This sound library is a collection of beeps, blips, and buzzers. Designed to provide source for user interface sounds, sci fi projects, hi tech computers/machines, and anywhere that a good set of beeps would be needed. Each beep comes in multiple durations, individually edited and ready to drop into your project. If you need to design your own beep length, many of the sounds come with a long version that you can edit and tailor to your needs.

Featuring 200 sounds recorded, designed, and mastered at 24bit 96K wav.

Delivered as broadcast wav files embedded with descriptive metadata, readable by Soundminer, Basehead, Netmix, Protools, and most other audio applications. Drop this collection into your sound library and start working today.

The sounds were not just recorded for being part of this library originally. These sounds are valuable sources that Chuck have used for years, as he commented to us:

6 years ago, I teamed up with Rob King, who is one of my closest friends. He’s an amazing sound designer, musician, recording engineer, all around audio genius. We decided to record a set of fight/combat/gore sounds that could be used in our own projects. We also had an idea that we might release it as a commercial library. Over the years, we’ve used these sounds on nearly every project we’ve worked on. I know these sounds appeared in God of War 2, Medal of Honor, Quantum of Solace, Dante’s Inferno, Bulletstorm, and Rift. And I know the’ve been used in more than just those project. As I said, we’ve used them on nearly everything we’ve worked on in the last 5-6 years.

We never did get around to releasing the sounds commercially. So, after I released the Servo library last month, I started to think about releasing these sounds as a library. All of the recording was done, much of the editing was even complete. I went back to the material finished up the editing, mastered them, added filenames and metadata, and sorted them into a collection for release. In addition to those recordings done back in 2005, I found some pumpkin gut recordings that I made back in October of last year, they fit well with the rest of the sounds, so I included them.

These sounds were recorded at 24bit 96K using a variety of microphones, I can’t remember specific mics anymore, but it was a pretty elaborate set up of some very high-end gear. I performed all of the Foley and Rob, who is an amazing recordist, handled recording duties. We did the whole thing over a couple days in his studio and it was quite messy! Luckily we covered the floors and walls in plastic, but his live room still smelled like a bad salad for days.

Blood and Guts includes 477 sounds recorded and mastered at 24-Bit/96kHz, WAV (embedded with descriptive metadata). It’s available at $50.

Want to hear?

And there’s more! Chuck also launched a new rewards system on CRFX, which he explains below:

When I was working on my new website a couple weeks ago, I wanted to find a way to reward repeat customers.  The support from the sound community (and especially Designing Sound readers) has been amazing and I wanted to give something back to the customers that purchase libraries time after time.  I have a lot of customers who buy every single library, usually on the day of release, so I really wanted to offer them something.

Launching the new site took so much of my time and attention that I wasn’t able to get a rewards system in place for launch.  But it was something I was still planning and figuring out what the best approach would be.  I received an email from my friend Charles Maynes who suggested that I look into implementing some sort of rewards points system.  It was a great idea and luckily the tech that my site is build on had a rewards module that I was easily able to implement.

This is how it works:

For every $1.00 you spend on a sound library, you get 1 point.  Points can be redeemed for discounts on future sales.

Here is the rewards discount schedule:

125 Points = $5.00
250 Points = $15.00
375 Points = $30.00
500 Points = $50.00

After you earn 125 points, you can apply a $5.00 discount to your next purchase.  But, if you save your points, the rewards get better as you accumulate more.  Everyone who has made a purchase since the new site launched in April has accumulated points.  All future sales will also earn points.

Full details on the program can be read on my site at this link.

Chuck Russom FX has released Gun Handling HD PRO, a new library loaded with 417 sounds from 13 different guns.

Gun Handling is a collection of Gun Mechanism and handling sounds. Featuring sounds from 13 different rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Included are sounds such as: gun cocking, magazine inserts/removes, bullets being loaded, dry firing, and more.

All sounds are newly recorded and mastered at 24bit 192K using a Sennheiser MKH800 high res condenser mic and a AEA R84 Ribbon mic. Both mics were run into Great River mic preamps to help make the sounds phat and huge.

Gun List

• Kimber 1911 .45 ACP Semi Auto Handgun
• Smith & Wesson 686 .357 Magnum Revolver
• Smith & Wesson SW9VE 9mm Semi Auto Handgun
• Walther P38 9mm Semi Auto Handgun
• Walther P99 .40 caliber Semi Auto Handgun
• Mossberg 500 Pump Action Shotgun
• 1897 Coachgun Double Barrel Shotgun
• Ruger 1022 .22 Semi Auto Rifle
• Ruger Mini14 .556 Semi Auto Rifle
• Saiga 7.62x51mm Semi Auto Rifle
• SKS 7.62.39mm Semi Auto Rifle
• Mosin Nagant M44 7.62x54R Bolt Action Rifle
• Marlin .357 Magnum Lever Action Rifle

Gun Handling HD PRO – $49 | 878MB | 417 WAV Files | 24-Bit 96kHz and 192kHz versions | Metadata ready

If you bought the old Handgun Foley Library, send an email to Chuck for a special upgrade price.

Chuck Russom has announced the release of Metal Impacts, a new SFX library loaded with more than 900 sounds.

Metal Impacts could be called a sword library, but no actual swords were used to create it. My goal was to put together a set of sounds that could be used to design swords and other metal weapons. With a creative imagination, you’ll find many other uses for these sounds. I sought out pieces of metal that I felt had great sonic quality when they were struck together.

12 different metal props were used in a variety of ways. There are solid hits with nice metal ring outs, fast muted hits, and some really great metal scrapes. There is also an insane amount of takes and variety in this library. My arms and ears cringe just thinking about the work that went into creating this one!

All sounds were recorded and mastered at 24bit 192K using high resolution Sennheiser Microphones. So they are ready for extreme pitch shifting and processing. Also included are 24bit 96K versions. Metal Impacts is a downloadable collection of wav files embedded with metadata readable by all of the popular sound library apps.

Metal Impacts HD PRO – $39 | 192/96kHz 24-Bit | 974 sounds | 1.4GB | Soundminer and Pro Tools metadata ready.

Below is a little interview I had with Chuck, discussing several things about the library.

Designing Sound: Why did you decide to do this library?

Chuck Russom: I always need metal sounds on the projects I work on. When I started creating libraries, I had planned to do multiple metal libraries. My first library was Metal FX, which contains what I’d call “non-standard” or “odd” metal sounds.  With Metal Impacts, my goal was to build a set of sounds that I could use for swords, axes, and other metal weapons. I am in constant need of great metal weapons sounds.

DS: What kind of props did you use? How did you use them?

CR: I went shopping at Home Depot and went through the place, picking up various pieces of metal, banging them together, and listening to the sounds that each piece would make. It’s amazing I wasn’t thrown out of the place! I’ve recorded sounds like these before, so I had a pretty good idea of the type of metal props that would work for the sounds I was looking to record. For the most part, I used various pieces of steel; flat bar, round bar, and angle bar. I used various thicknesses of each. There were a couple other things that I found in the store that I thought sounded pretty cool such as some steel anchor bolts and some 18 inch flat iron stakes (which were pretty heavy, given their size).

DS: What gear did you use on those sessions? How was the recording process?

CR: This was pretty simple to record actually. Years ago, I did a similar recording session, so I knew what to expect.  I had an idea of what to do and what not to do. I knew how I wanted to perform with each prop. I recorded at 24 bit 192K to my Sound Devices 744. I used my Sennheiser MKH800 mics, which have an extended frequency response to 50 khz, which is really great on stuff like metal.  I also used those mics on my Metal FX library.

The hardest part about the whole process is how physically demanding it is to record and edit this type of material. The recording process is basically holding one 3 foot long piece of steel in each hand and banging them together as hard as I can for as many takes as I can.  Sometimes up to 100 takes. To make it even more difficult, one piece needs to be held loosely (sometimes with just my fingers) so that it will vibrate and ring out.

These pieces of steel get very heavy after a while and I would get very tired. My hands would also hurt from the shock of the impacts. I tried wearing gloves to absorb some of the impact, but the gloves ended up being noisy. I’d have to take constant breaks while recording, if I pushed myself I could get through 2-3 props a day before I was just physically done recording. The editing was just as painful. Ringing metal sounds penetrate deep into your ears and just kill you to listen to for any length of time. On top of that, I’d play the material back at loud volumes, so that I could be sure that I was hearing all the unwanted noises, such as my body movements, stomach growls, breathes, etc. I limited myself to editing 1-2 props a day, with constant breaks throughout the day. The editing process took a very long time.

DS: How do you typically use these metallic sources on your sound design job?

CR: As I mentioned earlier, my primary use for sounds like these are swords and metal weapons. But, I’m sure with some time to play, I can find all sorts of new ways to use this stuff.  Especially once I get into pitching and processing the 192K source.

DS: What’s coming in 2011? Any hint on next releases?

CR: 2011 is going to be a very busy year. I’m hoping to get at least 12 libraries out this year, hopefully more. Right now, I’m in “recording mode”. I start recording for two new libraries this week; a new gun foley library and Metal Impacts 2. The second metal impact library will be totally different from the first. Mostly larger metal sounds. As I was working on this library, I kept getting more and more ideas for Metal Impacts. I quickly realized that I have enough ideas to cover multiple libraries. So, I start Metal Impacts 2 this week, and plan to release it in the Spring.

I’m planning some ambience libraries this year. My December Rain library has been very popular, so I’d like to complement it with other cool ambience/background libraries. I also want to expand my HD FX Series which is my lower cost line that starts at $19. The great thing about doing the lower cost libraries, is it gives me the opportunity to release smaller collections of sounds that are often difficult to scale up to the lager sized libraries. Sometimes I have ideas for something, but can’t figure out how to make it work at a $49 price, maybe I just can’t find enough material, or whatever reason. By focusing some libraries at the lower price point, I can continue to release high-quality sounds, but not have to stress so much about delivering a high quantity of sounds.  I’ve got a lot of ideas and have pretty solid plans for the next 6 months. I’m already starting to plan out the second half of the year  As I said, 2011 is going to be very busy.

What do you get when you have a couple hundred bucks worth of fireworks, a swimming pool, some recording gear, and a free afternoon? You get a pretty unusual library of fireworks sounds. This library features 40 recordings of various fireworks. Fountains of multiple sizes, Piccolo Petes, and Ground Bloom Flowers. The real gems here are the sounds of Ground Bloom Flowers spinning in a swimming pool.

All sounds were recorded and mastered at 24bit 96K. Fireworks is a downloadable collection of wav files embedded with metadata readable by all of the popular sound library apps.

The library includes 40 WAV files recorded and mastered at 96kHz/24-Bit. Price: $19.

Chuck Russom FX

Chuck Russom has announced the release of a limited edition of Rain, a new sound effects library loaded with over 20 minutes of rain recording.

December Rain is a “Limited Edition” mini-sound library. Available until December 31, 2010. This library features over 20 mins of rain recorded at 24bit 96K. Each recording is between :40 and 1:45 long. Includes 12 files, total library size is over 475 MB.

December Rain is a downloadable collection of wav files embedded with metadata readable by all of the popular sound library apps. Get it today, because after December it will be gone…

Rain is available now at Chuck Russom FX. Price: $10

Some days ago, my friend Chuck Russom sent me an amazing library for beta testing and for doing a demo/review in the same day of the release, which is today. So here we go!

The Library

The library is called Dogs, and includes 158 sounds at 192kHz/24-Bit, recorded from 14 different trained dogs. The sounds are really great, include all kind performances and have a pretty good amount of different vocalizations and voices made by different kinds of dogs.

Chuck made a really fantastic work on this library, giving an amazing collection of animal sounds that can be used in a lot of different ways, including -of course- creature sounds. That’s what I’m going to show you today. I took this trailer from “Warhammer: Age of Reckoning” and redo all the sound myself from scratch. The challenge with the library was to made all the Orcs vocalizations using the dogs library only. This is what I got:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Making the Orcs Vocalizations

First of all I started to listening to the dog sounds several times, to make me an idea of how were the performances and types of sounds included. Then I started to analyze each of the Orc’s performances, and stablished the following physical characteristics to build the layering of its voices:

– Tonal element that defines the timbre of the vocalization
– A dry sound to simulate the throat wear. A death metal approach
– A main growl that reflects the fury and size of the creature
– Breathing and saliva elements for the dirty side of the vocalization

So, with those elements I started to build a palette of sounds for each characteristic, and started to group some layers for the orcs. There was a lot of processing and morphing involved, mostly on heavy pitch/time variations and also some modulation of several sources.

Also, since there is no music, I felt the need to be expressive enough with the backgrounds, to recreate the fantasy war chaos. I combined several kinds of backgrounds with different tonal tweaks, EQ changes and channel variations. I tried to have a very “dynamic layering”, so I can control several elements of the ambiences individually, depending on the scene. I also used the dogs library to make some orc sounds in background.

The recordings worked really well. Having the stuff in such awesome quality gives the opportunity to stretch the sounds a lot, and get very cool new sounds from the dogs. I used almost any kind of sounds made by those dogs, from the great barks of  a golden retriever called Auggie, to the weird and incredible sounds of a pug called Lola. If you need high quality recordings of amazingly talented animals, you should pick up this library now.

Finally, if you want to know more about the process of the recording, I recommend you to visit a post I published on Sonic Terrain, containing lots of interesting information given by Chuck.

Chuck Russom has announced the release of “Handgun Foley“, a new sound effects library full of gun mechanism sounds.

Handgun Foley is a collection of gun mechanism sounds.  Included are the sounds of magazine inserts/ejects, slide racking, safety switches, dry firing, and more.

All sounds were recorded and mastered at 24bit 96K.  Handgun Foley is a downloadable collection of wav files embedded with metadata readable by all of the popular sound library apps.

The library is available now on the official website at $25.

Chuck Russom FX

Fireworks is a special “Limited Edition” sound library. A few years back, I record some small fireworks to have for my personal library. These sounds have proved useful over the years when designing sounds like magical effects, energy weapons, explosions, and others in that vein. Though I have just a handful of these sounds to offer, I thought it would be fun to put them out as a low-cost, limited edition “mini library”. Fireworks will only be available until July 31, 2010, and then it will be gone….

Fireworks is available now from Chuck Russom FX and costs $5 (Includes 40 sounds at 96kHz/24-Bit).

The other library is the third official release of Chuck Russom FX, called “Skateboard”:

There really are not a lot of skateboard sounds available in existing libraries. I found this out the hard way last year when I needed some sounds for a skateboard project. Though my needs were simple, I couldn’t find the sounds I needed in the usual libraries. So, I grabbed a mic, recorder, skateboard, and someone to ride, and spent a day recording skateboard sounds. Seeing these sounds in my library, I thought that other people might find them useful, so I decided to offer them up as a new collection.

Skateboard is available now from Chuck Russom FX and costs $20 (Includes 94 sounds at 96kHz/25-Bit).

If you want to know a little more about the making of those two libraries, here is a little Q&A I had with Chuck:

DS: Could you tell us how was the process of recording of each of the libraries?

CR: These were recorded so long ago, I forget! Thinking back, and trying to remember; I did the firework recordings in 2005. I’d purchased a bunch of fireworks the year before, and for some reason it took me a whole year to finally record it. I think I was searching for a good place to do it, which I never found. I finally just decided to light them off in my mom’s backyard, because I got tired of them sitting in my closet. It was a pretty simple 2 mic setup. At some point during the recording, it seemed like lighting the ground bloom flowers and throwing them into my mom’s swimming pool would be a good idea. And it was! The sounds of the fireworks spinning in the water is some of the coolest stuff. I still don’t think my mom knows about it…

The skateboard recordings were more recent, I did those in early 2009. I needed some sounds, my brother had a skateboard, so I called him up and we drove around on a Sunday and found the quietest parking lot we could find. He rode the skateboard and I chased him around holding a boom pole, trying to keep the mic as close to the skateboard as I could. It was pretty simple actually and the sounds worked out well for the project.

DS: What equipment and specific recording techniques did you use on each?

CR: When I did the firework recording, my recorder at the time was a Fostex FR2, for mics I used a Sennheiser 416 and an MKH40. I recorded in dual mono, and kept the mic that sounded the best. I’m not sure anymore which mic was the keeper.

The Fostex was still my main recorder when I did the skateboard stuff (I’m not sure why though, as I had a Sound Devices 744 for a couple years). These were probably some of the last recordings that I used the Fostex as my main machine, shortly after this, I finally moved to using my Sound Devices most of the time. The microphone was a Neumann RSM191, which has pretty much been my main mic for the last few years.

DS: How dangerous was the fireworks recording?

CR: Not dangerous enough! Seriously, it was pretty mild, these were all “safe and sane” fireworks. I was more careful/timid in my recording adventures back in those days. I wished I tried placing the mics closer. If I was I recording fireworks today, I most likely would leave with something damaged :)

DS: When will be the next library available? Any hints?

CR: I have a couple libraries that I’ve been working on. In May, the day after my Rocks library was released, I started recording a bunch of metal impacts. I was planning metal impacts to be library #3. The thing about banging pieces of metal together is you tire out real quick. And editing those sounds is probably the worst thing ever, the ringing in your ears never stops! So I had to slow down on that library. It will get released, but it’s still a while off.

In June I had the chance to go out and work with a dog trainer and record over a dozen dogs. Dogs will be my next library. I hoped that it would have been ready in June, then it slipped to July, now I’m trying to get it done for August. All the recording is done and the editing is probably 60% done. The summer can get really busy when you are working in game audio, so I’ve found myself with less time for my side projects lately.

Chuck Russom has released a new SFX library called Rocks, recorded in the California desert and featuring 388 sounds of cement, bricks, cinderblocks, marble, and rocks of various sizes and performances such as impacts, smashes, drops, and debris.

All sounds were recorded and mastered at 24bit 192K. Also included are 24bit 96K versions. Rocks is a downloadable collection of wav files embedded with metadata readable by all of the popular sound library apps.

You can download a free version of the library, featuring some of the samples with a quality of 16-Bit and 44.1kHz.

Also, this time Chuck has published on his blog a “Making Of” with all the details of the recording sessions, including pics and videos.

Link: Making Of “Rocks”