Asbjoern Andersen


The team at Designing Sound runs a vitally important resource for insightful, original sound articles, guides and news from and for the sound community. But it’s pretty rare that that we actually get to hear about the work and thoughts the team pours into this unique resource.

So today, I’m really happy to bring you this exclusive interview with the site’s hard-working, cat-loving editor-in-chief Jack Menhorn.

Here, he shares what’s driving the team at Designing Sound, his favorite moments – and how you can help make the community even stronger:

 

Jack Menhorn

Designing Sound editor-in-chief Jack Menhorn

Hi Jack, please give a brief overview of what Designing Sound is all about

“Designing Sound is a resource dedicated to the art and technique of sound design, with the aim of sharing information and knowledge for free.”

We do news, reviews, interviews and in-depth articles about sound design for film, games, TV, and anywhere else creative use of sound can be found. We currently have 11 Contributing & News Editors and we are constantly sourcing articles and posts from members of the film, TV and video game industries which gives us a broad coverage of topics and discussion.
 

How did you get involved with DS, and what’s your role?

I was posting news and articles on Creating Sound for a little while before I was approached by Designing Sound’s founder – Miguel Isaza – about taking over the Editor-in-Chief role on DS.

I humbly accepted and have been trying to keep my head above water ever since. While Miguel was running things, he did everything and did it all very well!

Since my arrival the role has been democratized out so that we are more of a hive mind than a hierarchy.

We all try to contribute as much as we can when we can and some have specialized roles and talents or interests above that. For example: Varun Nair is our Wordpress and webhosting master in addition to being an overall audio programming master. Shaun Farley has done a great job hosting webinars and wrangling interviews with huge names in the film sound industry.

I try to still have the “editor” hat on and keep us all organized and moving, in addition to being the point of contact for emails and questions/suggestions.
 

What’s your vision for DS, and how do you and the team set the direction for the site?

There is no *one* vision for DS. I am 1 of 11 equal and important voices that make up the decision process on Designing Sound.

I would say collectively we are trying to continuously have great articles, interviews and insights into what we all do professionally.

We take pride in helping enrich the audio community as best we can

We try to follow “quality over quantity” and focus in on great topics and discussions, even if they take some time to put together. We aren’t doing this for page views or click-thrus. We take pride in helping enrich the audio community as best we can.

DS has monthly topics which we try to plan out months in advance. That process is just throwing ideas out and see if anyone likes them and if there’s enough meat on the bone for multiple articles.

From there everyone is free to write or find someone to write articles on the subject. Additionally, we aren’t limited to that month’s topic and take/make articles, interviews, reviews as they come.
 

Fact box: The Designing Sound team
Cormac Donnelly, Doron Reizes, Erica Basnicki, Jack Menhorn, John Black, Joshua Kaplan, Marie Tueje, Peter Albrechtsen, Sam Ejnes, Shaun Farley, Varun Nair
 

What’s been your best moment being involved with DS?

Mine personally is a tie:

– Interviewing Capcom Audio Director Tomoya Kishi was a delight. It took a little while to put it all together but I think it was worth it. I am a huge fan of many Japanese games and especially their interesting aesthetics visually and aurally.

I feel a dialogue between East and West sound design communities would be a great benefit to both sides of the ocean. I think – for whatever reason – Japanese sound design is overlooked in the West when it comes to awards or recognition.

I hope I was able to contribute slightly to raising the visibility of some great talent and work.

– Going to GDC 2013 and meeting Designing Sound readers! It was truly amazing to introduce myself and see people get super excited and talk about how much they love Designing Sound!

I live in the middle of nowhere so it’s difficult to get to many meetups and engage the corporeal sound community.

While we have analytics that show us how many readers we have; it’s totally another wonderful and humbling thing to meet people who read and learn from words we posted from a home office while petting a cat.
 

Do you see any emerging trends within the sound design community?

There is definitely more of a positive online presence to our community. Blogs (like the one you’re reading right now), Creating Sound, Designing Sound, in addition to things like Social Sound Design and Tonebenders Podcast, have increased the amount of information and interaction dramatically.

The #gameaudio hashtag on Twitter is another example of the community freely exchanging ideas – while still policing itself from those who would self-promote their new remix album or DJ gig that plagues many-a sound-related forums and Facebook groups.

The indie sound library scene has exploded in the last few years

This free exchange of ideas is empowering and gratifying to be a part of.

Also, the indie sound library scene has also exploded in the last few years and I don’t see that really slowing down.

We might reach a critical mass of the number of sfx producers the industry can sustain – but when people like Frank Bry, Tim Prebble and many others keep putting out such great content, we’ll keep buying it!

This has a side effect of lowering the barrier of entry for aspiring sound designers to pick and choose source sounds they need for a project only when they need them, as opposed to throwing down thousands of dollars up from for a behemoth library.

If these cheaper alternatives hadn’t popped up a few years ago like they did, I might not have been able to break into sound design!


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Seismic Core is a modern sound effects library crafted to give your sound design its defining foundation. Every element in this collection is built for layering. Designed not to dominate, but to enhance, shape, and energize your creations. Whether you’re working on cinematic hits, trailers, motion design, game audio, or abstract sonic branding, Seismic Core delivers the essential low-end weight, transient snap, and textured grit that bring your designs to life.

    These sounds are meticulously processed and polished, yet intentionally left with enough space to sit perfectly under your own layers. They’re bold enough to add instant character, but subtle enough to leave room for further creativity. This makes Seismic Core not just a toolkit, but a true starting point for powerful, flexible, and unique sound design.

    This collection of Building Blocks contains following categories:

    • IMPACT *
    • BREAK *
    • WHOOSH *
    • SUSTAIN *
    • TRANSIENT (high and low)

     

    * Also including HEAVY & SUB variants

    Build with it. Layer on top of it. Drop the anchor. Feel the quake. Design from the core.

    25 %
    OFF
  • The Heart Beat library is a small collection of real heart beat recordings captured using stethoscope. Featuring BPMs from 50 to 120, this library covers a range of emotional states—from calm and resting to tense and elevated.

  • 100+ Toys, 1500+ Designed Sounds – From Childhood Playthings to Cinematic Gold. TOYED has it all.

    Think You Don’t Need a Library of Toys? Think Again.

    This release might just change your mind—and blow your mind at the same time! TOYED is an exclusive sound library from the Founder of SoundMorph, Jason Cushing. With a 25-year career spanning AAA games, anime, cartoons, and film, Jason has designed for Electronic Arts, BioWare, and Epic Games, contributing to titles like the Mass Effect Trilogy, Skate Trilogy, and Unreal Engine’s weapon sound design. His deep expertise in cinematic sound design, UI creation, ambient textures, and weapons makes TOYED a versatile, high-end collection of professionally crafted sounds.
    Jason’s meticulous approach to field recording and sound selection ensures that this library isn’t just about capturing toy sounds—it’s about unlocking rich, unique sonic textures that are ideal for games, film, animation, and futuristic sound design. With contributions from longtime SoundMorph sound designers Andrew Pals, Tibo Csuko, and Vincent Fliniaux (GORE 2, WATER, Robotic Lifeforms 2), TOYED is built to deliver exceptional quality and usability across multiple production styles.

    88 %
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  • Step into a world of spells, mysticism, and creative power with Spells Variations Vol. 2, the follow-up to our acclaimed magical sound collection. This time, we’ve expanded the elemental and thematic range, offering 405 professionally crafted sound effects that are fully categorized and ready to use.
    Inside, you’ll find a wide variety of magical types:
    🔥 Fire
    💧 Water
    🌪️ Air
    🌍 Earth
    Electricity
    ❄️ Ice
    ☠️ Poison, Mud, Rocks
    ✨ As well as Arcane, Dark, Monstrous, and other mystical spell types.

    Each category is organized into individual folders, with multiple variations for every spell, giving you complete flexibility to choose the perfect sound for each moment, All this makes a total of 44 different spells.
    Just like in Volume 1, every sound in this collection was recorded, edited, and mastered at 192 kHz / 24-bit, ensuring top-tier quality and adaptability—perfect for professional sound designers or anyone looking for drag-and-drop magical effects for games, trailers, animations, or any audio-visual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    – Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 405 spell sounds
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 22:26

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800

Latest releases:

  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • With this lemur sound library, you’ll find 18 high-quality audio tracks, each featuring multiple variations. This collection captures the distinctive sounds of these curious animals in great detail.

    Easy to Use Structure
    All recordings are uniformly labeled to integrate smoothly into your workflow, making it easy to select, combine, or replace takes based on your creative needs. This library includes the typical short calls lemurs produce, such as sharp squeals, brief meows, and rhythmic wails.

    Captured at Very Close Range
    The sounds were recorded at very close proximity, allowing for exceptional clarity and detail. As with many of our other libraries, we used high-end recording equipment, including:
    – Sennheiser MKH 8050
    – Sanken CO-100K
    – Zoom F6
    – Zoom H6

    The ultrasonic capabilities of this setup allow for pitch shifting without losing depth or richness, making these sounds ideal for fantasy creature design or realistics purposes.

    Professional Standards & Quality
    Resolution: Recorded at 24-bit / 192 kHz – 96 kHz, and delivered in the same formats, ensuring outstanding detail and dynamic range.
    Editing: All tracks were meticulously cleaned to remove unwanted background noises such as birds, wind, footsteps, or human activity, delivering a clean, professional-grade product.

    Ideal Applications
    Video games: Add realism and depth to the natural environments of your games.
    Cinema and Documentaries: Enrichment of the audiovisual product with authentic sounds.
    Educational Applications: Use these sounds in educational projects to teach about wildlife and animal behavior.
    Multimedia Projects: Ideal for any project that seeks to enrich the user’s listening experience.

    Technical Details
    Total Tracks: 18 (approx. 34 isolated sounds per mic, total of 102 sounds
    Format: 192 kHz – 96 kHz / 24-bit
    Equipment Used: Zoom F6 with Sennheiser MKH 8050 and Sanken CO-100K microphones, plus Zoom H6 for stereo
    Total Duration: 1 minute and 11 seconds

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
  • City Life Sound Effects NSL – 60s TRAINS Play Track 51 sounds included, 100 mins total $15

    This Sound-Pack features a diversity of 51 Punctual Sounds, including Train Pass by, Onboard High Speed Rolling, Raw Metal Railway Sounds, Train Doors, and a lot more !

    40 %
    OFF
  • The Heart Beat library is a small collection of real heart beat recordings captured using stethoscope. Featuring BPMs from 50 to 120, this library covers a range of emotional states—from calm and resting to tense and elevated.

  • Thunder Drums is a sound effects library designed to deliver powerful low-frequency impacts, rumbles, and strikes for cinematic sound design. It features non-traditional percussion instruments, including a thunder tube (spring drum), loose drumheads, and large plexiglass sheets, struck with mallets and drumsticks to produce a wide range of impacts, thunder-like rumbles, deep strikes, and heavy drum hits.

    In addition to raw recordings, the library includes designed elements enhanced with granular processing, distortion, and impulse response reverbs. Perfect for sound design in film, games, and trailers where powerful hits and low-end energy is needed.

    All sounds were captured using a Sennheiser MKH 8050 microphone and Zoom F6 recorder at 32-bit / 192kHz, and are delivered as 24-bit / 192kHz WAV files. The library includes 185 files (512 sounds), is 3.7 GB in size, and is fully UCS-compliant with embedded metadata.

    20 %
    OFF
Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


How can people help and support your work on DS?

Contribute! If you want to support us please contact Shaun or myself if you want to write an article.

Comment on posts or just start a discussion somewhere/anywhere!

Also: Keep reading, commenting and retweeting so more people can learn from and engage with this wonderful and unique sound community we have.
 

What’s next for DS?

We might be in early planning stages of building a robot octopus to attack anyone who uses the Wilhelm Scream.

January is Dialog Month and then February is Animal Recording/Design Month. I am excited about both of these topics and we hope to have a good about of great articles and discussions.

I will also hopefully be at GDC 2014 with some other DS people, so come and find us!
 


A huge thanks to Jack Menhorn for doing this interview – and to him and the whole team at Designing Sound for building and running a fantastic resource for all of us in the creative sound community!

 

Please share this:


 

About Jack Menhorn
Jack Menhorn is a sound designer and occasional composer for video games. He lives in North Carolina and really likes cats. You can check out his website here.
 



 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Seismic Core is a modern sound effects library crafted to give your sound design its defining foundation. Every element in this collection is built for layering. Designed not to dominate, but to enhance, shape, and energize your creations. Whether you’re working on cinematic hits, trailers, motion design, game audio, or abstract sonic branding, Seismic Core delivers the essential low-end weight, transient snap, and textured grit that bring your designs to life.

    These sounds are meticulously processed and polished, yet intentionally left with enough space to sit perfectly under your own layers. They’re bold enough to add instant character, but subtle enough to leave room for further creativity. This makes Seismic Core not just a toolkit, but a true starting point for powerful, flexible, and unique sound design.

    This collection of Building Blocks contains following categories:

    • IMPACT *
    • BREAK *
    • WHOOSH *
    • SUSTAIN *
    • TRANSIENT (high and low)

     

    * Also including HEAVY & SUB variants

    Build with it. Layer on top of it. Drop the anchor. Feel the quake. Design from the core.

    25 %
    OFF
  • Step into a world of spells, mysticism, and creative power with Spells Variations Vol. 2, the follow-up to our acclaimed magical sound collection. This time, we’ve expanded the elemental and thematic range, offering 405 professionally crafted sound effects that are fully categorized and ready to use.
    Inside, you’ll find a wide variety of magical types:
    🔥 Fire
    💧 Water
    🌪️ Air
    🌍 Earth
    Electricity
    ❄️ Ice
    ☠️ Poison, Mud, Rocks
    ✨ As well as Arcane, Dark, Monstrous, and other mystical spell types.

    Each category is organized into individual folders, with multiple variations for every spell, giving you complete flexibility to choose the perfect sound for each moment, All this makes a total of 44 different spells.
    Just like in Volume 1, every sound in this collection was recorded, edited, and mastered at 192 kHz / 24-bit, ensuring top-tier quality and adaptability—perfect for professional sound designers or anyone looking for drag-and-drop magical effects for games, trailers, animations, or any audio-visual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    – Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 405 spell sounds
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 22:26

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
  • Charge up on magical energy with our Spells Variations Vol 1 sound library! We’ve designed this collection to give you a wide range of magical effects, allowing your project to shine with an extraordinary variety of sounds. With 361 fully categorized and carefully named magic sounds, you’ll have everything you need to create an immersive and magical atmosphere.

    Explore categories such as arcane magic, water magic, electric magic, zaps, whooshes, celestial magic, dark magic, summons, and much more. Each effect has been meticulously recorded,edited and distributed at 192 kHz and 24-bit, ensuring exceptional sound quality. Whether you’re a professional sound designer or just looking for magic effects to drag and drop into your projects, you’ll find what you need here.

    Our files have been named to reflect the essence of each magic, making it easy to intuitively find the perfect sounds for your creation.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical elemental sounds [Use them again & again
    Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 361 spell sounds
    – Number of Audio Waves: 361
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Do Sound FX loop yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 12 minutes and 31 seconds

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • With this lemur sound library, you’ll find 18 high-quality audio tracks, each featuring multiple variations. This collection captures the distinctive sounds of these curious animals in great detail.

    Easy to Use Structure
    All recordings are uniformly labeled to integrate smoothly into your workflow, making it easy to select, combine, or replace takes based on your creative needs. This library includes the typical short calls lemurs produce, such as sharp squeals, brief meows, and rhythmic wails.

    Captured at Very Close Range
    The sounds were recorded at very close proximity, allowing for exceptional clarity and detail. As with many of our other libraries, we used high-end recording equipment, including:
    – Sennheiser MKH 8050
    – Sanken CO-100K
    – Zoom F6
    – Zoom H6

    The ultrasonic capabilities of this setup allow for pitch shifting without losing depth or richness, making these sounds ideal for fantasy creature design or realistics purposes.

    Professional Standards & Quality
    Resolution: Recorded at 24-bit / 192 kHz – 96 kHz, and delivered in the same formats, ensuring outstanding detail and dynamic range.
    Editing: All tracks were meticulously cleaned to remove unwanted background noises such as birds, wind, footsteps, or human activity, delivering a clean, professional-grade product.

    Ideal Applications
    Video games: Add realism and depth to the natural environments of your games.
    Cinema and Documentaries: Enrichment of the audiovisual product with authentic sounds.
    Educational Applications: Use these sounds in educational projects to teach about wildlife and animal behavior.
    Multimedia Projects: Ideal for any project that seeks to enrich the user’s listening experience.

    Technical Details
    Total Tracks: 18 (approx. 34 isolated sounds per mic, total of 102 sounds
    Format: 192 kHz – 96 kHz / 24-bit
    Equipment Used: Zoom F6 with Sennheiser MKH 8050 and Sanken CO-100K microphones, plus Zoom H6 for stereo
    Total Duration: 1 minute and 11 seconds

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
  • City Life Sound Effects NSL – 60s TRAINS Play Track 51 sounds included, 100 mins total $15

    This Sound-Pack features a diversity of 51 Punctual Sounds, including Train Pass by, Onboard High Speed Rolling, Raw Metal Railway Sounds, Train Doors, and a lot more !

    40 %
    OFF
  • The Heart Beat library is a small collection of real heart beat recordings captured using stethoscope. Featuring BPMs from 50 to 120, this library covers a range of emotional states—from calm and resting to tense and elevated.

  • Thunder Drums is a sound effects library designed to deliver powerful low-frequency impacts, rumbles, and strikes for cinematic sound design. It features non-traditional percussion instruments, including a thunder tube (spring drum), loose drumheads, and large plexiglass sheets, struck with mallets and drumsticks to produce a wide range of impacts, thunder-like rumbles, deep strikes, and heavy drum hits.

    In addition to raw recordings, the library includes designed elements enhanced with granular processing, distortion, and impulse response reverbs. Perfect for sound design in film, games, and trailers where powerful hits and low-end energy is needed.

    All sounds were captured using a Sennheiser MKH 8050 microphone and Zoom F6 recorder at 32-bit / 192kHz, and are delivered as 24-bit / 192kHz WAV files. The library includes 185 files (512 sounds), is 3.7 GB in size, and is fully UCS-compliant with embedded metadata.

    20 %
    OFF

   

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