The end-result is an impressive collection of more than 8 (!) hours of music-free pub crowd and ambience recordings from around London – covering everything from near-empty to jam-packed pubs.
Get the full story behind their library, download free samples, and hear why you sometimes need to wear a hat for that perfect take:
Hi Rowan and Luke, please introduce yourselves and what got you into indie SFX:
Hi Asbjoern. Thanks for having us! Individually we are Luke and Rowan, two sound effects editors and recordists who work in film. Collectively we are C O L O S S A L. Colossal exists as a conduit for pursuing our passion of recording. We want to create and share great-sounding libraries that people find useful and interesting.
How did you come up with the idea for the ‘London Pubs’ library – and what are some of the highlights of the library?
London is blessed with many beautiful-sounding old public houses. Many of these offer up historic and unique acoustic environments and the folks that fill them make for killer recordings. We knew that editors in all walks of life would find crowds like these useful. Our aim was to create the ultimate pub crowd library and offer the rest of the world what we have on our doorstep.
How did you pick the places to record, and what was your recording setup?
Essentially our pub selection came down to three main factors: Music, Acoustics and People. We had to source locations that played no music for obvious reasons, so a lot of reckies were done before hand. Sourcing beautiful-sounding spaces was an absolute must. Some of our pubs were super old taverns panelled in wood and stained glass, so we wanted to capture that character in our recordings.
The people then in these spaces were hugely important. We didn’t just want gigabytes of busy pubs, we needed to get a full range from empty to heaving and everything in between. There are a lot of pubs in London, but using this strict criteria when selecting left us only with a few perfect venues – and we recorded every single one.
We didn’t just want gigabytes of busy pubs, we needed to get a full range from empty to heaving and everything in between
In terms of setup, we often we had DPA4060s hooked up on hats so the capsules sat right above our ears – about the most accurate Jecklin Disk you could put together, and it sounds that way. And we usually shot the same location from 2 discrete perspectives. We set up at different areas in a space, sunk up and rolled. The dual perspective gives you so much choice when it comes to using the material; you end up with a close and distant perspective of every event that happens in one recording. If you need an easy way to build a really immersive crowd bed, this stuff is great for it.
Want 26 minutes of pristine London pub recordings from the full London Pubs library? And yes, they can be used for commercial projects too. Just enter your name and valid email address below to get the download link + the much-loved A Sound Effect newsletter:
NB: If you don’t receive the email with the download link, please check your spam folder. Oh, and existing newsletter subscribers can of course get the sounds too.
What was the biggest challenge in recording the library? Any surprises along the way?
Unsurprisingly, music was our biggest challenge here. Some places we recorded
didn’t play music as a rule so they weren’t an issue, yet other places, often the best-sounding spaces played music constantly. So we had to talk it out with the place and find a time where they were happy to shut the music off while we recorded. Thankfully most publicans were happy to indulge us in exchange for a few pints!
London Pubs Vol 1: Primary interior perspectives
London Pubs Vol 2: Secondary perspectives for quad use, exterior pubs, football crowds, pub sound effects
London Pubs Complete: Features everything from vol 1 & vol 2
What are some of your favorite recordings in there?
I think a favourite is definitely the recording at the Blind Fool. Basically a bunch of loud out-of-towners were in town for a day and having a good time.
I was set up near them, with a satchel containing my 722 and a scarf around my neck, concealing the DPAs that were wired into my hat
I was set up near them, with a satchel containing my 722 and a scarf around my neck, concealing the DPAs that were wired into my hat. It wasn’t really a cold day, so I must have looked a bit odd with a scarf like that much to their amusement. They decided to take the piss out of me, my scarf, and my satchel, the very things that allowed me record them up close and personal, without them actually knowing… and the take is great.
And of course Luke caught a more diffuse version of all the mockery in all its distant glory, too.
What’s ahead for Colossal?
Without spoiling too much, we’ve got several new libraries underway. They’re a mixture of FX, Ambiences, and Sound Design that we think the editors out there are really going to love and find both useful and fun to cut with. Watch this space!!
A big thanks to Rowan and Luke from Colossal for speaking with us! You can check out their sound library ‘London Pubs’ right here on A Sound Effect.
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The Vintage Anime Sound Effects Library brings all of the excitement of your favorite Japanese animated series to your fingertips. Inspired by classic cartoons from the 80's and 90's, these recognizable and versatile sounds will instantly enhance any FX collection. Vintage synths were used to create the auras, beams, mecha blasters, atmospheres, magic spells, guns, sonic blasts and explosives that makeup this pack of over 350+ custom 24bit/96khz .WAV files. Perfect for film, video games, podcasts and any project that could benefit from a power up!
Both designed sounds and source recordings:
• Classic anime sfx from the 80’s and 90’s• Auras, mecha, beams, blasters, spells, explosives and more! 350+ sounds!
• Tons of source material for experimentation
• Expert crafted metadata
• Vintage Anime PDF
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As you've probably guessed from the title, this SFX library is all about metal chain sound effects. Various sizes of chains were pulled, dropped, shaken, rattled, whipped, hung, dangled and jingled.
These sounds could come in handy for a wide range of purposes like morning star swings / whips, coin ringing, chain metal armor movements, hoists, addons for footstep movements and many more.
So if you're after any kind of metal chain sounds, this SFX library is one to get!
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Basketball Game Pro is a sound effects library thematically centered around a basketball game.
The collection includes several versions of game air horns, crowd applause, attack, defense, fault, score and lost opportunities ambiences, referee whistles, crowd boos & yells and a short warm up game ambience.
The library contains only the interjections, purposely avoiding a specific language identity, making it more flexible and suitable for universal use.
All sounds have of course been recorded at a real basketball match.
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Medieval Battle contains a wide variety of sounds taken straight from the battlefield. Unleash the full force of your army with effects from a diverse range of medieval weaponry, crowds, horses and battle charges. There are also battle cries, screams and shouts to make the audience feel like they are right there on the frontlines. To bring you the most organic and natural battle sounds, we recorded actors performing in a quiet exterior location. All sounds were recorded in 24Bit 96kHz, allowing for further sonic manipulation.
If you think your sound collection is in need of some reinforcements then this is the library for you! Medieval Battle is ideal for use in Film, TV and Game projects, and will make a perfect addition to your sound design arsenal.
Here are the included folders:
Crowds: Crowd rushes and static battle cries in a natural exterior location make these effects perfect for building the bed of a huge Medieval warzone.
Female Voices: 4 individual female actors perform multiple vocalisations including screams, grunts and efforts.
Sword & Shield Hits: A variety of sword and shield hits performed by weapons and combat experts.
Male Voices: 4 individual male actors perform multiple vocalisations including screams, grunts and efforts.
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Cars, trucks, motorcycles at different speeds on a rural road in the middle of nowhere during summer.
From left, from right, from both sides, single vehicle or several at the same time.Recorded simultaneously with an ORTF and a AB microphone stereo pairs.
Gear used:
Sound Devices 788T
MKH8020 stereo pair
MKH8040 stereo pair -
Crisp, clean, crunchy and closely mic’d impacts with various types of pebble and dust debris.
I recorded all these sounds with my brothers during a trip home to Ireland.
Close to our home (out in the middle of nowhere), there is a little quarry with a lot of sand, dust, stones, rocks and some grass. There was also a broken plough there that gave some nice stone on metal impact sounds.Equipment:
2 Line Audio OM1s
2 Line Audio CM3s
Røde NTG3
Tascam DR10025 %OFF -
Recording of a BSA M20 WW2 motorcycle with a 1 cylinder 500cm3 engine with 4 gears.
The BSA M20 WW2 motorcycle sound collection features 322 sounds in 12.02 gigabytes of audio. It showcases a British 1940 Birmingham Small Arms Company military bike and the sound of its 1 cylinder 500cm3 engine with 4 gears.
The sound bundle offers 20 synchronized recordings of onboard, exterior, and performed sound fx. The 7 onboard perspectives record sounds from the engine, exhaust, and onboard locations such as the seat and frame, all of which are also mixed into three pre-rendered tracks with driving at steady RPM, ramps, and gearshifts. The 9 exterior perspectives include turning on and off, departing, arriving, and passing from multiple perspectives and distances from slow to fast speeds. These are paired with performed Foley of handlebar clutch and brake, kickstarting, and more.
The package includes Pro Tools and Reaper mixing sessions, as well as full metadata embedded in every clip.
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Sci-fi Guns Sounds
146 modern guns sound effects divided into more than 15 different types of guns:
– Electric Revolver
– Cannon Gun
– Blaster Rifle
– Low Gun
– Alien Guns
– Automatic Gun
– Old Shotgun and Old Cannon Shots
– Explosive Gun
– Grenades
– Compressed Air Gun
– And many more… Check the Tracklist PDF to see the full list of sounds included in the packSoundcloud Preview
Tracklist PDFMore about the pack:
– Apart from shot sounds, there are reloading & handling sounds
– There’s also the ”Stab” sound and the ”Hit Marker” sound.
– There are single-shot sounds but also loops (Rotary cannon)
– These SFX are suitable for Sci-Fi games but also for warfare, modern warfare ones.
– Intuitive file naming
– All you’ll ever need regarding Sci-Fi Gun Sounds
[Format]
All files are in:WAV – Stereo 44.1 Khz, 16bit
OGG – Stereo 44.1 Khz, 16bit[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.
[Professional audio services]
For custom music, sound design, sound engineering or any other game audio services, please send a mail to: audioalchemiststore@gmail.com
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