Review Of The ProSoundEffects NYC Ambisonics Library

Wouldn't it be nice if we had surround format sound effects that we could use in our productions? Of course we have upmixing plug-ins we can employ, enabling us to be able to use all our legacy content. But especially for atmospheres, wouldn't it be great to have native surround atmos tracks to use.

But it's not that simple, because we already have a range of surround formats like 5.1, or 7.1. Then there is the issue of Dolby Atmos or Auro 3D and so on. So how is any sound effects library going to release surround effects collection with relaxing loads of different formats? 

Well the answer can be found in some technology that has been around for along time - Ambisonics. It could be argued that Ambisonics was way ahead of its time especially in the ways of recording and processing. The star of the Ambisonics world is the Soundfield microphone, and that too has had a checkered history.

But we digress, coming back to surround effects, the huge benefit of Ambisonics is that you can decode it out to range of different formats including height information from the same source content, usually B-Format. So for ProSoundEffects to launch NYC Ambisonics is very smart move. Adding software to decode out with, is truly inspired.  So let's take a look at what they have to offer. 

Having installed the free SurroundZone 2 plug-in from TSL, who were very smart to release this as a free plug-in and of course it doesn't only work on Soundfield mics, it can handle any B Format signal as I showed when I reviewed the Brahma mic.

All you need to do is to create a Quad track in Pro Tools, drop the NYC Ambisonics audio onto that track and insert the appropriate instance of SurroundZone 2 onto that Quad track and play.

I have listened to most of the tracks in this library and they are brilliant, and very well recorded. Several stand out though, especially the ride on the New York subway as well as the subway platform, and Chinatown is full of life.

This way of delivering sound effects has to be a key way forward, especially for atmos tracks as we have the content in a future proofed format. As surround formats change then it is simply a matter of having a decoding plug-in that will take the B-Format signal and break it out into the appropriate surround format. No need to buy new material, use upmixing plug-ins, and so on.

Then with Dolby Atmos and Auro 3D there is height information because the Soundfield system also records height as well as surround making it is a true 3D immersive format.

You can use the plug-in to steer the mic to the height channels but wouldn't be great if TSL produced SurroundZone3 which produced an Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos compatible formats straight from the plug-in and B-Format source material.

For now, you can take another instance of the SurroudZone2 plug-in, point the mic into the sky and route that output to the height channels, safe in the knowledge that because of the way the Soundfield and B-Format is designed you are working with a truly coherent sound.

You can try it out for free by downloading the Free Sampler which includes 2 full ambiences  and the SurroundZone2 software.

Top marks to ProSoundEffects for leading the way and including the SurroundZone2 plug-in in with the library. More of these please.

Foley Collection & Surround Sound Lab Offering 50% Off Just For this Weekend

To celebrate Alvaro's wedding Foleycollection.com and surroundsoundlab.net have a 50% discount at their checkout process. Alvaro told us...

Its a really important date for us, so, Im happy to share this deal with all the people!!

Don't forget its Sunday already, so if you want to save 50% then get over to Foley Collection and Surround Sound Lab sites today, as tomorrow will be too late.

The Joys And Challenges Of Recording Footsteps

A Sound Effect have published a great blog post interviewing Finnish sound designer and recordist Pasi Pitkänen as he shares the trials and tribulations o recording his latest footsteps library.

The idea for the Footsteps series came when I needed various snow footstep sounds for a project that I was working on. I looked at the general sound effect libraries that I had and realised that the variety was not good enough so I decided to record my own.

But there wasn't gain without pain as he was plagued by mosquitoes...

The mosquitoes were literally everywhere which forced me to record all the sounds in smaller sessions so I could battle the mosquitoes in between. The same thing happened when I recorded the water footstep sounds in the lake near my cabin. This time I had to get rid of my pants so I could record the deep water sounds – and boy did the mosquitoes love that!

You can read the full interview on the A Sound Effect blog here.

Whilst we are on the subject of the A Sound Effect blog, Asbjoern Andersen recently interviewed me and you can read my interview on his blog too.

GameSound Conference Announce 40% Discount For Early Bird Bookings

GameSoundCon, a conference on video game music and sound design, has opened early bird registration for their 2015 conference to be held November 3 and 4 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

The popular conference features two days of sessions, panel discussions and hands-on workshops from over twenty of the game industry's leading composers, sound designers and audio directors and is the perfect foray into the fast-growing videogame audio industry. Register during early-bird registration before October 2 and save nearly 40% off the onsite admission price.