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Last month, the sound effects creators in our community went out to the streets, the stadiums, and their backyards to capture the life around them. In this recap, you can find urban atmospheres above and below the city from skyscrapers and bridge underpasses, Ambisonic ambiences of Tokyo, the rumble of basketball games and wide-open Texan thunderstorms, shimmering cinematic pads and heart-stopping trailer impacts, diving hummingbirds and raging freight trains, sounds for haunted houses and spooky films, technology from the early 20th century, bubbling volcanic hot springs and dry ice, and crisp lo-fi and rhythmically shredded glitches. With such a huge variety of libraries, one of these is sure to make it on your timeline.
PADS by Umlaut Audio
Umlaut Audio released a new Kontakt instrument that will add subtle shimmer to your project. This synth instrument has over 80 sound timbres and 140 presets to help you achieve the glassy, breathy, hollow textures you’re looking for. It also includes a dark, sleek interface that features layering, convolution reverb, a step sequencer and an intuitive UX mix of symbols and labels. Whether you’re working on an interactive soundscape or a film trailer, ‘PADS’ has the delicate touch you need.
(80 source timbres, free version of Kontakt 5.5 or higher required)
Iron Fist – Trailer Impacts by Sound Response
‘Iron Fist – Trailer Impacts’ brings you modern trailer sounds that will intensify your films. Vedran Kapetinic and his team created over 120 sound effects that are restlessly waiting to incite your audience. These impacts are futuristic and sci-fi in nature, but they can also work for horror, superhero and thriller movies, as well as games, music and advertisements. You even receive three Kontakt instruments to help you find what you need quickly. For sounds that will slice through your mix like butter, check out ‘Iron Fist – Trailer Impacts’.
(129 WAV files, 342 MB, 24bit/96kHz)
Old Rusty Freight Trains and Victor Adding Machine by Kevin Durr
Kevin Durr has been busy producing two new libraries that feature mechanical objects both small and, well, train-sized. First, ‘Victor Adding Machine’ shows off American Prohibition Era technology that was beloved by geeks who preferred accounting departments to speakeasies. This library features over 50 sounds of this 20th century calculator’s buttons, cranks, paper, and printer for authentic sounds that are not easily found unless you’re an avid antique hunter. The recordings are also perfect for UIs and fictional devices.
Also by Kevin Durr is a collection of technology that has yet to go extinct. ‘Rusty Old Freight Trains’ shows off these shipping containers on wheels as they circle the Bay Area from San Jose to San Francisco. You’ll find creaking, clunking, thuds, scrapes and screeches captured only 20 feet away from their bodies corroded by the capricious weather that apparently lures tech entrepreneurs. For sounds of the industries that have been the backbone of the American economy, check out Kevin Durr’s newest collections.
(10 WAV files, 992.9 MB, 96kHz/24bit)
(57 WAV files, 357 MB, 96kHz/24bit)
Diffuse City by Collected Transients
City sound effects libraries are not rare to find, but many do not have the true city feel of ‘Diffuse City’ by Collected Transients. Stosh Tuszynski used his Chicago-trained ears to capture recordings that not only sound like a city, they feel and almost smell like a city, too. His massive 24.2 GB library is organized into the major essences of urban life with perspectives from skyscrapers, alleys, parking lots, industrial areas, under bridges and more, minus the distracting interruptions of nearby cars or crowds. For 12 hours (yes, 12 hours) of ambiences that will need little to no tweaking for your soundscape, check out ‘Diffuse City’.
(116 WAV files, 24.2 GB, 96kHz/24bit)
Halloween 101 by Soundopolis
Halloween might be over, but who says you aren’t in need of a little spookiness and terror? Dave Fienup of Soundopolis exercises his background in horror films to develop a collection that can give “death” to your haunted house or horror game. ‘Halloween 101’ has a variety of classic eerie sounds that can honestly write the scene for you with buzzing chainsaws, chittering black birds that wouldn’t mind snacking on your eyeballs, lonely souls calling from the afterlife, satanic liturgies, and gore-loving zombies. But don’t forget, Halloween is all about fun, too, so there is still an element of entertainment peppered throughout this collection.
(101 WAV files, 505 MB, 48kHz/24bit)
Tokyo Ambisonics by Pro Sound Effects
Pro Sound Effects released ‘Tokyo Ambisonics’ to help you bring characteristics of this metropolitan prefecture to your sound design. This collection features 46 high-quality atmospheres of railways, expressways, industrial areas, parks and more in full-sphere surround sound perfect for VR and 360 audio projects. With the SurroundZone2 software, you can control the “virtual mic” positions to adjust the perspective in real time and point the mics in any direction to match your scene’s setting. The sounds can also be decoded to mono through 7.1, with pre-rendered stereo versions already included. For projects set in the Land of the Rising Sun, check out ‘Tokyo Ambisonics’.
(46 WAV files (B-Format & Stereo), 22 GB, 96kHz/24bit)
Abstract Glitch & Noise by Antisample
Zdravko Djordjevic and Jonathan Ochmann are building up their stock with their new library ‘Abstract Glitch & Noise’. This library has over 210 sounds designed for sci-fi films, games, and dubstep and EDM music with loops, textures, impacts, and UI sounds that crunch and grind. This collection is also available in their ‘Abstract Bundle’, which includes tonal sounds and bowed metal ambiences that will bring “that something you can’t put your finger on” to your project. If you are looking to start your glitch collection, ‘Abstract Glitch & Noise’ is a perfect place to start.
(214 WAV files, 140 MB, 48kHz/24bit)
Water Volumes by Mattia Cellotto
Mattia Cellotto takes everyone’s favorite science experiment and records it for our listening pleasure. In his new library ‘Water Volumes’, Mattia travels to the volcanic hot-springs of the beautiful and jealousy-inducing Portuguese island São Miguel to capture water as it is naturally boiled by the earth. He also goes to a place that is only a vacation to workaholics – the studio – to record water and dry ice, with the dancing sound waves that rise from their gurgles and bursts. For over 300 of these intriguing and intricately captured sounds, check out ‘Water Volumes’.
(300+ WAV files, 3 GB, 192kHz/24bit)
Basketball Game Ultra by Sound Ex Machina
The team at Sound Ex Machina tackled quite the tough sound subject last month: the basketball game. In ‘Basketball Game Ultra’, they make it look easy with their collection of varied crowd reactions, referee whistles, anthems, announcers, pep band music and more from a stadium seating 5,000 people. It also includes clean basketball foley created by professional athletes with perspectives that make you feel like you’re 6′ 7″ tall. Whether you need massive ambiences or the distinct sounds of a pro dominating the court, Sound Ex Machina’s got you covered.
(334 BWAV files, 2.42 GB, 96kHz/24bit)
Twisted Universe by Red libraries
Frederic Devanlay and Cedric Denooz have expanded their collection of textured libraries to include something a little less physical while maintaining their signature handmade quality. ‘Twisted Universe’ is a library full of glitches, whooshes, impacts, zaps, building tension, alarms and more that can bring a complex, other-worldly element to your project. Rather than featuring only noise, this collection has wubbing beats, fuzzy lo-fi tones, and distorted evolving soundscapes created from both synths and raw materials. If you need sounds that will raise the heat of your sound design, check out ‘Twisted Universe’.
(257 WAV files, 2.48 GB, 96kHz/24bit)
High Desert Hummingbirds and High Desert Thunderstorms by Thomas Rex Beverly
Thomas Rex Beverly just released a string of new libraries that show off the sonic beauty of west Texas. He recorded the tiny little songs of a bird species that only a Nazi zombie could hate in ‘High Desert Hummingbirds’. With their ultrasonic chirps, mesmerizing flight abilities and evolution-exhibiting beaks, this library captures their sounds from a mere two inches away. Ironically, if pitch bent, these sounds might sound like your worst nightmare, too.
Also by Thomas Rex Beverly is ‘High Desert Thunderstorms’ which demonstrates through sound just how expansive the American Southwest is. These thunderstorms boom for miles in the sky, like freight trains of the gods, echoing off mountains to warn those living in the valley. The library also has sounds of rain, hail and dry thunder for assets that will help you complete your stormy soundscape. If you need pristine natural sounds from a place where the nearest major airport is almost three hours away, check out Thomas Rex Beverly’s new libraries.
(290 WAV files, 2.15 GB, 192kHz/24bit)
(124 WAV Files, 137 minutes, 9.54 GB, 192kHz/24bit)