Soundtap for SFX

Place where the game's audio assets are produced.

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drfroth
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Soundtap for SFX

Post by drfroth »

This is message for all of those out there who feel like making interesting sound fx but are having trouble finding raw materials to work with.

Perhaps you do not have a nice front end for your DAW, or lack the funds to buy expensive microphones.

Perhaps you are tired of retarded public access sounds.

Here is a solution that I think you will find great.

NCH software makes a wonderful program called Soundtap. You can own this fine program for only $20. The interesting thing about it is that when you turn it on it replaces your sound drivers with its own. While the program is recording, everything you hear on your speakers can is converted realtime into an Mp3 or a WAV in a folder marked recordings.

Do you see the implications here?

I put up a showcase a minute ago with some SFX in it. There is one for a spell that I thought came out rather well. To make it, I used Soundtap. I turned on Soundtap, went over to Youtube and found a video of really angry little dog. Thanks to the program I was able to capture the pissed off little doggie and convert it to a Wav file.

Several modulations later I had mixed a few varients of "fido" and had something that no longer sounded like a dog but more like a spell for restoring my magicka.

My creature is an intresting mixture of a bird and an alligator.

If you need a decent workstation for mixing and editing your sound, NCH also makes Mixpad which you can get for $45.

So there you have it...a compete "Elder Scrolls Sound Workstation" for under 70 bucks.

The link to NCH is:
[url]http://www.nch.com.au[/url]

Good Luck in your sounds.
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Nanu
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Post by Nanu »

There is also always Audacity, which costs you absolutely nothing to use at the price of a learning curve so steep you need climbing gear to scale it.
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drfroth
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Post by drfroth »

Ease of use is important...

If you are going to take the time to do something, spending a little to make the job more time-effiant has never bothered me.

Considering what you could spend for software (DP alone is around $500) the nch product is a lot of bang for the buck.

The real gem is soundtap...instant mp3's anyone.

There is another free program called "Kristal" that was somebodies grad project or something. I have not tried it...have any of you?
Just when you think it's all ducks and checkers, the salamander begins to frolic in the eggnogg.
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