5 great new sound libraries of walla from African-American voice actors, ’40s-’00s cameras, cassette tape recorders, outdoor crowds, and bubbling pier waves

Analogue Ordnance is a massive construction kit for science fiction weapon sounds, made entirely with hardware synthesizers, mastered entirely in the analogue domain, and with more variations per sound than any library of its kind. Absolutely no software plug-ins of any kind were used in its creation, except for its collection of ready-to-use designed sounds to show what can be done with the library’s constituent parts.

Masterminded by sound designer Nathan Moody, this library’s unique sonic language delivers about five hours of material, pushed hard through op amps, transistors, tubes, and transformers. Boutique and unique, customized synthesizer modules were used in conjunction with mastering-grade studio hardware to create sounds that range from retro and cute to modern and devastating.

Sounds are organized into mechanical, thump, body, tail, and charge-up groups for truly modular weapon construction. Each group has six to eight “banks” of related sounds, many with intensity (light, heavy) and duration (short, medium, and long) options. Nearly all sounds include 16 variations. In addition to the construction kit elements, some fully-designed weapon sounds are provided (using only the sounds from the construction kit), designed by Nathan Moody, Chase Steele, Axel Steichen, and Sergio Ronchetti. 

But the flexibility doesn’t stop there. Reversing the sounds suddenly turns charge-ups into body elements, and vice versa. Each group has some frequency overlap with the others, so they can be mixed interchangeably outside of their labeled or intended uses with filtering and time/pitch manipulation. While the sounds are designed to be layered with themselves, this library plays very well with others, providing thousands of sweeteners to “tech up” any near-future gun or projectile-based firearm, magical attacks, superhuman abilities, or even user interface elements.

Add some hardware to your warfare. From concealable stun pistols to orbital artillery, Analogue Ordnance provides a fresh injection of new source material for your sci-fi weapon designs.