SOUND-EFFECTS LIBRARIESOver the years, Sound Ideas has established itself as a leading provider of sound effects, with an impressive number of “firsts.” Its Series 1000-still going strong after 15 years-was the first sound-effects library released on CD and the Series 2000 was the first all-digitally recorded library.
One recent library from Sound Ideas is the Series 9000 Open & Close, a 12-CD set priced at $595 featuring ordinary and unusual objects being manipulated, opened and shut.
The completeness of Open & Close is exhaustive, to say the least: Not only does it offer 1,000-plus residential-and 368 metal-doors, windows (159), latches, lockers and bottles, but also anything else you could imagine opening-barbecues, lipsticks, air locks, boxes, lenscaps, fans, freezer doors (both residential and morgue!), 152 key locks (and four canal-style locks!), prison cells, ovens (microwave and conventional), clasps, sewer grates, stereos, blinds, toilet seats and tanks, handcuffs, safes, luggage and cabinets of every conceivable variety. And the always-useful vehicle doors/windows are in force, with hundreds of effects from trains, planes, cars, buses and ships. I should also mention that the audio is impeccable throughout.
On a slightly smaller scale is Audience Reactions, a two-CD set of applause, cheers, whistles, laughs, guffaws, boos, jeers, “oohs,” “aahs” and more from small crowds to much larger gatherings such as the Toronto Skydome arena and Buffalo Bills football games. This collection offers more than 500 sound clips of adults’ and children’s reactions. The tracks recorded in the larger venues are suitable for use right out of the box and offer a wide range of selections and variety. However, I found that effects recorded in the small theater don’t hold up well when used alone; but, when blended with an existing ambience track, these provide a bit of front-row realism for “enhancing” a crowd reaction, and here these sounded perfectly natural. These small-group reactions are ideal for use as individual sound elements or for creating custom tableaus by combining a number of elements in any desired combination. At $249, it’s a handy item for anyone’s sound-design toolkit.
Sound Ideas: 905/886-5000; www.sound-ideas.com.
