Books about sound Asbjoern Andersen


Looking for some great books on sound? Swiss sound designer and recordist Julien Matthey has compiled this useful overview of his absolute favorite books on sound - and we've spiced it up with lots of additional recommended reads & resources too.

If you've got any suggestions for must-read books on sound as well, please be sure to leave your recommendations in the comments section!


Written by Julien Matthey
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Working in the sound industry requires advanced knowledge – and even if you’re going to school for cinema or sound, it’s always useful to keep yourself updated during your career about new techniques, gear, and plug-ins. Knowing tips and tricks from the pros is also a plus. Everything evolves very quickly and even if your knowledge is already vast, it is necessary to keep advancing. Sometimes you’ll discover another technique that you never imagined and that could save time or save your life in tough recording situations. The Internet is full of sites, forums and videos on the subject but sometimes nothing beats a good book.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of books about sound, sound design and recording techniques that can help advance your craft and broaden the scope of your possibilities, to bring you fresh ideas and the necessary theory to apply later in the studio or in the field.
 

Featured books:

Quick navigation – click below to jump straight to your chosen book:

The Sound Effects BibleThe Location Sound BibleLocation Audio SimplifiedRoll SoundProducing great sound for Film and videoAudio Postproduction for film and videoThe Foley Grail – The art of performing sound for film, games and animationField Recording From Research to Wrap • Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in CinemaAaron Marks’ complete guide to game audioThe Sounds of Star Wars

More great reads:

100 Unusual, Novel and Surprising Ways to be a Better Sound Designer in Video GamesThe Game Audio Strategy GuideTales of a Technical Sound DesignerNew Realities in Audio: A Practical Guide for VR, AR, MR and 360 VideoPractical Art of Motion Picture SoundWomen in AudioLeading with SoundMaster Handbook of AcousticsFilm Sound: Theory and PracticeSound-On-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film SoundDialogue Editing for Motion Pictures: A Guide to the Invisible ArtMixing Audio, Second Edition: Concepts, Practices and ToolsAudio-Vision Pro Tools 10 for Game AudioAudio-VisionDesigning Sound for AnimationHearing the Movies: Music and Sound in Film HistoryStudying SoundPrinciples of Game Audio and Sound Design

Online reads and resources:

The Free Sound Success GuideDesigning A Movie For SoundWhy Is Sound Important?David Filskov’s Guide To Sound Effects40+ Sound Success Resources

 
 

The Sound Effects Bible

By Ric Viers

Written by Ric Viers, creator of Blastwave FX Sound Libraries, and a well-known figure in the field who regularly gives lectures at Full Sail University in Florida, USA.

Aside from a very brief intro on sound theory (useful but not very thorough), this book offers many examples explaining how to record and create your own sound effects; it also has many anecdotes (often with a lot of humor) on the sounds he’s made. Because indeed, recording sound effects in the field brings its share of unforeseen and sometimes funny situations. The author also draws up a list of essential materials you’ll need to be well-equipped for field recording or building a Foley stage or home studio. A big plus is that he proposes a range of configurations for small budgets to large investments

This book is more for people who want to become sound designers than people already working in the industry.

Get the book here


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The Location Sound Bible

By Ric Viers

From the same author as the book cited above, The Location Sound Bible addresses the field of sound recording (including dialogue) on filming. Having trained myself in the field, I learned a lot from this reading.

Ric Viers discusses many essential pieces of equipment for film sound recording and for all budgets. It includes a presentation of various recorders, microphones, suspensions for microphones, poles, and wireless systems, as well as essential accessories to facilitate smooth recording sessions. But more importantly, the author includes photos and diagrams that illustrate how to place your pickups (boom or other mics) to get the best quality sound. Many amusing anecdotes also punctuate his remarks. It’s an essential book for any neophyte or even experienced sound recordist and boom operator. At the end of each chapter, Viers proposes some exercises to try out, to help you become familiar with the techniques mentioned.

Get the book here


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Location Audio Simplified

By Dean Miles

Location Audio Simplified is one of the most complete books about film sound recording. Here, there’s no great enumeration of material as in the book above. The author, Dean Miles, tells us more about the techniques he has developed during his 30-year career. In this book, he explains how to hold a pole, how to place (and / or hide) lavalier mics but also — something pretty rare in other books— step-by-step how to configure a recorder or an audio connection with different types of cameras (from larger to DSLR). While others gloss over this info (however essential in the trade), this one dedicates a good part of the book to it. Another important thing and also rare or inexistent in the other books is how to behave as a soundman on a set or during interviews — when to be heard and when to influence a decision, especially when looking for a location.

And to complement the many photos and illustrations in the book, the author offers pay-for streaming video lessons. Throughout the book, he refers to videos corresponding to the topics covered. That’s a great strength because nothing is more telling than a video (with audio) to illustrate the examples.




A great book to read (accompanied by videos) for novices who want to learn a lot about being a professional sound person.

Get the book here


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Roll Sound

By John Fielden

Despite a slightly dated design, Roll Sound is nonetheless an interesting book. Author John Fielden has recorded hundreds of projects and gives us his experience and anecdotes throughout the book.

This book supplies many photos and diagrams (in color, fortunately) that correctly illustrate the author’s comments. However, there are several obsolete passages devoted to tape recorders and DAT. Although we can understand that they were part of the long career of John Fielden, they are practically not used today. This section can be skipped for most users.

The big plus of this book is that the author lists numerous configurations for capturing sound for typical sporting events, sorted by sport categories (football, baseball, basketball, etc.) and for various ceremonies, talk shows, concerts or films. This is the only book of its kind (that I know of) where we find this info and in so much detail. For those interested, it perfectly complements the other books dealing with sound recording and will help you during the preparation of large-scale recordings, which you may have never experienced before.

One last feature that differentiates it from the others is its very complete appendix containing various documents necessary for taking notes during a shoot or the complex connections of sound recording during events.

Get the book here


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Producing great sound for film and video: Expert tips from preproduction to final mix

By Jay Rose

Another book on sound recording, but this one covers the diverse and varied experiences of film sound recording. Although some techniques are well established in the field, it is always interesting to know the methods used by other people.

After a theoretical part on the physics of sound (always useful info to know, even for the most experienced of us), Jay Rose discusses the various techniques of sound recording (how to place microphones, handle a boom, etc.) as well as the necessary equipment for any sound recordist, and it finishes with advanced post-production techniques. This book will delight aficionados of sound who are eager to control the whole audio process.

Get the book here


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


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  • Rock / Stone Sound Effects Rocks Momentum Play Track 1100+ sounds included $37

    The Rocks Momentum sound effects library gets you more than 1100 sounds of rocks, bricks, wood logs, stones, impacting on different surfaces, rolling, being scraped one against the other and so on. The library was recorded in the Italian alps, and in Inverness, Scotland. Defective construction materials were used for the recording of bricks, roofing tiles, cement blocks etc.

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    This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.
  • Another electromechanical-focused library from SkewSound! Our reel2reel Sound Library features a professional tape machine from the 1980s. We captured all the sounds this little (well, actually quite large and heavy) piece of gear could create.

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  • The ROCKS Library is a collection of more than 700 designed rock and stone sound effects, ready to use.
    From single stone impacts to large heavy collapsing rocks, avalanches, rockslides sounds, rolling and falling stones, debris sounds….

    Originally recorded at 192 kHz with two Sennheiser MKH8040, a Sanken CO-100K and a Sound devices Mixpre 6. Delivered at 96Khz.

    Each sound file has been carefully named and tagged for easy search in Soundminer and is Universal Category System (UCS) compliant.

    (see the full track list below).

  • This sound library was carefully recorded, processed and crafted to offer a unique toolset for your ice-cold freezing design needs.

    Great for fantasy genre with ice based magic, enchantment and supernatural elements, shining motion graphics, time lapse and flow motion freeze sequences.

    Bonus Aztec death whistle recordings processed by glass and icy textures.

    This Sound Library is a part of the Slava Pogorelsky – Complete Bundle.

    WHAT SOUND PROFESSIONALS SAY:

    Victor Mercader – AAA Sound Designer (Apex Legends)
    “I find myself continuously using Slava’s SFX libraries to blend it’s pristine and detailed sound designs into my own sounds. They always add that cutting edge I am missing and make my sound designs more unique and pristine.”

    Enos Desjardins – Sound Designer/Sound Effects Editor (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Black Mirror)
    “Slava has been creating some really cool libraries which I find myself using time and again. Really high quality recordings to start with but then the cool processing he has used for example in his cinematic whoosh libraries really stand out. They are not just your standard generic whoosh sounds but are loaded with character and have a unique feel to them that is really fresh and cuts through in the nicest of ways.”

    Bjørn Jacobsen – AAA Sound Designer (CyberPunk 2077, HITMAN, DARQ)
    “Slava has for several years made high quality sound effects for me to play with. I use his sound libraries across multiple projects as lego blocks of my creations.”

    Ginno Legaspi – SoundBytes Music Magazine‎
    “As far as the sound goes ‘Cinematic Magical Ice’ is both beautiful and mystical. I happen to like the icy textures that are oozing with coldness. Overall, this sound library boasts a good variety of effect samples ready to drop in various cinematic projects.”

    Yarron Katz – AAA Composer and Sound Designer
    “Slava makes some wonderful libraries. He’s relatively new on the scene and his libraries have come to critical acclaim. He takes some general ideas, like whooshes and he injects some extremely revolutionary and innovative ideas to them, so you’re not getting another whoosh library – you’re getting something very unique, very fresh. He brings some wonderful ideas to the table.”


Latest releases:

  • Motorcycle Sound Effects Scooters Play Track 197+ sounds included, 164 mins total $99

    SCOOTERS features various sound effects recorded from 7 different scooters, ranging from general scooters to a scooter with a modified exhaust. An old two-stroke scooter with high-pitched brake squealing sounds is also included, along with on-board riding sounds (including revving and speeding), pass-bys, idling, approaching, pull-away, engine cranking, and varied mechanism sounds. SCOOTERS sound library helps you create different types of scenes with scooter riding.

    The recorded scooters include:

    ・KYMCO VJR 110
    ・YAMAHA BW’S 125
    ・YAMAHA BW’S R 125
    ・YAMAHA FORCE 155
    ・YAMAHA Super Four (with a modified exhaust)
    ・YAMAHA VINO 50 (Two-stroke scooter)
    ・YAMAHA VINO 50 FI

    This library includes total 197 files, consisting of 170 mono files and 27 stereo files recorded in ORTF at 96 kHz. Approx. 2 hour and 44 minutes total.

    Certainly, this library was carefully tagged with rich Soundminer metadata, including marks in the recordings highlighting interesting sounds.

    All the recordings were recorded, edited and mastered with love and care.

  • City Life Sound Effects Quiet Streets 3d Play Track 100 sounds included, 580 mins total From: $135 From: $78

    Quiet Streets 3D is the latest chapter in Articulated’s Quiet Streets series, offering a meticulously crafted collection of quiet urban ambiences. Designed with both creativity and precision in mind, this library captures the essence of urban stillness through the advanced Schoeps 3D ORTF recording technique, resulting in multi-dimensional soundscapes that reveal both horizontal and vertical spatial details.

    This library features 100 files delivered at 96kHz/24-bit. With a total size of 74.8 GB and over 9 hours and 40 minutes of carefully curated ambiences, Quiet Streets 3D is a comprehensive resource for creating immersive urban soundscapes.

    A Global Journey Through Quietude

     

    The recordings span cities across three continents, capturing the unique characteristics of urban environments in Paris, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Bangkok, Naples, Kuala Lumpur, Montreal, Regensburg, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Strasbourg, Singapore, and more. Each location offers its own subtle yet distinct textures, from the hushed buzz of a late-night street in Bangkok to the subdued murmurs of a Parisian alley at dawn.

    A Commitment to Quality

     
    Over two years, our team travelled to these cities to document quiet moments in urban life. Recordings were made at various times of day and across seasons, capturing the interplay of natural and environmental sounds. The ambiences feature layers of biophony (birdsong, rustling leaves), geophony (wind, distant rain), and faint traces of anthropophony (passing footsteps, distant traffic). Care was taken to minimize intrusive noises, ensuring that these recordings integrate seamlessly into projects that require clarity for dialogue or sound effects. Note: at times some distinctive authentic events were kept in order to give the choice for the editor to use them in their projects. These are tagged as marker on the spectrogram.

    A Versatile Tool for Storytelling

     
    The library’s 8-channel 3D ORTF format provides an intricate sense of space, making it ideal for surround sound configurations in film, video games, and immersive media. For those working in stereo, we’ve included a high-quality downmixed version of every file, offering flexibility without compromising quality.

    Recorded with the acclaimed Schoeps 3d ORTF system, it has a total of 8 discreet channels, 4 on the lower plane arranged in 2 pair of ORTF similar to a IRT-Cross, and doubled with a higher plane of 4 more microphones. The channel layout of the sound recorded and delivered is as this: L R Ls Rs hL hR hLs hRs (whereas h stand for high). Learn more about this configuration here: https://schoeps.de/en/products/surround-3d/ortf-3d/ortf-3d-outdoor-set.html

    Every file is embedded with UCS-compliant metadata, allowing for intuitive searching and streamlined integration into your workflow. The metadata includes detailed descriptors, location names, and environmental characteristics, making it easy to find the perfect ambience for any scene.

    A Timeless Collection for Any Project

     
    Whether you need the intimate quiet of a European alley or the expansive stillness of an Asian metropolis, Quiet Streets 3D provides a rich palette of urban soundscapes. This library is not just a collection of audio files—it’s a carefully curated journey through the subtleties of urban life, designed to enhance the emotional depth and spatial realism of your projects.

    With Quiet Streets 3D, you’re investing in a resource that will remain relevant across countless future projects.

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  • 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.

  • Electricity Sound Effects Massive Thunder Play Track 616 sounds included, 217 mins total $29.99

    MASSIVE THUNDER – 616 files of Thunder sound effects, at varying distances and intensities. From low and slow rolling distant rumbles to violently fast and bombastic direct cracking impacts. Massive Thunder comes in at over 3 hours and 37 minutes of short and long scenes of thunder and lightning for every occasion. Recorded during several storm seasons and dozens of independent thunderstorms, with indoors and outdoors perspectives. Massive Thunder’s filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.

    Don’t need a Massive amount of Thunder and Lightning sound effects? We offer ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

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  • Car Sound Effects Jaguar XJ 2010 full size car Play Track 46 sounds included, 60 mins total $65

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

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


 
 

Audio Postproduction for film and video

By Jay Rose

Here’s another book by the same author as the previous one. In this one, Jay Rose explains how to construct a good soundtrack, from the reading of the script in pre-production to recording the voices and sound effects, to applying various audio treatments (effects, equalization, or noise reduction) to each track in post-production. He also discusses how to equip a studio, both in terms of equipment and acoustic treatment. Unlike the previous title, this book focuses much more deeply on post-production.

This book — with its rather advanced theory — is reserved for readers who already have a good knowledge of the subject.

Get the book here


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The Foley Grail – The art of performing sound for film, games and animation

By Vanessa Theme Ament

Although we don’t often realize it, a good part of what we hear in many movies, series, and video games was created in the studio. During post-production, the Foley artists add layers of sound effects that weren’t captured during filming, since the main focus on-set is to record the actors’ dialogue.

This book — after a very detailed history of this technique invented by Jack Foley — explains the unfolding of the whole audio process and the different teams which participate, but concentrates especially on the subject of Foley artists. It’s a must-have for anyone interested in adding an extra layer of sound to their audiovisual productions via sound effects.

Get the book here


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Field Recording From Research to Wrap

By Paul Virostek

Paul Virostek — creator Airborne Sound — is a field recordist specializing in sound effects; he’s created more than 25,000 sound effects already used in movies such as Batman Begins, Million Dollar Baby or Ali. Far from other books explaining how to get a good sound recording on a shoot, this one really specialized in the technique of field recording. The author draws on his 20-year career experience of capturing the best possible sound in the field, with all the problems and adventures that it can generate.

How to find the right place? What is the most opportune moment for recording? How to handle objects to record? How to avoid any noise pollution on the recordings (wind, people, etc.)? How to make a discreet recording without arousing the attention of people around? How to create sound based on the use of the sound effects? While most books talk about the materials to use, this one really focuses on the methodology and organization that these recordings require.

Therefore, this book is extremely complementary to the others at it is without photos or images. If you are already very advanced in the field, there is a good chance that you will learn only a few things, but once again, it is always interesting to discover the techniques of others.

Get the book here


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Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

By David Sonnenschein

This book covers the subject of sound design. The author begins with a great theoretical part on the physics of sound and its effect on the brain, which sets it apart from other books mentioned in this article. Rather than explaining how to use a particular machine or plugin effect, he explains the methodology to apply when developing soundtracks and has many anecdotes about well-known box office movies (Star Wars, The Matrix , and Saving Private Ryan to name a few). More than the sound design, it is really the synergy between the sound and the image narrated in this book that makes it interesting. David Sonnenschein also had the excellent idea to suggest various exercises to apply to better understand each chapter.

This book is dedicated to advanced readers who already have a good knowledge on the subject.

Get the book here


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Aaron Marks’ complete guide to game audio for composers, sound designers, musicians and game developers

By Aaron Marks

Aaron Marks is a well-known sound designer and composer in video games. Through this book, he explains all you need to know to embark on sound creation for the very particular field of video games. Although he does not specifically explain how to create sound effects or music, he details how to integrate them into this environment, and how to ensure the sound is perfect (including mixing tips). He also talks a lot about how to negotiate contracts as a composer. Another unique topic he devotes an entire chapter to are the various techniques of recording voices for games.

Within each of his chapters, there are many extremely interesting interviews with other sound designers and composers. We discover the materials they use, and also their little tips and tricks to create perfect sounds — and what not to do.

Get the book here


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The Sounds of Star Wars

By J.W. Rinzler

The Sounds of Star Wars is a must-have for any Star Wars sound designers fan! In this imposing-sized book (it will not be chosen as a bedside book), Ben Burtt, the sound designer of the world’s best-known sci-fi franchise, explains the secrets of creating more than 250 sound effects from the movie — each one more amazing than the next. To better remember these sounds, there’s a small audio player included in the book that allows you to play each of the sounds mentioned; they are numbered and visible in the photos that illustrate the book.
The only drawback of this book is that the sound quality of the small audio player leaves a lot to be desired, which is really a shame for a book that talks about sound. But this is a small detail compared to the immense pleasure of discovering the elements that served as the basis for the most famous sound effects in the world. Fans of Star Wars should go for it; you will not regret it!

Get the book here


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A big thanks to Julien Matthey for giving us an overview of some of the great audio resources out there!

Julien Matthey
About Julien Matthey:

Passionate about sound in all its forms, Julien Matthey draws on his studies as a sound engineer and over 15 years of experience to offer a modern and professional vision of sound creation. Sound Designer, sound recordist or voice-over, he’s versatile, placing him among the most renowned sound specialists in Switzerland. Learn more about him here.

 

Bonus addition from A Sound Effect – more great reads:

 
 
100 Unusual, Novel and Surprising Ways to be a Better Sound Designer in Video Games – by Rob Bridgett (get the book here)
 
The Game Audio Strategy Guide– by Gina Zdanowicz & Spencer Bambrick (get the book here)
 
Tales of a Technical Sound Designer – by Damian Kastbauer (get the book here)
 
New Realities in Audio: A Practical Guide for VR, AR, MR and 360 Video – by Stephan Schütze (get the book here)
 
Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound – by David Lewis Yewdall (get the book here)
 
Women In Audio – by Leslie Gaston-Bird (get the book here)
 
Leading with Sound – by Rob Bridgett (get the book here)

 

Recommended by others:

 
Master Handbook of Acoustics – by F. Alton Everest (recommended by Randy Coppinger – get the book here)
 
Film Sound: Theory and Practice – by Elisabeth Weis (recommended by Mark Kilborn – get the book here)
 
Sound-On-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound – by Vincent Anthony LoBrutto (recommended by Mark Kilborn – get the book here)
 
Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures: A Guide to the Invisible Art – by John Purcell (recommended by Ryan Cota – get the book here)
 
Mixing Audio, Second Edition: Concepts, Practices and Tools – by Roey Izhaki (recommended by Vedran Kapetinic – get the book here)
 
Audio-vision – by Michel Chion (recommended by Derrick Espino – get the book here)
 
Pro Tools 10 for Game Audio – by Greg deBeer (recommended by Ruben Antonio Infante – get the book here)
 
Designing Sound for Animation – by Robin Beauchamp (recommended by Aakash Kulkarni – get the book here)
 
Studying Sound: A Theory and Practice of Sound Design – by Karen Collins (recommended by Dave Raybould – get the book here)
 
Hearing the Movies: Music and Sound in Film History – by James Buhler, David Neumeyer, & Rob Deemer (recommended by Javier Quesada – get the book here)
 
Principles of Game Audio and Sound Design – by Jean-Luc Sinclair (recommended by Dave Raybould – get the book here)

Great online reads:

 
Designing A Movie For Sound – by Randy Thom (read it here)
 
Why is Sound Important? – by Randy Thom (read it here)
 
David Filskov’s Guide To Sound Effects (read it here)


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Get the free Sound Success Guide:

Sound Success GuideGet the massively-popular – and entirely free – Sound Success Guide, a 60+ page guide featuring insights from 20 industry experts on how to get started and succeed in 18 different types of audio jobs.

Click to download (.zip)

Click to download(.PDF)


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Power Lists - essential audio resources and insights:

• The Sound Design Power List

• The Game Audio Power List

• The Film Sound Power List

 
  Succeed in sound:

• How to Set (and Get) the Right Price for Your Audio Work

• 10 Essential Tips for Game Audio Freelancers

• How to be a successful sound designer – with Scott Gershin

• How To Actually Live as an Audio Freelancer – by Melissa Pons

• How to set your sonic creativity free & overcome creative inhibitions – by Mark Kilborn

• 5 Useful Tips for Upcoming Sound Designers and Sound Editors

• Sound Opinions: How to get game audio pricing right

• Building a successful audio post studio – with Kate Finan and Jeff Shiffman

• Rebuilding your studio: Goals, tips and lessons learned

• Creating audio for games – with Martin Stig Andersen

• A life in sound: How to foster creativity and protect yourself from burning out – with Chance Thomas

• Better audio work habits: How a Wacom Tablet can help reduce the risk of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

• Better audio work habits: How a sit & standing desk can reduce your sedentary studio life

• Tips and thoughts on running your own audio post production house – with William McGuigan

• 30+ year audio veteran Andy Greenberg, on building client relationships in the advertising industry

• 7 Sound Alternatives to Working For Free

• Audio Outsourcing Success: Essential Tips, Thoughts and Working Practices from Adele Cutting

 
 
The sound success series:

• How to succeed in UI/UX Sound Design, ADR Recording, & Audio Programming

• How to succeed in sound design for Film, Documentaries, and Trailers

• How to succeed in sound design for Games, Animation, and Television

How to succeed in Field Recording, Foley, and Teaching Sound

• How to succeed in Audio Branding, Music Editing, and sound for VR

• How to succeed in Theater Sound Design, Podcast Sound Design, and Podcast Production

• How to succeed in Sound Editing, Sound for Advertising, and Production Sound

• How to succeed in Sound Editing, Sound for Advertising, and Production Sound

• The Composer Success Series: Composing for Film – ft. Pinar Toprak, Nainita Desai, & Jonathan Snipes

• The Composer Success Series: Composing for TV – ft. Charlie Clouser, Sherri Chung, & Cindy O’Connor

• The Composer Success Series: Composing for Theatre – ft. Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson, and Daniel Kluger

• The Composer Success Series: Composing for Games – ft. Inon Zur

 
Breaking into audio – guides and resources:

• The ‘Quit Aspiring’ book – by Adam Croft

• How to get hired in game audio – thoughts and insights from your potential employer’s perspective

• Why gear is not the ticket to entry in the game audio community

• 4 Effective Ways to Break into Game Audio

• Tips for Creating a Perfect Resume for Audio Industry Jobs

• Yet Another Game Audio Hiring Article – by Ariel Gross

• 5 Tips for Getting a Job in the Audio Industry

• Applying for a job in game audio – by Matthew Florianz

• Freelance Game Audio: Getting Started and finding work – by Ashton Morris

• How to get started (and make it) in game audio – 10+ fundamental questions answered by Akash Thakkar

• Courses: How to network and get paid for your work in the game industry – by Akash Thakkar

• How to Craft a Perfect Cover Letter for Audio Industry Jobs
 
 
Finding those audio jobs:

• Get the weekly Audio Jobs newsletter

• Join the Audio Jobs Facebook group
 
 
Showcasing your work:
 
• Get a free profile on Soundlister

• Upload your demos to Soundcloud

• Upload your demos to ReelCrafter
 
 
Networking:
 
• Find game audio community groups around the world

• Find interesting audio events around the world

• Find other audio pros around the world
 
 
Coping with a layoff - and how to bounce back:

• How to prepare for – and power through – a layoff in the game audio industry, with Brian Schmidt:

• How to Survive a Game Audio Layoff – insights from Damian Kastbauer

• What it’s like to be laid off from your video game studio

• What To Do Before and After Being Laid Off

• Facebook Group: Survival Skills for Creatives
 
 
Education and knowledge:
 
• Get an audio mentor at the Audio Mentoring Project

• How To Learn Game Audio Online – A talk with Game Audio Educator Leonard Paul

• Hear the very best podcasts about sound

• Read the 100s of sound stories and guides on the A Sound Effect blog (search for stories here)

• Browse Industry Data: Game Music and Sound Design Salary Survey Results

• Browse 100+ Sound Design Guides

• Find essential books about sound – for film, games and audio post production

• Get tips and ideas for making your own sound effects

• Use the Audio Events Calendar to find audio-related events around the globe

• Get a steady stream of great sound stories from the community

• Discover 1000s of sound libraries from the independent sound community

• Take online courses in Wwise, FMOD Studio, Unity, Pure Data & Unreal at the School of Video Game Audio
 
 
Getting into independent sound effects:
 
• DIY SFX libraries - Your guide to your first sound effects library

• Sound effects survey results: Here are 90+ ideas for new SFX libraries

• How to create an indie sound bundle

• The quick-start guide to adding sound FX library metadata

 
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  • Foley Sound Effects Rummage Play Track 733+ sounds included $12.80

    Rummage is a collaborative sound library from SoundBits and Glitchedtones with a focus on unsystematic searches through everyday items.
    Created especially for projects calling for careful, hasty or frantic rummaging, these 733 files offer up plenty of variation to cover a wide range of scenarios. Featuring searches through paper, pockets, trash, wallets, retro media, wood, tools, bags, wardrobes, metal and lots more… your movie scene, game environment or even music production in need of some Rummage, is covered, or more appropriately, uncovered!”.

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  • Just Whoosh 3  brings you 575 recorded whoosh sound effects. Some of the props used include: Cloth blankets, jeans, leather and nylon jackets, fishing rods, boom poles, bamboo/wood/metal/plastic sticks + ropes with things like spatulas attached to one end (!), chains, a torch, and some cars passing by.

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  • Another electromechanical-focused library from SkewSound! Our reel2reel Sound Library features a professional tape machine from the 1980s. We captured all the sounds this little (well, actually quite large and heavy) piece of gear could create.

    DC motors, servos, tape spinning, metal impacts, and more can be found within this library.

    And if you are on the hunt for some huge, analog style mechanical buttons, you should hear what this library has to offer.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Motorcycle Sound Effects Scooters Play Track 197+ sounds included, 164 mins total $99

    SCOOTERS features various sound effects recorded from 7 different scooters, ranging from general scooters to a scooter with a modified exhaust. An old two-stroke scooter with high-pitched brake squealing sounds is also included, along with on-board riding sounds (including revving and speeding), pass-bys, idling, approaching, pull-away, engine cranking, and varied mechanism sounds. SCOOTERS sound library helps you create different types of scenes with scooter riding.

    The recorded scooters include:

    ・KYMCO VJR 110
    ・YAMAHA BW’S 125
    ・YAMAHA BW’S R 125
    ・YAMAHA FORCE 155
    ・YAMAHA Super Four (with a modified exhaust)
    ・YAMAHA VINO 50 (Two-stroke scooter)
    ・YAMAHA VINO 50 FI

    This library includes total 197 files, consisting of 170 mono files and 27 stereo files recorded in ORTF at 96 kHz. Approx. 2 hour and 44 minutes total.

    Certainly, this library was carefully tagged with rich Soundminer metadata, including marks in the recordings highlighting interesting sounds.

    All the recordings were recorded, edited and mastered with love and care.

  • City Life Sound Effects Quiet Streets 3d Play Track 100 sounds included, 580 mins total From: $135 From: $78

    Quiet Streets 3D is the latest chapter in Articulated’s Quiet Streets series, offering a meticulously crafted collection of quiet urban ambiences. Designed with both creativity and precision in mind, this library captures the essence of urban stillness through the advanced Schoeps 3D ORTF recording technique, resulting in multi-dimensional soundscapes that reveal both horizontal and vertical spatial details.

    This library features 100 files delivered at 96kHz/24-bit. With a total size of 74.8 GB and over 9 hours and 40 minutes of carefully curated ambiences, Quiet Streets 3D is a comprehensive resource for creating immersive urban soundscapes.

    A Global Journey Through Quietude

     

    The recordings span cities across three continents, capturing the unique characteristics of urban environments in Paris, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Bangkok, Naples, Kuala Lumpur, Montreal, Regensburg, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Strasbourg, Singapore, and more. Each location offers its own subtle yet distinct textures, from the hushed buzz of a late-night street in Bangkok to the subdued murmurs of a Parisian alley at dawn.

    A Commitment to Quality

     
    Over two years, our team travelled to these cities to document quiet moments in urban life. Recordings were made at various times of day and across seasons, capturing the interplay of natural and environmental sounds. The ambiences feature layers of biophony (birdsong, rustling leaves), geophony (wind, distant rain), and faint traces of anthropophony (passing footsteps, distant traffic). Care was taken to minimize intrusive noises, ensuring that these recordings integrate seamlessly into projects that require clarity for dialogue or sound effects. Note: at times some distinctive authentic events were kept in order to give the choice for the editor to use them in their projects. These are tagged as marker on the spectrogram.

    A Versatile Tool for Storytelling

     
    The library’s 8-channel 3D ORTF format provides an intricate sense of space, making it ideal for surround sound configurations in film, video games, and immersive media. For those working in stereo, we’ve included a high-quality downmixed version of every file, offering flexibility without compromising quality.

    Recorded with the acclaimed Schoeps 3d ORTF system, it has a total of 8 discreet channels, 4 on the lower plane arranged in 2 pair of ORTF similar to a IRT-Cross, and doubled with a higher plane of 4 more microphones. The channel layout of the sound recorded and delivered is as this: L R Ls Rs hL hR hLs hRs (whereas h stand for high). Learn more about this configuration here: https://schoeps.de/en/products/surround-3d/ortf-3d/ortf-3d-outdoor-set.html

    Every file is embedded with UCS-compliant metadata, allowing for intuitive searching and streamlined integration into your workflow. The metadata includes detailed descriptors, location names, and environmental characteristics, making it easy to find the perfect ambience for any scene.

    A Timeless Collection for Any Project

     
    Whether you need the intimate quiet of a European alley or the expansive stillness of an Asian metropolis, Quiet Streets 3D provides a rich palette of urban soundscapes. This library is not just a collection of audio files—it’s a carefully curated journey through the subtleties of urban life, designed to enhance the emotional depth and spatial realism of your projects.

    With Quiet Streets 3D, you’re investing in a resource that will remain relevant across countless future projects.

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  • 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.

  • Electricity Sound Effects Massive Thunder Play Track 616 sounds included, 217 mins total $29.99

    MASSIVE THUNDER – 616 files of Thunder sound effects, at varying distances and intensities. From low and slow rolling distant rumbles to violently fast and bombastic direct cracking impacts. Massive Thunder comes in at over 3 hours and 37 minutes of short and long scenes of thunder and lightning for every occasion. Recorded during several storm seasons and dozens of independent thunderstorms, with indoors and outdoors perspectives. Massive Thunder’s filenames are in the Universal Category System format with additional Metadata baked-in.

    Don’t need a Massive amount of Thunder and Lightning sound effects? We offer ‘Mini’ sound effect libraries as companions for all of our ‘Massive’ sound effect libraries. All recordings are unique to each library with no overlap. Go Mini today, and upgrade to the corresponding Massive library later, when you need more of that particular sound effect.

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  • Car Sound Effects Jaguar XJ 2010 full size car Play Track 46 sounds included, 60 mins total $65

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


   

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