spinning platter while cutting the crossfader — each gesture producing a unique timbral contour shaped by hand speed, pressure, and the harmonic content of the source material beneath the needle. These CC0 scratch samples are free for commercial use, performed on real turntable setups.

Audition any below, or spin and browse the full bucket in the Texturizer.

256 record scratch sounds · Catalog updated July 2026

256 record scratch sound effects · 0.9–17.2 s · 25% one-shots / 75% loops · most common keys: C, Ab, F

How producers use record scratch sound effects

Hip-hop producers drop scratch hooks into choruses as call-and-response elements, treating the scratch as a vocal surrogate that answers a rapper's line — the chirp scratch (a quick forward-back with the fader open only during the forward motion) is the most common because its bright, percussive transient cuts through a dense beat without occupying sustained frequency space. For transition design in DJ mixes, video edits, and podcast intros, a transformer scratch (rapid fader cuts over a sustained tone) signals energy and movement; the standard placement is on the last beat before a drop or scene change, with the scratch's final flick landing exactly on the downbeat of the new section. Film and TV music supervisors use scratch elements to authenticate hip-hop and street-culture scenes — even a brief two-second scratch stab over a beat tells the audience "turntablism is part of this world" more efficiently than dialogue or set design. Electronic producers outside hip-hop sample single scratch gestures as textural one-shots, pitch-shifting a baby scratch down an octave to create a bass growl, or time-stretching a slow drag into an evolving pad with vinyl-surface character baked into every grain.

Vinyl & DJ Scratch SFX

Whether you call it a record scratch, a vinyl scratch, or a disk scratch, the bucket is matched by audio similarity across DJ techniques — spin or browse to find the exact scratch style your track needs.

Related textures

vinyl crackle and dust noisebroadband noise texturestactile surface recordingsstuttered digital artifactsfast movement whoosh effects

Record Scratch Sound Effects — FAQ

What are the main types of DJ scratches?

The core techniques are the baby scratch (simple back-and-forth without the fader), chirp (fader closes at direction changes, producing a sharp "chirp"), transformer (rapid fader cuts over a sustained note creating a stuttered effect), flare (opening the fader with a quick close-open in the middle of the stroke), and crab (multiple rapid fader taps for a buzzing stutter). Each has a distinct rhythmic and timbral profile.

How do I mix scratch samples into a beat without them sounding pasted on?

Match the scratch's source material to the track's tonality — if the original record under the needle shares harmonic content with your beat, the scratch will sit naturally. Apply the same bus reverb and saturation as your other elements. Roll off sub-bass from the scratch to avoid conflicting with kick and 808, and compress it on the same bus as your percussion to glue the timing.

Are these scratch sound effects free for commercial use?

Every scratch sample is CC0-licensed — cleared for commercial music releases, videos, ads, games, podcasts, and any project. No attribution, no sample clearance, and no royalty required.

Can I use scratch SFX if I'm not making hip-hop?

Absolutely. Scratch textures appear in drum & bass (as percussive fills), EDM (as transition effects), pop (as rhythmic accents), and even cinematic scoring (as textural one-shots). The timbral character of vinyl manipulation is genre-neutral — it's how you context it in your arrangement that determines the style.

0:000:00
Free
0st
75
Select a sample to start listening