Free does not actually mean free sometimes.
Re your list of freebies, please do check that they include a EULA with useage rights listed. I still use sounds I recorded back when I was an unemployed musician, pre film school. It is also worth saying, every 'pro' sound designer was also a hobbyist at some point. All of these companies would not exist if 'free' was the only priority. We also gift a small free library at year end and have done so since we launched in 2010, but it is more to thank supporters rather than just a 'free for all'. But you wont hear about it at all (other than this now after its closed) without being on the mail list. It is specifically to encourage research, personal & non-commercial projects. I send out 'early bird' discount codes for every new release, exclusive to the mail list and also eg have just finished a first call for a virtual artist residency, where people can pitch a project & resources that we can help with. I did the same at HISSandaROAR for the first few years, providing a free scaled down copy of each library as they were released, but I now take a more targeted approach rather than scattershot freebies. It is a standard way of building a mail list and I would be more surprised if a company didn't use such techniques. give away free sounds and/or discount codes via subscribing to their mail list. Happy Hunting! (And thanks for some new ideas to expand.Īlmost every sound library company does exactly that i.e. I still go there if I need one or two very specific sounds, but their search engine is falling behind these days. And they offer effects from all the big players as well as their own. & offer outstanding libraries! I don't own a bunch of them, but if I were just starting out I probably would.Ī word about - when they first arrived on the scene they were brilliant, they really shook up the scene. Actually, I am on their mailing lists, Tim offers most of his libraries at a discount when they are released, I've picked up quite a bit of interesting material that way. These days I check out these four sites first. They are not free, or even cheap, but they do have sales from time to time. Their catalog continues to grow, and I suspect there are very few sounds you can not find here. this is where I started collecting SFX almost 30 years ago. I think it interesting that he left his own, excellent, collection off the list. I agree with many (most) of Tim's suggestions. These are what immediatley come to mind, but I'm certain there are many others out there. SampleTraxx: they primarily focus on cinematic FX. Omnisphere: although most people don't necessarily think of synths for sound FX, a varsatile titan like Omnisphere actually offers a lot of useful sound FX among its patches. Krotos: their top end stuff is a little too pricey for me, but they're a company that focuses only on sound FX, with heavy emphasis on vocal-type sounds. Zero-G: they have quite a few sound FX samples spread throughout their various cinematic libraries. to answer your question more directly, here are some sources for sound FX that are priced fairly reasonably: And that's why I rarely pass up an opportunity to get my hands on freebie or low cost sounds.īut I digress. So having a vast array of choices to browse through is crucial. But even if you just use them once in a while, it's important to have a large selection to choose from, because for a sound effect to be effective (no pun intended) it should match the particular situation as closely as possible.
Unless you're regularly doing sound design or foley work, they only come into play occasionally.
Pro sound effects professional#
Super high-end sound designers working on blockbuster films or massive video games will probably want to use premium sou nds, but included in that free list are plenty of high-quality sound FX appropriate for any professional level. YouTuber Alex Knickerbocker works in the film industry and offers these kinds of effects at attractive prices: Quite honestly, the sources you listed on your free thread are more than sufficient for most folks. I see wooshes and similar effects as a special category. I think that one is better off going to a professional site and buying single effects as needed. I'm not a fan of websites that offer free or cheap sound effects.The quality is very uneven, and it's a way to waste a lot of time. In any event, if you're going to make a YouTube video on this subject, including Epidemic Sound and other services that are widely used by YouTubers is probably a good idea. A good example, popular among people who make YouTube videos, is Epidemic Sound: At this point, I would tell someone who wants inexpensive sound effects to check out a subscription to a music service that also offers sound effects. I think that the main market for this is people making videos.