Radio Effects - Zaps, swooshes, etc

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chaser1023

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I'm trying to figure out how they do it? these radio production houses who sell electronic Sound efx....The "laser stings, hits, sweepers" and all of that really high end effect stuff --- What in the hell are they using? I know it's a keyboard or synth of some sort but does anyone here know what what the preferred tools are? I want to pick up whatever it is, and go into that end of the business.
 
Written onomonopias don't really do any justice to sound. I myself don't have a clue what you're interested in. If I had to guess I'd say a therimin.

Carl
 
is there any intelligent life out there?

If so, I'd appreciate whatever feed back you have on the subject of "post"!
 
I'm trying to help you.

Perhaps you have a link to an example of the kinds of sounds you're looking to recreate?

Otherwise all the "bloop bloop bloops" and "whoosh zap bangs" you type into your posts aren't going to get you the answer that you ulitimatly want.

Carl
 
That was great Arcaxis.....I'll checked it out! That's the ballpark but the effects are somewhat dated, and I do have a Star Wars efx library however the newer sounds are the ones I'm actually trying to .... will not find, but create. I've spent a small fortune on prerecorded efx already. And I've used them in my productions. However these efx can be produced in house with the right keyboard or synth, so there's my dilema. Thanks though.

Krakit, thank you but you're kinda hard to figure out - you got the whole big "Spaceghost" thing going on and you don't have ANY idea as to what a synth generated "zap" or "swoosh" is? Spaceghost wasa cartoon that featured a ton of those synth generated sounds. Electronic "hits", "sizzles", Star Wars?......does any of this ring a bell for you? Most radio stations use these effects to enhance their sound. Many sound effect libraries contain these sounds....I'm simply trying to find out how to create those "sounds"- but thanks anyway.
 
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You hadn't referenced anything specific at all. At least now you've mentioned Star Wars and lasers together.

I can tell you that the laser blasts in Star Wars was generated by striking high tension wires on a radio tower with a wrench.

I'm also not sure what it is your trying to do professionally here. If you wish to sell sounds, downloading these things for yourself or buying samples only to resell them dosen't sound like a profitable line of work.

There are only a few ways to generate original sounds to record for sound effects (for movies and the like).

One is to create real sounds using real objects in the real world (stabbing watermelons for Jason-esque knife plunges for example).

The other is to create synthesized versions of sounds electronically. I do it all the time. I've created a dentist drill, waves with sea gull calls, applause, train whistles with steam, popcorn, gunshots, horse hooves, insect wings and scores of others sound effects using nothing more than a Roland JX-8P.

If you are after the first, there's plenty of "how to" references around that will teach you how to use slabs of meat for hollywood fist fights and kitty litter with loafers for walking up gravel garden paths.

If you are after the second it takes patience, a fine tuned ear and a thorough understanding of how to craft sounds from whole cloth armed with nothing more than an analogue or digital oscillator.

Good luck.

Carl
 
An oscillator.....Krakit....you are the man! Now we're cooking. And so you understand I produce radio spots and to punctuate phrases or copy points, we use zaps! swooshes and the like. I apologize for expecting you to know all of that. So there you have it. Listen to any Contemporary Hits radio station or watch any Generation X type television commercial and you'll hear those sounds that I speak of.
 
I agree with Krakit, many unique sounds can be created with ocillators. You can buy some 80's era analog synths (such as a Juno 60) which come with one or more ocillators. These synths also have various filters, etc for shaping the sounds.

As Krakit indicates, you can also create many sounds with creative use of everyday items and a sampler. There are many books on the art of creating sound effects and Foley.

I don't do many radio spots any more (I've found that with low cost recording gear most radio stations and marketing agencies have in house capabilities) but when I did, I used my analog synths extensively - and naturally once affordable sampling came around (remember the Mirage sampler?) I spent numerous hours in my studio, yard and driveway, sampling every foot step, car horn and door slam I could find (not to mention farts, belches and samples of oohs & aahs from porno flicks - none of which actually ended up on any radio spots)
 
chizzle said:
An oscillator.....Krakit....you are the man! Now we're cooking. And so you understand I produce radio spots and to punctuate phrases or copy points, we use zaps! swooshes and the like. I apologize for expecting you to know all of that. So there you have it. Listen to any Contemporary Hits radio station or watch any Generation X type television commercial and you'll hear those sounds that I speak of.
Click to expand...


Well, I recently upgraded to a Roland MKS-70 and am selling my Roland JX-8P for around $300.

It has dual DCO's and VCO's in it. Oh, and I've replaced all the internal sounds with factory presets so you won't be getting any of my home made tweaks.

Carl
 
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