New SFX Libraries: October Recap

If you have a release coming up and you would like it to be included in our recap, send us the details through our SFX Independence Submission form at https://designingsound.org/contact-2/sfx-independence-submission/.

 

I know what you’re thinking. SFX libraries released in October will contain a lot of howls, screams, muahahahaaas… you know, that old chestnut. While these sounds have their place, October brought us a diverse palette of sound effects, ranging from falling rocks and debris to quiet Athenian and Parisian corners to the roaring engines of tanks and classic cars – one of which will assure you that where you’re going, you won’t need roads. Of course, if you are looking to horrify, a positively gut-wrenching library that was recently released should satisfy your sadistic needs.

To learn about the new audible candy that is available for your projects, read on…

Rocks Momentum by Mattia Cellotto
You’re hiking in your favorite alps and oh crap! the ground beneath you gives away. Besides the piercing screams, what does that experience sound like? Rocks Momentum can help you out with a multitude of stones, rocks and bricks that use gravity at its finest to crush whatever’s below. This library contains the satisfying crunches and crashes of rocks, tile, cement and bushes as they meet their demise and the rumble of landslides that nearly take you along as they splash into the glacial lake below.
(1100 assets, 1.8 GB, 24bit/96kHz)

Falling Objects by Sonic Salute
Perhaps the debris you’re looking for is more of the domestic sort. Falling Objects includes close-ups of falling books, rolling bottles, scattered tin cans, tossed computer keyboards, and pretty much any other item you’d find in a common home crime scene. The library also includes debris flung in a large echoey hall with reverb long enough to assure you that in that dark vast room, you aren’t alone.
(89 stereo tracks containing over 1000 individual sounds)

Gore and Slaughter by TONSTURM
Lovers of sea and woodland creatures beware; this library and its making-of video are not for the faint of heart or vegan (though no animals were killed for this library’s production and the meat and shellfish were made into soups – and jerky, I hope). Gore and Slaughter will put the right amount of squeamishness into any horror project, causing players and audience members to grab their legs upon the crunch of a snapped tibia or cringe at the bubbling breaths escaping from beneath the slaughter. This library even turned my stomach, and I love gopchang!
(557 files, 9.8 GB, 24bit/192kHz)

Scratch – Multi-surface Fingernail Scratches by 3Maze
Just like the Gore and Slaughter library, Scratch is also not for the faint of heart, though for a different reason. Scratch tears into just about every surface you could want – wood, metal, ceramic, canvas – with piercing, wince-inducing pitches that could make for some interesting time and pitch-bend results. Those looking for shrill, teeth-grinding squeals can save their fingernails and audio engineer’s ears with this library.
(77 WAV files, 95.5 MB, 24bit/96kHz)

Lost Transmissions by SoundMorph/Jason Cushing
“Great, I finally track down the merc ship I’ve been hunting, and the last jump not only threw off my FSO tracking, but some jerk bogarted my communication channel. Well, as the Mid-Anthropocene French used to say, c’est la vie. Guess I’ll sit here in the static and wait for the others to track my last location.” If scenes like this tend to pop up in your projects, Lost Transmissions could be a wise purchase. With over 350 sounds of electromagnetic and radio communications gone wrong, this library prides itself in its utility.
(350+ sounds, 4.3 GB, includes Squelch for Kontakt, 24bit/96kHz)

3Dimensional Printing by Unidentified Sound Object
You may have seen a 3D printer, but you may not have heard one this closely. I admit I am a chump for the tangible sounds of hardware, but the audible personality of a 3D printer is interesting in that it contains many familiar textures while still seeming completely foreign. 3Dimensional Printing captures these patterns in the print cycle with five different transducers and brings out the character of each sequence with a stereo soundscape. It almost makes you feel like the printer might be trying to tell you a secret.
(95 WAV files, 5.73 GB, 24bit/96kHz)

Letterpress by SHAPINGWAVES
3D printing may be the technology of fascination today, but you can’t deny the satisfaction in a design freshly pressed on parchment paper. Letterpress features the recordings of two vintage presses, the motorized “Original Heidelberger Tiegel” from 1969 and the pedal-driven “Boston Pedal Tiegel” from 1901. With three different microphones and various angles and speeds of the printing process, this assortment of mechanical characteristics are ready to enhance your retro-futuristic experience.
(15 recordings, 2.6 GB zip, 24bit/192kHz)

Athens Rooftop by SHAPINGWAVES
Athens Rooftop is a collection of ambiences captured at different times throughout the day from a Athenian concrete rooftop. Containing over two hours of ambience recorded with Neumann microphones and Sound Devices recorders, this library features distant restaurant-goers, nearby church bells, day construction, rumbling traffic and remote dogs, making this library a perfect candidate for the outer city ambience in your film.
(9 long takes – 8-19 min each, 3.7 GB zip, 24bit/96kHz)

1960 Cadillac DeVille by 3Maze
1960 Cadillac DeVille contains an assortment of roars from this 6.4 L beast… even if it may stall the first time. While some cars purr like kittens, the V8 engine on this vehicle growls like a 900 lb liger as it idles, reverses and drives by. The library also includes various interior sounds, ambiences and road types, making this library a flexible option for those wanting a vehicle with oomph.
(65 WAV files, 1.26 GB, 24bit/96kHz)

(1981) DeLorean by Secret Source
Going forward (or backward) in time, we meet the (1981) DeLorean from Secret Source. This library was appropriately released on 21 October to remind us all why the DeLorean is so cool. The library contains recordings of the vehicle tearing down the street and several takes of its somewhat hilarious horn. Also captured in this library is the cabin audio in 5.1 surround and driving stunts that perform ideal tire squeals.
(239 WAV files, 13.5 GB, 24bit/96kHz)

T-34-85 Russian World War II Tank by Pole Position Production
If the Cadillac is a purring liger, then this Soviet tank has the purr of a sharp-eyed mother gorilla. T-34-85 Russian World War II Tank contains 16 onboard channels that capture the interior, engine, exhaust and intake of the T-34 tank, and 14 exterior channels to record the startups, idles, shutdowns and changing speeds as it charges by. The end result is a massive library consisting of 362 files for a grand size of 46.3 GB.
(362 WAV files, 46.3 GB, 24bit/96kHz)

Music Concrète FX by Sonic Mechanics
Music that is heavily influenced by sound effects is surely in demand today. From orchestrating a post-apocalyptic journey to scoring a grungy gathering in a community basement, Music Concrète FX will start you off with a collection of loops that bleed with attitude. Though the targeted genres are electronic – House, Techno, Trance, Dubstep – the acoustic textures of these tracks will pop through your mix in a way that emits tangible personality and avoids the flat “wall” of synthesis.
(241 loops and 59 one-shots, 720 MB, 24bit/44.1kHz)

Sync 3 – Intelligent Polyrhythms by Audiomodern
Following the same trend of acoustically ambiguous loops, the Sync 3 loop-based sampler for Kontakt delivers glitchy textures and grooves that pop and tear through whatever musical base they complement. The loops are joined by 28 construction kits, 10 reverb types and a slick GUI that emulates the look of Sync 2 but with a modern flat aesthetic.
(250+ loops, 28 construction kits, 10 reverb types, 1.19 GB, 24bit/48kHz. Available in Kontakt, WAV, AIFF & REX formats)

Everyday life in Paris by Red Libraries
Courting a location through its ambiences is, I believe, one of the most enjoyable experiences of field recording. The personality of a space can be found in its interesting air paths and reverberating corners, the collective movements, reactions and communication of passing people and critters, and the various machinery and equipment humming in the area, from electric doors and streetlights to passing cars and trains. Each space contains its own rules, history and evolution, but how you capture it is up to you. Everyday life in Paris captures its subject beautifully.
(118 WAV files, 14.7 GB, 24bit/96kHz)