If you are releasing a new SFX library and you would like it to be included in our recap, send us the details with our SFX Independence Submission Form. Please only notify us of libraries that were released within the last month or substantially updated.
There was a record number of submissions last month with 21 new libraries, and two of them are free! So if you’re looking for sounds of bicycles, vinyl records, quiet mountain soundscapes, African wildlife, chainsaws, race cars, creeks, shotguns, mysterious cupboards, glaciers, German ambiences, metal and wood hits, lawn tools, creeks, forest reverb impulse responses, prairie winds, washing machines, grappling tournaments, terrifying screams, and electronic and mechanical devices, then you’ve come to the right place.
Bicycles by Lilesoundlibrary
Who would have guessed a bicycle could sound like an angry sewing machine? Bicycles by Lilesoundlibrary brings out many interesting sounds from this popular two-wheeled vehicle. With chattering, hissing, crunching, spinning, and tones from all across the body, you might think twice before putting in ear buds before your next ride. The library even includes the bicycle pump, stand, pedals, saddle, horn, and bells, as well as riding ambiences to make this a library ready for implementation or manipulation.
(125 WAV files, 2 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Desolation Soundscapes by Avosound
Desolation Soundscapes by Avosound will chill you to the bone. These recordings feature the bleak soundscapes of the mountain ranges of Tibet, Switzerland and New Zealand, as well as the abandoned fjords of Iceland. These 31 tracks display nature’s “white noise” by focusing on silence, free of tourists, birds, and especially planes, and they can stand on their own or be the padding ambience for your project. With over an hour of 5.1 and stereo sounds, there are plenty of variations to choose from.
(31 WAV files, 24-bit/96kHz)
African Wildlife by Daan Hendriks
African Wildlife captures the wildernesses of Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia with all their interesting forms of wildlife. This library is full to the brim, featuring 45 species of fascinating and sometimes humorous birds as well as every animal you could think of living in southern Africa. It has elephants, baboons, jackals, lions, rhinos, buffalos, hippos, impalas, zebras, bats and hyenas, plus insect recordings and 50 minutes of ambiences. Daan Hendriks even made sure you can find your way around with detailed Soundminer data that indicates locations, species, habitats and behaviors.
(363 WAV files, 6 GB, 24-bit/96kHz and 48kHz)
phono by echo | collective
PHONO by echo | collective celebrates the unlikely reemergence of the record player by capturing the sounds that give this device its distinct and multi-generational appeal. With over a hundred files of crackles, hisses, pops, buzzes and bumps, this library is treasure trove of semiotic expression and “vintage” textures. So whether you are creating a vinyl-inspired UI, designing a literal scene with a record player, or you are looking to add some warm pops and hiss to your music, this is your go-to library.
(108 WAV files, 1 GB, 24-bit/44.1kHz)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 – 2.0 Turbo
BMW E-36 with Toyota Supra 2JZ engine
Mitsubishi Colt 4G63T CyborG (92-95) – 2.0 Turbo by Phonophilist
Serj Phomin from Phonophilist spent a lot of time in the garage last month! He released three new libraries dedicated to race cars with the Mitsubishi Lancer, BMW E-36 and Mitsubishi Colt. Each vehicle was recorded with nine channels: three recorded the engine, four recorded the exhaust, and two recorded the interior. So if you’re looking for sounds of ignition, idling, low and high accelerations, ramps, stops, revolution sweeps and more from three muscly cars with plenty of Turbo to go around, check out these libraries.
Mitsubishi Lancer (45 WAV files, 10.7 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
BMW E-36 (15 WAV files, 3.86 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Mitsubishi Colt (5 WAV files, 1 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
PH – 0026 – WATER, Creek
PH – 0027 – IR, Forest reverb
PH – 0022 – TOOLS, 7 Chainsaws, 3 Mistblowers and Pole Pruner by Phonophilist
Serj Phomin of Phonophilist also spent time outdoors to capture three other new libraries featuring a creek, lawn pruning tools, and forest impulse responses. The creek recordings are what you’d expect for a quick pack of watery ambiences—bubbling streams from many different angles—but the forest reverb is something different all together. These impulse responses add a desolate, enduring reverb to your files, and with 100 IRs, you will receive all the variation you’d need for a realistic outdoor scene. Plus, if you’re looking for a few woodsy sounds effects to add to your segment, Serj also released a library of gas-powered chainsaws, pole pruners and mistblowers. Featuring tools by Husqvarna, Stihl, Kaxifa and Kawashima, these libraries capture these tools’ functions and foley. So for a fleshed out outdoorsy residential soundscape, these three libraries have you covered.
WATER, Creek (12 WAV files, 887 MB, 24-bit/192kHz)
IR, Forest reverb (100 WAV files, 269 MB, 24-bit/192kHz)
TOOLS (11 WAV files, 3.3 GB, 24-bit/192kHz)
Shotguns HD Pro by The Recordist
Shotguns HD Pro not only has the sounds you desire to record yourself, but a video to rub it in, too. Frank ‘The Recordist‘ Bry recorded several shotguns in over a dozen locations for this huge library. There are outdoors recordings from a 400-acre ranch, rock quarry, mountain forest cliff, and more, as well as interior sounds recorded in a barn, metal shop and Frank’s garage. The tails are just spectacular! He also captured live action foley and mechanical sounds to include shells dropping on various surfaces, plus several ‘designed’ shotguns such as The Annihilator, The Decapitator, The Pulverizer and The Buster. How can you say no to that?
(457 WAV files, 5.1 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
World of Secrets Complete by Red libraries
World of Secrets is a massive new library by Frederic Devanlay and Cedric Denooz of Red libraries. This collection is unlike anything else with sounds of mysterious mechanisms from the days of old. Hidden doors, sarcophagi, bookcases, drawers, cabinets and even a cane with a retractable blade are featured in this library. All sounds are masterfully designed and ready to fill your scene whether it takes place in Neo-Victorian London, Hogwarts, or Amestris. Though the Complete version has over 1700 sounds, you can also choose from four smaller “toolboxes” if you are looking for a specific collection.
(1,718 WAV files, 3.47 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Glacier Ice by Mattia Cellotto
Glacier Ice is a fantastic library by Mattia Cellotto. It features ice at its most dramatic, with crackling surface ice, crunchy hollow ice, shattering blocks, collapsing icebergs, and also the form’s less dramatic experience of being dropped into a drink. Recorded in the freedom of the Italian Alps over two winters, this library is as flexible as it is stirring. As he said in his contribution to ‘Pushing the Boundary‘, this library is ready for pitch-shifting and heavy processing.
(300 WAV files, 1.2 GB, 24-bit/192-48kHz)
Electro-Mechanics ToolKit by SoundBits / Saro Sahihi
Just Impacts – Extension II by SoundBits / Saro Sahihi
Like Serj, Saro Sahihi of SoundBits has been very busy the last month. Saro released his collection Electro-Mechanics ToolKit, which features motors, engines, grinders, drills, screwdrivers, buzz saws, sanders, toys, CD-drives, doors and more, all recorded with up to four mics. This diverse collection of electronic and mechanical devices is great for foley, ambiences, UI sounds, vehicles, weapons… a list that basically ending with your creativity. He also released Just Impacts – Extension II which features the manual labor side of the garage. It has metal and wood impacts, crashes, drops, and oil tank hits. Each sound has been edited and cleaned of unwanted noise, and layered, EQed and compressed for an extra punch.
Just Impacts (500 WAV files, 650 MB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Electro-Mechanics ToolKit(700 WAV files, 5.1 GB, 24-bit/192-96kHz)
Collected Ambiences | Series by SoundBits / Saro Sahihi
Mangled Screams (Free) by SoundBits / Saro Sahihi
Saro Sahihi of SoundBits has also been expanding his long-running collection Collected Ambiences, which is now up to five collections. They feature ambiences from public spaces, train stations, forest, cities, bus rides, rain storms and more from around Germany. Most files even loop seamlessly to save you editing time. To top it off, each library you buy gives you a higher a discount. And if discounts aren’t good enough for you, how about a free library? Saro decided to take a few slices from his Mangled Screams & Shouts series of humans and monsters and experiment with them. The library contains 55 sounds of madness that are not only useful and terrifying, but also inspiring in their diverse use of techniques.
Collected Ambiences (165 WAV files, 20.14 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Mangled Screams (55 WAV files, 95 MB, 24-bit/96-48kHz)
A Prairie Wind Companion by Undertone Sound Library
Undertone Sound Library has once again explored their beautiful home state and all its sounds. A Prairie Wind Companion, a name honoring one of the greatest live radio variety shows, features the Grassland Prairies with gusts of wind that freely tear across the fields. The team hunkered down with their double-ORTF Quad and braved the ice-cold Minnesotan spring winds to capture gusts, bursts and breezes as well as a few birds and hawks when the winds died down.
(27 WAV files, 24-bit/96kHz)
Train Station Ambience – Hungary, Debrecen City
Washing Machine by Debsound
József Illyés from Debsound captured his home city Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary, from underground. This library features over an hour of lively ambiences from the waiting halls, underpasses, and on the platforms near the trains. He also recorded announcements on the loud-speaker as well as small crowds and groups heading to their trains. József decided to make a quick pack out of a weekly chore, too, by recording his washing machine and all the foley it emotes. Not only was he able to get interesting tonal drones from the washing cycles, he also captured strange wet clothing sounds that seemed like they should have come out of a swamp. With both these libraries, he shows you don’t always have to go far to record a few libraries!
Train Station Ambience (25 WAV files, 1.8 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Washing Machine (37 WAV files, 534 MB, 24-bit/96kHz)
Grappling Tournament Ambience by Norsonant
Grappling Tournament Ambience is a free promotional sound library by our friend Thomas Alf Holmemo from Norsonant. This library features a range of audience reactions with blankets of crowd noise during the warm ups, and cheers, applause and whistles during three separate fights. You even hear some shouts of encouragement in Norwegian! To receive this library free along with his Wind Turbines library, over 2 GB of content, all you have to do is head over to his site and subscribe to the Norsonant newsletter.
(8 WAV files, 1.4 GB, 24-bit/96kHz)