audio workflow improvement Asbjoern Andersen


Repetitive strain injury (RSI) can result from spending long periods of time on a computer. If you don’t experience it yet, you may well in the future. A Wacom tablet helped Nick Granville-Fall manage his audio workflow and health better than a mouse alone - here are his experiences, with tips on how to set things up for audio work:
Written by Nick Granville-Fall
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Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:

  • Animal Sound Effects Animal Hyperrealism Vol III Play Track 1711 sounds included $136

    Animal Hyperrealism Vol III is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 1700 individual sounds in 279 files.

    The sounds were recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: european red deers, monkeys, reindeers, hornbills camels, crickets, tamarins, boars, frogs, red ruffed lemurs, parrots, and many more.

    The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.
    Part of the cheats section of the library features samples recorded at 384KHz. For these sounds an additional microphone was employed, specifically the CMPA by Avisoft-Bioacoustics which records up to 200 KHz. This microphone was used to record most of the library but the 384KHz format was preserved only where energy was found beyond 96KHz not to occupy unnecessary disk space.
    All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these for mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.
    The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

    Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free:
    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.
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  • – Evolved WATER Sound Library


    This isn’t just another water library, this is a professional’s dream library, and we feel you are all going to love it. Not only from all the source recordings, but also from all the incredible designed sounds. It really is an all around workhorse that will have you covered for everything WATER. With over 1600 files and over 3,000 sounds, this library is absolutely massive. Everything from rain, lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and bubbles all the way up to KYMA designed cinematic impacts. We spent over a year recording and designing this collection and are so proud to offer it to you for your toolbox!

    Why make another Water library? Because here at SoundMorph we always want to push the limits and quality of what is out on the current marketplace. Elements like WATER present a huge challenge to make modern and exciting. This is what we aimed for with this collection. Watch the Behind The Scenes video by clicking on the “How’s Made Button” to find out just how much went into making this colossal release. A new standard for any working sound professional!

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  • Introducing “Explosive Symphony,” an electrifying library that puts the spotlight on the sheer power and intensity of explosions. From earth-shaking rock debris blasts to spine-tingling sci-fi detonations, this collection is a testament to the raw force of explosive events. Perfect for adding adrenaline-pumping impact to your projects, “Explosive Symphony” offers a dynamic range of explosion sounds that will leave your audience on the edge of their seats.

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  • THE COMPLETE JUST SOUND EFFECTS COLLECTION
    Introducing the JSE Everything Bundle, your one-stop-shop for all your audio needs. This bundle includes every JUST SOUND EFFECTS sound library ever created by our team of sound designers and field recordists, giving you access to an extensive collection of high-quality sound effects.

    INCLUDED SOUND LIBRARIES

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  • Magic & Fantasy Sound Effects Sorcery Play Track 2196 sounds included, 337 mins total $119.99

    Rock The Speakerbox presents Sorcery, the ultimate sound design toolkit for magic and enchantment.

    Harness the forces of light with white magic. Ignite the night with the unbridled power of fire and flame.Summon the darkest of evil with black magic and necromancy. Release the fury of a million volts by mastering the electron. Lay waste to your foes with the sheer might of water and acid. Conjure the frigid and unleash the frost with the power of ice.

    Recorded on stage and in the field, and designed by award winning sound designers, SORCERY contains 11.7 GB of HD quality content spread across 1992 construction kit sounds and 204 designed sounds. With spells, deflects, casts, blocks, beams and more, SORCERY provides sound designers and media content creators unrivaled wizardry at their fingertips.

    The extraordinary awaits within.

     

    KEYWORDS:

    Magic sounds, Spell sounds, Fantasy effects, Enchantment FX, Magical FX, Sorcery sounds, Fantasy spells, Enchanted sounds, Wizard SFX, Magic aura, Spell casting, Magical elements, Fantasy ambience, Potion sounds, Spellbook FX, Arcane magic, Enchanted FX, Magic toolkit, Fantasy creatures, Fantasy magic, Wizard effects, Magic spells, Sorcery toolkit, Magic swirls, Fantasy sound library, Mystical sounds, Sorcerer FX, Enchantment library, Magical toolkit, Fantasy sounds, Dark magic, Magic dust, Mystical ambience, Sorcery FX, Fantasy environment, Magical vibes, Fantasy aura, Spellbinding sounds, Magic whisper, Potion brewing, Magical world, Enchanted library, Magical creatures, Fantasy realms, Magic waves, Arcane library, Wizard spells, Magical FX library, Fantasy toolkit, Magical effects pack

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Get more deals in the huge sale

I gave a lecture last year as alumni about freelancing in the creative audio and media industries. One of my slides showed a picture of a Wacom tablet. I’d expected some hands to show or a few head nods when I asked if anyone knew what it was… to my surprise no one seemed to know. Being involved with animators, motion designers and creative studios, I’ve seen Wacom’s products all over desktops of visual creatives. However there is no such thing for the audio discipline, after all, we are always being forgotten about right?

All computer users and professions could benefit from cutting down on mouse time.

When I think of Wacom’s brand it does cater very heavily towards visual designers. Have a read at some marketing for their new 3D Pen: ‘For creative professionals working in game design, animation, VFX, VR and AR, 2D and 3D art and industrial design’.  Where’s the audio mention?! All computer users and professions could benefit from cutting down on mouse time. After all, holding a pen is a far more natural way to interact with a computer.

I remember trying a Wacom years ago when my graphic design buddy Lee had one and still does. I found it a bit strange. It didn’t feel that natural to use at first but I would urge anyone to hold out past this stage, it doesn’t take long. The technology has further improved and the Intros Pro and Pro Pen 2 are excellent. I had preconceptions that only artists and graphics professionals used these, ‘I wouldn’t use this for audio!’ With Wacom’s marketing, it’s not hard to see why I thought this. I hope Wacom can challenge and amend this assumption about what industries typically use their products.

I started suffering RSI quite a lot when I got busier in the studio. I was working on audio projects and building up my client base, saying yes to every job. I realised my Apple mouse wasn’t doing my wrist any favours. I looked into ergonomic mice and ordered two different ones to try. I found that one of them was good but the scroll wheel position wasn’t working for me. If you are using only a mouse then the scroll wheel is important, not so much with a Wacom as I will later explain. I sent both mice back in the end and looked for other solutions.

I remember watching Martin Stimming showing his audio workflow using a Wacom Cintiq 13” with Cubase. I had a lot of questions, how well would it work with the software I used? I researched forums online but there wasn’t a huge amount of information or videos on using these with audio workflows. This inspired me to try one out, if I didn’t like it then my plan was to return it and hope I’d get a refund. I didn’t need the Cintiq model where you draw directly on the screen so I went for the cheaper, Intuos Pro Medium. This meant I could use my existing monitor screen and I felt having it setup flat on a desk might be better for ergonomics and posture.



Stimming on Wacom Cintiq13 - Tutorial


Martin Stimming demonstrates his audio workflow using a Wacom Cintiq in Cubase

 

Configuration

It took me a bit of time to get used to using a pen, I’m left-handed which is easy to set up. I changed the size of the tablet working area to be smaller. In reducing the physical distance the pen travels, means it’s easier to move the mouse cursor across a 34” ultrawide monitor. Wacom’s software also allows you to map key functions used in any application to the pen and tablet’s express keys (buttons). Most audio applications aren’t very customisable (except Reaper) but any application can have its own preferences for both pen and tablet. You can map any application’s keyboard shortcuts to be triggered. You can pretty much do anything with it, it’s very flexible. Below you can see I’ve setup one of the pen buttons to trigger opt + cmd when in Ableton.

Customized Wacom tablet settings

I found actually moving the mouse cursor around with accuracy using a pen very satisfying and quick to grasp. I think I just got it this time unlike years ago. The two buttons on the pen (which can do what you like) took a little longer for them to feel natural in my hand. I didn’t use them at all for the first month or so but then I realised it was worth learning and using them. This made my workflow much easier and quicker.


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


Trending right now:

  • Magic & Fantasy Sound Effects Sorcery Play Track 2196 sounds included, 337 mins total $119.99

    Rock The Speakerbox presents Sorcery, the ultimate sound design toolkit for magic and enchantment.

    Harness the forces of light with white magic. Ignite the night with the unbridled power of fire and flame.Summon the darkest of evil with black magic and necromancy. Release the fury of a million volts by mastering the electron. Lay waste to your foes with the sheer might of water and acid. Conjure the frigid and unleash the frost with the power of ice.

    Recorded on stage and in the field, and designed by award winning sound designers, SORCERY contains 11.7 GB of HD quality content spread across 1992 construction kit sounds and 204 designed sounds. With spells, deflects, casts, blocks, beams and more, SORCERY provides sound designers and media content creators unrivaled wizardry at their fingertips.

    The extraordinary awaits within.

     

    KEYWORDS:

    Magic sounds, Spell sounds, Fantasy effects, Enchantment FX, Magical FX, Sorcery sounds, Fantasy spells, Enchanted sounds, Wizard SFX, Magic aura, Spell casting, Magical elements, Fantasy ambience, Potion sounds, Spellbook FX, Arcane magic, Enchanted FX, Magic toolkit, Fantasy creatures, Fantasy magic, Wizard effects, Magic spells, Sorcery toolkit, Magic swirls, Fantasy sound library, Mystical sounds, Sorcerer FX, Enchantment library, Magical toolkit, Fantasy sounds, Dark magic, Magic dust, Mystical ambience, Sorcery FX, Fantasy environment, Magical vibes, Fantasy aura, Spellbinding sounds, Magic whisper, Potion brewing, Magical world, Enchanted library, Magical creatures, Fantasy realms, Magic waves, Arcane library, Wizard spells, Magical FX library, Fantasy toolkit, Magical effects pack

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  • I’ve Decided to Make This Small Instrument Free—Enjoy!
    Enjoy :)

    Snow Foley Instrument, a collection of pristine snow footsteps samples recorded with the legendary Sony PCM-D100 in the remote mountains of southern France. To enhance your sound design workflow, the samples are accompanied by user-friendly Kontakt and DSsampler instruments.

    Whether you’re crafting linear sound designs, immersive interactive experiences, or dynamic game environments, this versatile library has you covered. 

    Key Features: 

    • 8 Different Walking types
    • More than 200 unique samples
    • Recorded in real snow, in different depths
    • Stereo 96Khz 24bit
    • Kontakt & DSsampler
    • Midi Controlled Knobs
    Snow Floey Footsteps Demo

     

    *Runs in Kontakt or Free Kontakt Player version 7.7.3 or higher, and in DecentSampler 1.9.13 or higher.

  • – Evolved WATER Sound Library


    This isn’t just another water library, this is a professional’s dream library, and we feel you are all going to love it. Not only from all the source recordings, but also from all the incredible designed sounds. It really is an all around workhorse that will have you covered for everything WATER. With over 1600 files and over 3,000 sounds, this library is absolutely massive. Everything from rain, lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and bubbles all the way up to KYMA designed cinematic impacts. We spent over a year recording and designing this collection and are so proud to offer it to you for your toolbox!

    Why make another Water library? Because here at SoundMorph we always want to push the limits and quality of what is out on the current marketplace. Elements like WATER present a huge challenge to make modern and exciting. This is what we aimed for with this collection. Watch the Behind The Scenes video by clicking on the “How’s Made Button” to find out just how much went into making this colossal release. A new standard for any working sound professional!

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  • Take a journey back in time with Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle! Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

    About Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle

    With this collection you will have access to a carefully curated collection of Medieval Warfare, Medieval Town and Green Witch’s Cauldron sound effects. It covers your most essential historical needs with 1.200+ sounds, recorded and designed professionally.

    You can find rope stressing sounds, listen to the rain on a beach from a bush perspective, bottle up potions, and hear a soldier as he gets ready for a battle. Listen to barn animals, horses, weapons and tools; town ambiences, mine, blacksmith, tavern, field, church bells; dried seeds and herbs, defensive spells and transfiguration spells. Go ahead and check out the contents of these three different collections included in the Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle one by one and start imagining a story already!

    You’ll find yourself first on a brutal battlefield, then come back to the busy town a little. Don’t be afraid to ask for some healing magic from the Green Witch! Travel back to the Middle Ages and take Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle with you!

    These sounds are available in 24-bit / 96kHz, were recorded delicately with DPA 4060s and Neumann KM184 pairs, have clarity and room for further sound design with the flexible texture of the sounds for customization.

    About Medieval Town SFX Pack

    400+ sound effects from a simple town’s parts such as; barn, field, grassland, tavern, blacksmith, carpenter, library, church, graveyard, mine, and many more a medieval town could offer. With the Medieval Town Sound Effects Bundle you will have access to dressage sounds, kitchenware sounds, church bells, town ambiences, medieval mechanical devices, mining sounds, animals, tools, weapons and more. Medieval Town Sound Effects Bundle was recorded and designed delicately for all your historical needs.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval, Town, Ambience, Object, Church, Bell, Bird, Animal, Duck, Food and Drink, Lake, Horse, Blacksmith, Hammering, Fire, Tool, Metal, Nail, Chest, Materials Wooden Metal Iron Fire objects chest, iron bell vegetation nail tools bench firewood coin opening action closing creaking hammering breathing dropping ringing shaping picking rolling breaking church bell sunny peaceful weather with and without animals lake fire castle locations barn blacksmith church lake campsite animals actions birds chirping, flying ducks quaking cows mooing horse eating hay, from trainer’s hand, breathing, licking, chewing, bridle clicking perspective texture middle distant close very close heavy breaking pile ceramic tress rattling wallet heat blade shovel sand pebble doorbell saddle cart earthquake farrier book cough cloth cricket kitchen pottery frog mechanical winch copper lock rock axe mining pouring sailing boat rooster footstep rope tavern treasure water light.

    About Medieval Warfare SFX Pack

    Medieval Warfare Sound Effects Pack brings the most realistic 350+ medieval sound effects that you may need for your game/film/creative projects. It includes sound effects of; warriors, explosions, barn animals, horse sound effects, medieval life sound effects, weapons, and tools, human voices, and many more to find out.

    You will have access to weapon sound effects, animals, horse items, ambiences, medieval life items, sword hits, catapult, crossbow, arrow whooshes, battle cries, castle gates, foley sound effects and more. Medieval Warfare Sound Effects Pack is specifically designed for all your historical needs, with the texture of the sounds flexible for customization. Plus, you get the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail!

    Great for film, video, game, advertisements, Foley and suitable further as sweeteners outside of the medieval genre as well.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval war warfare armor impact scrape leather punching footstep rattle arrow whoosh axe breaking bone gore hitting carriage castle gate chain catapult fire drag & drop ground rumble crossbow Leonardo style attack dagger sword destruction explosion flag wind flapping gate opening stabbing mechanical knife hammer hitting horse galloping concrete sand mud metal mount katana male grunt angry textile step chest inhale exhale hurt pain yell falling pushing laughter scream strong leg prisoner siege town arrow falchion buzzing shaking throwing shield clanking.

    Green Witch’s Cauldron SFX Pack

    Green Witch’s Cauldron brings you the 450+ sounds of healing white magic and spells of a playful and sometimes wicked witch. It includes collecting and drying herbs, bubbling boiling potions, bottling, casting spells with elemental magic, and many more you can find in a cauldron. With this pack, you will have access to cat sounds, witch reactions, dried seeds, dried herbs, defensive spells, attacks, transfiguration spells, whooshes and transitions and elements.

    Green Witch’s Cauldron Sound Effects Bundle was recorded and designed exquisitely for all your magical needs and covers all sound effects needs for any white magic, potion-brewing, voices and subtle sounds of a witch’s life for the relevant projects and games that you are working on.

    These meticulously recorded sounds have clarity and lots of room for further usage and sound design with the flexible texture of the sounds for further customization. With 24-bit / 96kHz Wav format and easy to navigate naming, you can now set the bar higher for all your film, game, motion and video projects, advertisement, animation and all witchy projects.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval, town, ambience, fantastic magic magicka object, witch cauldron maddening opponent laughter mind air attack destruction burst element transition whoosh crackle wall braking hiss bubbling potion zinc bowl fireplace sizzling animal cat angry reaction eating food meowing attack basket dried seed plant falling shell braking boiling metal burning chained bush rustle stone glass chemical reaction glass lid bottle coin purse crumbling lavender palm wooden finger defensive shield destructive hand dusting off sprinkles creature pass by roaring cork casting healing glittery spice earth vacuum pouring acid pebble leaves leaf shaking shiny tree branch squeezed shuffling stirring grinder water bending ladle summoning teleporting time travel transfiguration imitating groaning laughing screaming wicked giggle eerie.

    What else you may need
    You may also want to check out our Gore for warfare, Essential Magic for darker magic and spells and All About Games Master Collection for a mega collection of 23 different packs for game audio sound effects.

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HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Destruction & Impact Sounds Broken Play Track 2266 sounds included, 273 mins total $119.99

    Nothing slaps a smile on a face like the sweet sound of destruction and mayhem. Designing sound for such complex events as a collapsing building or an earthquake requires a diverse and comprehensive palette of chaos. To create such havoc, one must be equipped with the ultimate destruction sound library.

    We stopped at nothing to put together this library of utter mayhem. BROKEN boasts over 9 GB of HD quality content spread across 1940 construction kit sounds and 326 designed sounds. From car crashes, explosions, crumbling buildings, earthquakes, ripping earth and metal, to debris, BROKEN features all elements of destruction.

    Recorded in the field and on the Paramount Pictures Foley stage, this library equips sound designers for film, games, and web with the tools for creating a ruckus.

    Get wrecked. Get BROKEN.

     

    KEYWORDS:
    Destruction sounds, Broken FX, Impact FX, Structural collapse, Building sounds, Shatter sounds, Rumble FX, Impact sounds, Structural damage, Falling debris, Crumbling sounds, Destructive FX, Sound destruction, Collapse sounds, Building collapse, Impact SFX, Destruction toolkit, Breaking sounds, Smash FX, Cracking sounds, Debris sounds, Structural collapse FX, Stone impact, Building sounds, Falling impact, Broken pieces, Concrete sounds, Rock impact, Heavy collapse, Sound crash, Structural sounds, Impact library, Shattering sounds, Stone FX, Destruction library, Impact toolkit, Sound break, Heavy rubble, Building FX, Destruction pack, Structural damage sounds, Rock FX, Collapse toolkit, Heavy impact sounds, Crumbling SFX, Falling stones, Concrete impact, Shatter FX, Debris pack, Structural FX, Heavy destruction sounds

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  • Here is the complete ultimate Magic bundle!
    In this bundle, you get both volumes of the acclaimed Magic Elements library:
    Magic Element vol.1
    + Magic Elements vol.2.

    Tune Up your wizardry with top-notch sound from and for the next-gen sound designers!

    DESIGNED: (1,098 sounds)
    the bundle comprises a total of 11 designed elements:
    Earth, Ice, Fire, Air, Black, Energy, Liquid, Foliage, White, Cartoon/Anime, and Generic

    SOURCE: (1,110‬ sounds)
    The source folder is packed with useful sounds that cover a large spectrum; thoroughly edited and meta-tagged. They will support your creativity with materials such as choirs, dissonant metal, creatures, papers, debris, drones, cracks, textures, friction, LFE sub sweeteners,…

    Choose how you want your sounds!
    2 DOWNLOAD OPTIONS INCLUDED:

    • GLUED (Multiple variations of the same sound glued in one file)

    • SEPARATED (Each variations of sound are separated in different files)

    20 %
    OFF
  • – Evolved WATER Sound Library


    This isn’t just another water library, this is a professional’s dream library, and we feel you are all going to love it. Not only from all the source recordings, but also from all the incredible designed sounds. It really is an all around workhorse that will have you covered for everything WATER. With over 1600 files and over 3,000 sounds, this library is absolutely massive. Everything from rain, lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and bubbles all the way up to KYMA designed cinematic impacts. We spent over a year recording and designing this collection and are so proud to offer it to you for your toolbox!

    Why make another Water library? Because here at SoundMorph we always want to push the limits and quality of what is out on the current marketplace. Elements like WATER present a huge challenge to make modern and exciting. This is what we aimed for with this collection. Watch the Behind The Scenes video by clicking on the “How’s Made Button” to find out just how much went into making this colossal release. A new standard for any working sound professional!

    82 %
    OFF
    Ends 1733353199
  • Gore Sound Effects Gore 2 Play Track 5000+ sounds included $119.70

    Enter GORE 2, The follow up to our first smash hit GORE sound library. Full of the most insane blood explosions, drips, flesh rips, splatters, blood gurgles, and intense fight and ultra violence sounds. Why did we make it? Because we wanted a HUGE collection of bigger, wetter, juicer, and crazier GORE sounds that could be a forever go to for professional sound designers. We recorded over 5,000 sounds and 300+ files to make this a whopping 20+ GB collection with lots of variations for all your scenes, film, gameplay or project. The GORE 2 library is split up into 3 sections, designed, source, and builds. Design – Bone, blood, melee & slaughter categories. Source – Featuring 192Khz 32 Bit Sanken Co-100k mic recordings, allowing you to pitch up ultra high or ultra low without loosing fidelity. Builds – Halfway between source material and designed, allowing you flexibility to start with some sounds that are slightly designed. GORE 2 is a classic giant collection that will serve you for years and years.

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Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


Key differences – mouse to pen

NAVIGATION

You can make most, if not all software, work the same way using the Wacom pen.

With no scroll wheel on a pen, you have to find an alternative method for quickly navigating and moving around your software’s screen estate. You’ll find most DAWs have a ‘hand tool’ where you can drag the screen about rather than scroll vertically or horizontally. In Ableton on a mac, you access this via the key commands opt + cmd & drag the mouse. I use a button on my pen that triggers both commands, I drag the pen around on the tablet to move the screen. Logic Pro X uses ctrl + shift & drag pen etc. I have this setup the same in Reaper to hold the same pen button and drag to move around. I really like this way of working so I don’t miss the scroll wheel method at all. The additional advantage is you can make most, if not all software, work the same way using the Wacom pen.

DOUBLE CLICK

You can double click with a pen as you would on a mouse, just double tap your pen on the tablet surface. Sometimes however even customising the response speed etc, it doesn’t always register. This can be frustrating for the obsessive but fear not. You can either set up one of the pen’s buttons to double click (with a single click) or you can assign an express key (button on the tablet) to do this. Problem solved!

ZOOMING

Again with there being no scroll wheel on a pen you can either use the touch ring on the tablet or just use your DAWs keyboard zoom shortcuts. I find this is fine. Most DAWs give you a good amount of zoom shortcuts.

EXPRESS KEYS

You can assign any keyboard shortcut in your DAW to one of these buttons. If there is something you use a lot and would rather move it to a button on the tablet, rather than use your keyboard you can. This is useful if you don’t like the position of the keyboard shortcuts and can’t re-assign them to different keys etc. In software like Reaper, you can map anything anywhere but a lot of DAWs don’t have this luxury.
 

Conclusion

Once I’d got a fluid workflow together with the Wacom, I stopped using my Apple mouse because I loved using a pen so much. Even then, doing a solid 8 hours of work using the pen will likely cause some ache and RSI. It’s a huge improvement for reducing RSI using the Wacom, but it doesn’t mean only using this for long periods of time will totally prevent RSI. Using any device for that long will cause fatigue, therefore you should build in 5-minute breaks per hour worked.

A Wacom tablet on a desk

I find now it’s best to balance workload across both of my hands. I use the Wacom for any sound design/audio post using Reaper. For any music I tend to use Ableton, normally swapping between both the Wacom and mouse. For general computer use emails, file management etc, I use the mouse. I finally replaced my Apple mouse with Contour’s Unimouse.

Reaper settings for the Contour mouse

Using both devices means I am spreading the workload and fatigue across both hands and wrists rather than one.

This is a comfortable mouse that has customisable software like the Wacom. Its flexible design allows you to change the steepness of the angle of where your hand and thumb rest, greatly reducing RSI. Using both devices means I am spreading the workload and fatigue across both hands and wrists rather than one. It’s a huge improvement to my workflow and health, I hope it can do the same for you.

A big thanks to Nick Granville-Fall for giving us some tips on how to improve our workflow and quality of life!

 

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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:

  • Magic & Fantasy Sound Effects Sorcery Play Track 2196 sounds included, 337 mins total $119.99

    Rock The Speakerbox presents Sorcery, the ultimate sound design toolkit for magic and enchantment.

    Harness the forces of light with white magic. Ignite the night with the unbridled power of fire and flame.Summon the darkest of evil with black magic and necromancy. Release the fury of a million volts by mastering the electron. Lay waste to your foes with the sheer might of water and acid. Conjure the frigid and unleash the frost with the power of ice.

    Recorded on stage and in the field, and designed by award winning sound designers, SORCERY contains 11.7 GB of HD quality content spread across 1992 construction kit sounds and 204 designed sounds. With spells, deflects, casts, blocks, beams and more, SORCERY provides sound designers and media content creators unrivaled wizardry at their fingertips.

    The extraordinary awaits within.

     

    KEYWORDS:

    Magic sounds, Spell sounds, Fantasy effects, Enchantment FX, Magical FX, Sorcery sounds, Fantasy spells, Enchanted sounds, Wizard SFX, Magic aura, Spell casting, Magical elements, Fantasy ambience, Potion sounds, Spellbook FX, Arcane magic, Enchanted FX, Magic toolkit, Fantasy creatures, Fantasy magic, Wizard effects, Magic spells, Sorcery toolkit, Magic swirls, Fantasy sound library, Mystical sounds, Sorcerer FX, Enchantment library, Magical toolkit, Fantasy sounds, Dark magic, Magic dust, Mystical ambience, Sorcery FX, Fantasy environment, Magical vibes, Fantasy aura, Spellbinding sounds, Magic whisper, Potion brewing, Magical world, Enchanted library, Magical creatures, Fantasy realms, Magic waves, Arcane library, Wizard spells, Magical FX library, Fantasy toolkit, Magical effects pack

    20 %
    OFF
    Ends 1733785199
  • I’ve Decided to Make This Small Instrument Free—Enjoy!
    Enjoy :)

    Snow Foley Instrument, a collection of pristine snow footsteps samples recorded with the legendary Sony PCM-D100 in the remote mountains of southern France. To enhance your sound design workflow, the samples are accompanied by user-friendly Kontakt and DSsampler instruments.

    Whether you’re crafting linear sound designs, immersive interactive experiences, or dynamic game environments, this versatile library has you covered. 

    Key Features: 

    • 8 Different Walking types
    • More than 200 unique samples
    • Recorded in real snow, in different depths
    • Stereo 96Khz 24bit
    • Kontakt & DSsampler
    • Midi Controlled Knobs
    Snow Floey Footsteps Demo

     

    *Runs in Kontakt or Free Kontakt Player version 7.7.3 or higher, and in DecentSampler 1.9.13 or higher.

  • Take a journey back in time with Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle! Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

    About Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle

    With this collection you will have access to a carefully curated collection of Medieval Warfare, Medieval Town and Green Witch’s Cauldron sound effects. It covers your most essential historical needs with 1.200+ sounds, recorded and designed professionally.

    You can find rope stressing sounds, listen to the rain on a beach from a bush perspective, bottle up potions, and hear a soldier as he gets ready for a battle. Listen to barn animals, horses, weapons and tools; town ambiences, mine, blacksmith, tavern, field, church bells; dried seeds and herbs, defensive spells and transfiguration spells. Go ahead and check out the contents of these three different collections included in the Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle one by one and start imagining a story already!

    You’ll find yourself first on a brutal battlefield, then come back to the busy town a little. Don’t be afraid to ask for some healing magic from the Green Witch! Travel back to the Middle Ages and take Ultimate Medieval SFX Bundle with you!

    These sounds are available in 24-bit / 96kHz, were recorded delicately with DPA 4060s and Neumann KM184 pairs, have clarity and room for further sound design with the flexible texture of the sounds for customization.

    About Medieval Town SFX Pack

    400+ sound effects from a simple town’s parts such as; barn, field, grassland, tavern, blacksmith, carpenter, library, church, graveyard, mine, and many more a medieval town could offer. With the Medieval Town Sound Effects Bundle you will have access to dressage sounds, kitchenware sounds, church bells, town ambiences, medieval mechanical devices, mining sounds, animals, tools, weapons and more. Medieval Town Sound Effects Bundle was recorded and designed delicately for all your historical needs.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval, Town, Ambience, Object, Church, Bell, Bird, Animal, Duck, Food and Drink, Lake, Horse, Blacksmith, Hammering, Fire, Tool, Metal, Nail, Chest, Materials Wooden Metal Iron Fire objects chest, iron bell vegetation nail tools bench firewood coin opening action closing creaking hammering breathing dropping ringing shaping picking rolling breaking church bell sunny peaceful weather with and without animals lake fire castle locations barn blacksmith church lake campsite animals actions birds chirping, flying ducks quaking cows mooing horse eating hay, from trainer’s hand, breathing, licking, chewing, bridle clicking perspective texture middle distant close very close heavy breaking pile ceramic tress rattling wallet heat blade shovel sand pebble doorbell saddle cart earthquake farrier book cough cloth cricket kitchen pottery frog mechanical winch copper lock rock axe mining pouring sailing boat rooster footstep rope tavern treasure water light.

    About Medieval Warfare SFX Pack

    Medieval Warfare Sound Effects Pack brings the most realistic 350+ medieval sound effects that you may need for your game/film/creative projects. It includes sound effects of; warriors, explosions, barn animals, horse sound effects, medieval life sound effects, weapons, and tools, human voices, and many more to find out.

    You will have access to weapon sound effects, animals, horse items, ambiences, medieval life items, sword hits, catapult, crossbow, arrow whooshes, battle cries, castle gates, foley sound effects and more. Medieval Warfare Sound Effects Pack is specifically designed for all your historical needs, with the texture of the sounds flexible for customization. Plus, you get the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail!

    Great for film, video, game, advertisements, Foley and suitable further as sweeteners outside of the medieval genre as well.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval war warfare armor impact scrape leather punching footstep rattle arrow whoosh axe breaking bone gore hitting carriage castle gate chain catapult fire drag & drop ground rumble crossbow Leonardo style attack dagger sword destruction explosion flag wind flapping gate opening stabbing mechanical knife hammer hitting horse galloping concrete sand mud metal mount katana male grunt angry textile step chest inhale exhale hurt pain yell falling pushing laughter scream strong leg prisoner siege town arrow falchion buzzing shaking throwing shield clanking.

    Green Witch’s Cauldron SFX Pack

    Green Witch’s Cauldron brings you the 450+ sounds of healing white magic and spells of a playful and sometimes wicked witch. It includes collecting and drying herbs, bubbling boiling potions, bottling, casting spells with elemental magic, and many more you can find in a cauldron. With this pack, you will have access to cat sounds, witch reactions, dried seeds, dried herbs, defensive spells, attacks, transfiguration spells, whooshes and transitions and elements.

    Green Witch’s Cauldron Sound Effects Bundle was recorded and designed exquisitely for all your magical needs and covers all sound effects needs for any white magic, potion-brewing, voices and subtle sounds of a witch’s life for the relevant projects and games that you are working on.

    These meticulously recorded sounds have clarity and lots of room for further usage and sound design with the flexible texture of the sounds for further customization. With 24-bit / 96kHz Wav format and easy to navigate naming, you can now set the bar higher for all your film, game, motion and video projects, advertisement, animation and all witchy projects.

    What’s Inside
    Medieval, town, ambience, fantastic magic magicka object, witch cauldron maddening opponent laughter mind air attack destruction burst element transition whoosh crackle wall braking hiss bubbling potion zinc bowl fireplace sizzling animal cat angry reaction eating food meowing attack basket dried seed plant falling shell braking boiling metal burning chained bush rustle stone glass chemical reaction glass lid bottle coin purse crumbling lavender palm wooden finger defensive shield destructive hand dusting off sprinkles creature pass by roaring cork casting healing glittery spice earth vacuum pouring acid pebble leaves leaf shaking shiny tree branch squeezed shuffling stirring grinder water bending ladle summoning teleporting time travel transfiguration imitating groaning laughing screaming wicked giggle eerie.

    What else you may need
    You may also want to check out our Gore for warfare, Essential Magic for darker magic and spells and All About Games Master Collection for a mega collection of 23 different packs for game audio sound effects.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Bicycle Sound Effects City Bicycles – Complete Bundle Play Track 633 sounds included, 330 mins total $120

    The complete package bundles all available City Bicycles-packages and is fully UCS compliant. The ‘Various Passbys + Bicycle Handling’ package is added as a free bonus!

    This is a unique bicycle library that captures four characteristic bikes in clean, quiet, nicely performed true exterior rides. Including multiple perspectives, speeds and actions. From fast passbys on asphalt to slow onboard recordings, smooth or skidding stops. This package contains everything you need to create convincing sound design for a City Bicycle.

    Contents:

    Four bikes with distinct characteristics:
    1. Good bike: a smooth sounding retro bike that doesn’t rattle or squeak, really nice tire noise.
    2. Bad bike: an old worn bike with severe rattles and cranking, tends to let the chain fly off.
    3. Ugly bike: this bike gets you from A to B… but it won’t win awards for it’s looks.
    4. Racer bike: a vintage racer that’s pre-owned but still super slick.
    'City Bicycles'  Sound Library by Frick & Traa
    Five perspectives:
    1. Onboard Front: captures the whirring tire and surface sound.
    2. Onboard Pedal: nice overall combination of pedaling, crank creaks, chain rattle, tire and surface sounds.
    3. Onboard Rear: close up sound of the rear axle, with chain, sprocket and switching of gear.
    4. Tracking shot: mono recording of the passby, keeping the bike in focus while passing by.
    5. Static XY shot: stereo recording of the passby that emphasizes speed.

    Five perspectives:



    Overview of perspectives and mic placement

    *Onboard recordings are 2-3 minutes long depending on speed. Higher speeds > shorter duration. All 3 onboard mics are edited in sync with one another to make layering easy. All Passbys, Arrivals and Departures move from Left to Right.

    Speeds and actions:
    Three speeds for every bike and every surface (see below). Departures from slow, medium to fast getaways. Arrivals from slow stops with gently squeaking handbrakes to heavy stuttering skids.

    City Bicycles – Perspectives Demo

    Five surfaces:

    We’ve recorded all Bikes on asphalt from all perspectives (onboard and roadside). Additionally, our most quiet bicycle (the Good Bike) was used to record 4 other surfaces from onboard perspectives.


    Five Surfaces:
    1. Asphalt: nice and clean, with smooth singing sound.**
    2. Large Bricks: nicely textured surface that makes the tires purr like a cat.**
    3. Gravel: a fresh crackling surface sound that you might find in a city park.
    4. Grit: classic bicycle path surface sounds that layers perfectly with the other surfaces.**
    5. Icy road: frozen asphalt with sparkling textures of ice crystals snapping under the wheels.

    **these surfaces are also recorded from Roadside Perspectives (passby: static and tracking)

    City Bicycles – Extra Surfaces Preview

    BONUS files:
    There are some sweeteners and extras to give your bike that extra layer of grit:
    1. Exterior recordings of various actions in multiple takes from rattles, bounces, shakes to roll-bys. Enough to make your bike sound just a little different.
    2. We also recorded 21 additional single passbys of various bicycles, from severely rattling to smooth riding bikes on small brick streets and alleys. Enough to expand your options to create a distinguished sound design.

    Metadata & Markers:

    FREE UPDATE to City Bicycles: now conforms to UCS with new metadata to quickly find your sounds.

    Because we know how important metadata is for your sound libraries we have created a consistent and intuitive description method that adheres to the Universal Category System. This allows you to find the sound you need easily, whether you work in a database like Soundminer/Basehead/PT Workspace work, or a Exporer/Finder window. We made a video that helps you navigate the library ans find your best bicycle sounds faster and easier.

    CategoryFull
    A quick way to filter out sounds you don’t need: like handling sounds or vice versa bicycle onboards.
    UserCategory
    Fastest way to find the type of action you need for all bicycles. Passby needed, just click and voila.
    OpenTier
    Once you’ve selected the bike you can open up OpenTier and audition and select the perspective you want to use.
    Scene &  Performer
    This field contains the type of bicycle to quickly navgiate to the bike you like.
    iXMLTrackLayout
    This is a neat little identifier you will find in the Waveform displays and you can see in a glance what Listening position you are.
    MicPerspective
    We have another way to find perspectives but it is more limited to distance to the recorded subject.
    So passbys are MED – EXT and handling are CU – EXT. Exterior? Of course: we recorded everything outside!
    UserComments
    We used this field to create the UserData and give you the minimal set of information about the recording in the filename.

    Additionally, we added Markers making specific sonic events are easy to spot in Soundminer and other apps.

    If you have any questions about this, please contact us info@frickandtraa.com!


    Single Bicycle packages:
    We also sell single packages for all the bicycles in this library.
    Here’s a handy comparison table:

    Reviews:
    344 AUDIO: ‘City Bicycles has a plethora of content, for a great price. The perfect balance between a great concept, great presentation and outstanding execution, lands them an almost perfect score of 4.9.

    The Audio Spotlight: City Bicycles is worth getting if you are in need of great sounding and well edited bicycle sounds.

    Watch a video created by Zdravko Djordjevic.

    City Bicycles sound examples
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  • Animal Sound Effects Rural Ambiences and Textures vol.1 Play Track 130+ sounds included, 270 mins total $21

    Rural ambiences, farm animals, pastures, rural villages, forest, meadows, tractors, farm ambiences etc. Distant villages, daytime and nighttime recordings. Barnyard, henhouse, pigsty ambiences, lumberjack works etc. Check the sound list for full info.

    High quality recordings recorded in MS, XY, AB; NOS, etc., mostly with Sennheiser MKH microphones and Sound Devices recorder/mixer. Files are without any dynamic manipulation (compression) with max. peak around -5dBFS.

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  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with Shure KSM 137, Line Audio Omni1, FEL Clippy XLR EM272, Sonorous Objects SO.3 and JrF C-Series Pro+ microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II & Zoom F3 recorders. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.
  • Ambisonic Sounds – Sea Waves Loops Vol.2 – these are 16 sounds of sea waves recorded on a pebble beach at close range, 2 sounds with seagull voices, 4 sounds recorded on the beach during the beginning of a thunderstorm and 6 sounds recorded near the seashore in the early morning, in which in addition to the sound of the sea, the sounds of crickets can be heard.

  • Electricity Sound Effects Massive Electric Magic Play Track 2587 sounds included, 154 mins total $34.99

    MASSIVE ELECTRIC MAGIC – is an extensive sound library containing 2587 unique files of various types of electric magic. From Zaps, Cracks and Buzzing to Lightning Energy chains. All of our libraries comply with the Universal Category System naming convention standard, allowing for accurate and easy granular searches.

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