Meet Soundly – a revolutionary new cloud-based approach to sound effects:

Hi Peder, just what is Soundly?

Soundly is an app for Mac and Windows that gives you access to a big 96kHz, 24-bit sound effects library in the cloud, and let’s you drag and drop sound effects from the cloud library straight into your project. It works with every sound and video editor that we have tested it with, and we’ve tested it with a lot. You can also add effects like pitching, reversing, summing, hear it in real time and have it instantly printed to the sound when you drag it out.
 

When did you get the idea for Soundly, and how long has it been in the works?

I started doing more and more sound design on my laptop, and it was a drag to always have to have a hard drive of sound effects with me, so I started researching if it was possible to solve this all in the cloud. I’m a decent coder and tested different ideas, and when I got the first test version running, I really felt I was onto something big. I was amazed at how fluent and fast everything was feeling and I just went from there.

I was amazed at how fluent and fast everything was feeling and I just went from there

I’ve been working on this on and off for the last 5 years, and we have been running beta tests for the last two years so it feels like it’s ready to meet the rest of the world.
 

Soundly offers a unique cloud based approach to sound effects. How does it work, and how about performance?

Files come down blistering fast from the cloud in very high quality and people often won’t believe it’s possible to do it that fast, but we have done some very smart things to make this work as fast as it does. The servers are running on Google’s own infrastructure so this is very fast wherever you are, and scales perfectly when we are doing stress loads – so I’m very confident the servers will hold up even under heavy load.
 

Soundly comes with librarian features too, so you can manage your existing catalog too – how does the librarian aspect work?

Yes, you can also use Soundly to index your local sound effects or music and use it as a regular librarian tool.

You can also use Soundly to index your local sound effects or music and use it as a regular librarian tool

It supports meta data in many different formats and you can also import your entire library from other sound library tools.

A cool feature is that you can monitor a local folder, so if you add new sound effects to your sound effects folder they will be indexed by Soundly and instantly available.
 

There’s also a premium SFX library included. What’s the story behind that one?

The idea behind the app was to join a librarian app and sound effects in one tool. So from the very beginning I’ve been trying to get a good sound library on board. It’s been a lot of work as most people with a good library won’t sell it as a subscription. They want to sell the whole thing for a high sum instead of what we are doing, selling a subscription at $14.99 a month. I knew Christian Schaanning from the sound design community and he has done some great films here in Norway and has also been doing some work in LA on films like Transformers 3. You can check out his imdb here.
I had just lost another Library and met him randomly and drunkenly late at a bar in Oslo… Mid week. I had been to an award show – I do sound for tv and radio adds – and he had had a seminar with some junior sound designers. We made one of those drunken deals where we where going to meet tomorrow and discuss this further, and we actually did.

As it turned out, he has made one of the best sounding sound libraries I’ve ever heard

As it turned out, he has made one of the best sounding sound libraries I’ve ever heard. It wasn’t organized yet, but he promised to get it named and tagged, and he did. We uploaded the library to the beta testers in March, and they instantly loved it. As the library is in the cloud we are constantly adding new sound effects and it’s growing every day. Christian has now joined the company and we are trying our best to save the world, together.
 

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

 

1

Distorted Perception

$25 $10

2

Designed Fire

$35

3

Organic Whooshes

$24

4

Dive Deep

$40

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Latest releases:  

• 

  
  World Sounds Human Africa Play Track 46+ sounds included, 260 mins total From: $75 From: $60

  Human Africa is a collection of authentic ambiences recorded in rural and urban locations across various countries in Africa.

  The library covers a wide range of settings, from urban idyllic countryside ambiences and conversations in various languages to traffic and skyline soundscapes. Each file is carefully meta-tagged with location, time of day and language (if present) information.

  20 %

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• 

  
  Foley Helinä Play Track 754+ sounds included, 225 mins total $80

  “Helinä” can be translated as “the tinkling sound made by the shaking of tiny bells”.  These may be wind chimes, and some are quite large, but the meaning of the name still rings true.  Beautiful, glorious, and entrancing wind chimes, all stirred up for your designing and listening pleasure.

  We've meticulously recorded and only very lightly edited 15 different sets of wind chimes composed of varying materials, shapes, and sizes. The result is a stirring array of shimmering textures from the soft dull knock of bamboo to the brilliant crystalline sparkle of obsidian. 

  The chimes sets and performances include:
  

  Chimes: Bamboo, Glass Shards, Porcelain Bell, Cast iron Bell, Glass Bell, Stoneware, Obsidian, Buoy, Paper/Mixed, Copper, Aluminum, Bronze, Agate, Shells, Capiz

  Performances: Flowing (Short, Med, Long), Breeze (Light), Windy (Moderate), Stormy (Heavy), Quaking, Plops, Gusts, Strikes, Grabbing, Releasing

  You'll get incredible tonal depth, preciously sustained tails, and conveniently isolated strikes and “gusts” resulting in a natural representation of each chime.  All of the chime-work was recorded in 192 kHz so you can bend, stretch, and twist with the comfort of the extended harmonic content of each chime.  All of the performances resulted in 50 separate files for each of the 15 chimes, making layering and matching performances a breeze.  In addition to the chime sets, we've included four stereo wind captures, in different capacities and locations, for adding context and ambiance to any wind chime-appropriate environment you may find yourself working on. 

  Add to cart
• 

  
  Foley The Vintage Toybox Play Track 212 sounds included, 34 mins total $20

  A collection of vintage toy sounds. From the grating noise of a balloon being rubbed, to the childhood memory evoking sounds of a pogo stick bouncing away, a toy train whirring around, a tin robot stomping along, to deliciously gross slime; these sounds may be just what you need for your game, video, film or animation.

  Add to cart
• 

  
  Sci-Fi Fully Charged Vol. 1 Play Track 205 sounds included $50

  ‘Fully Charged Vol.1’ is a collection of 205 sound effects from the science-fiction realm. Each sound is made from an original sound source representative of energy movements, impacts, weapons and other alien sounds. Easily manipulable, these sounds are ideal for a range of sound design applications.

  Add to cart
• 

  
  Horror Horror Cinema Transitions & Impacts Play Track 100 sounds included, 8 mins total $55 $45

  'Horror Cinema Transitions & Impacts' by Cinematic Sound Design delivers a unique hand-crafted selection of sound effects, designed for Horror films, games, apps, music productions, company logos and more.

  The sounds within this pack have been meticulously designed using both synthesis & recording techniques. In addition to a range of outboard synthesizers, a huge selection of foley sound effects were recorded using Sound Devices 702 field recorder and a pair of Neumann KM184 microphones. All sounds have been put together & processed later through an Apogee Symphony AD/DA.

  18 %

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The Horror Sound Effects Sale is now live!

Land huge savings on scary sound effects libraries here

What’s ahead for Soundly?

We have a lot of stuff coming out the door, and upgrading will always be free as this is subscription based. We like to keep things secret before we release new features, but I can say that we are working on a revolutionary way for sound designers and video editors to work together in the cloud. Get on board now and join the revolution :)
 

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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:  

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  Horror Distorted Perception Play Track 146 sounds included, 44 mins total $25 $10

  Need to create a tense atmosphere to induce madness, craziness and fear in your Horror or Sci-fi project? DISTORTED PERCEPTION is the library for you.

  Abnormal melodies, strange sound movements, transitions and distorted cinematic impacts are some of the things you will find in this collection; sounds with a distorted, saturated and tense feeling to grab people’s attention and provoke fear, tension and suspense in them.

  You can also use the sounds to enhance musical productions or create some nasty and crazy musical moments, thanks to a nice selection of percussive elements. The library contains two musical compositions using only the sounds in this library (using the percussive sounds with some of the atmospheres and transitions). Apart of being a great library for Horror or Sci-fi games and movies, this collection works well for trailers too.

  Sounds included:
  Atmospheric elements: Abnormal melodies, feedback and tense drones • Cinematic basses • Saturated bass drops • Distorted cinematic impacts • Sci-fi impacts • Sound movements • Noises • Percussive elements: Drum kicks, distorted drum kicks, hi-hats, snare drums, movements and sequences • Transitions

  60 %

  OFF

  Ends 1541026800
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• 

  
  Whooshes Organic Whooshes Play Track 1215 sounds included

  Rated 5.00 out of 5

  $24

  More than 1200 whooshes from classic and unusual sources. Broom, fire, cable, pipe, fabric and many other swipes join wooshes from aerosol spray, combs, dish rack, and more strange sources.

  Each clip is carefully trimmed and meticulously organized in folders and with full metadata.

  Add to cart
• 

  
  Horror Atmosfear Play Track 50 sounds included, 31 mins total $10 $7.50

  Featuring sounds taken from lo-fi instrumental recordings, harsh noise experiments and granular synthesis explorations, Atmosfear is a gritty soundscape collection geared towards the horror genre. With a distinctly unpolished production style to bring a rough edge to your scenario, these sounds can be used to invoke feelings of suspense, dread, tension, fear and doom into your characters and environments.

  What does an industrial scale torture chamber in an abandoned asylum sound like? What about a high-voltage electrical possession? Find the answer to these questions and more with Atmosfear. Enter if you dare.

  Note: For a limited time, this library is included for FREE when you purchase Paranormal from Glitchedtones
  25 %

  OFF

  Ends 1540159200
  Add to cart

  Explore the full, unique collection here

---

The Horror Sound Effects Sale is now live!

Land huge savings on scary sound effects libraries here

---

Latest sound effects libraries:

 

• 

  
  World Sounds Human Africa Play Track 46+ sounds included, 260 mins total From: $75 From: $60

  Human Africa is a collection of authentic ambiences recorded in rural and urban locations across various countries in Africa.

  The library covers a wide range of settings, from urban idyllic countryside ambiences and conversations in various languages to traffic and skyline soundscapes. Each file is carefully meta-tagged with location, time of day and language (if present) information.

  20 %

  OFF

  Ends 1540418400
• 

  
  Foley Helinä Play Track 754+ sounds included, 225 mins total $80

  “Helinä” can be translated as “the tinkling sound made by the shaking of tiny bells”.  These may be wind chimes, and some are quite large, but the meaning of the name still rings true.  Beautiful, glorious, and entrancing wind chimes, all stirred up for your designing and listening pleasure.

  We've meticulously recorded and only very lightly edited 15 different sets of wind chimes composed of varying materials, shapes, and sizes. The result is a stirring array of shimmering textures from the soft dull knock of bamboo to the brilliant crystalline sparkle of obsidian. 

  The chimes sets and performances include:
  

  Chimes: Bamboo, Glass Shards, Porcelain Bell, Cast iron Bell, Glass Bell, Stoneware, Obsidian, Buoy, Paper/Mixed, Copper, Aluminum, Bronze, Agate, Shells, Capiz

  Performances: Flowing (Short, Med, Long), Breeze (Light), Windy (Moderate), Stormy (Heavy), Quaking, Plops, Gusts, Strikes, Grabbing, Releasing

  You'll get incredible tonal depth, preciously sustained tails, and conveniently isolated strikes and “gusts” resulting in a natural representation of each chime.  All of the chime-work was recorded in 192 kHz so you can bend, stretch, and twist with the comfort of the extended harmonic content of each chime.  All of the performances resulted in 50 separate files for each of the 15 chimes, making layering and matching performances a breeze.  In addition to the chime sets, we've included four stereo wind captures, in different capacities and locations, for adding context and ambiance to any wind chime-appropriate environment you may find yourself working on. 
• 

  
  Foley The Vintage Toybox Play Track 212 sounds included, 34 mins total $20

  A collection of vintage toy sounds. From the grating noise of a balloon being rubbed, to the childhood memory evoking sounds of a pogo stick bouncing away, a toy train whirring around, a tin robot stomping along, to deliciously gross slime; these sounds may be just what you need for your game, video, film or animation.
• 

  
  Sci-Fi Fully Charged Vol. 1 Play Track 205 sounds included $50

  ‘Fully Charged Vol.1’ is a collection of 205 sound effects from the science-fiction realm. Each sound is made from an original sound source representative of energy movements, impacts, weapons and other alien sounds. Easily manipulable, these sounds are ideal for a range of sound design applications.
• 

  
  Horror Horror Cinema Transitions & Impacts Play Track 100 sounds included, 8 mins total $55 $45

  'Horror Cinema Transitions & Impacts' by Cinematic Sound Design delivers a unique hand-crafted selection of sound effects, designed for Horror films, games, apps, music productions, company logos and more.

  The sounds within this pack have been meticulously designed using both synthesis & recording techniques. In addition to a range of outboard synthesizers, a huge selection of foley sound effects were recorded using Sound Devices 702 field recorder and a pair of Neumann KM184 microphones. All sounds have been put together & processed later through an Apogee Symphony AD/DA.

  18 %

  OFF