Awesome Sound Effects

(PG-13: Language) The Wilhelm Scream is known as one of the most overused sound effects in the history of movies and TV. While this sound effect of an audience gasping has yet to catch up with old Wilhelm, it definitely has been used way too many times. There’s a full list of its uses on the Sound Effects Wiki.

Like that guy from the Police Academy movies, beatboxer J-COP has the amazing ability to imitate just about any sound. But that’s not the best part of his videos – it’s his hype team – a group of friends and breakdancers who celebrate each achievement with more enthusiam than the guys in a How Ridiculous video after they hit a perfect target. More here.

If you think that a guitar is just meant for making music, you’re wrong. Musician Cameron Cooper shows us how to get some crazy and unusual sounds out of an electric guitar, including a horse’s whinny, a church bell, police sirens, and some creepy evil clown sounds.

David Fincher is known for his precise and fastidious approach to filmmaking. While he’s frequently lauded for his “every frame is a work of art” visuals, his use of sound is equally impressive. Luís Azevedo of Little White Lies put together this supercut of sound effects from Fincher’s films that showcases their intensity and impact.

Foley artists create sound effects for TV shows, movies, and video games. Sanaa Kelley and Monique Reymond are two of the industry’s best and brightest. This video from Insider shows us how they produce sounds for SpongeBob SquarePants, Kung Fu Panda, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more.

When Hollywood needs to record a blood-curdling scream for a movie or TV show, they turn to voice professionals like Ashley Peldon. In this episode of 60 Second Docs, Ashley talks about the various kinds of screams she can produce, and what it takes to be a Scream Artist.

This unique effects pedal offers hot-swappable audio effects packaged in Nintendo 64 cartridges. The Console Pedals 3D-printed base station can hold two effect cartridges at the same time, and runs on batteries for portability. Harpist Emily Hopkins got her hands on a demo unit and put it through the test.

Guitarists have all kinds of effects pedals to choose from, adding echo, harmonics, warbles, and other sounds to their music. But as far as we know, this is the first pedal that turns every note you play into a fart. It even lets you adjust the gas output and toggle between wet and dry flatulence.

Do you love tabletop role-playing games? Tabletopy is a Windows PC app that adds a soundtrack to your games for added immersion. The soundboard includes more than 160 ambient soundscapes, music, and sound effects to help set the scene for various locations and actions. Listen to a 5-minute sound sample on Soundcloud.

We already know that Forza Horizon 5 looks spectacular, but the upcoming Xbox racer will also delight our ears with noise candy. But we’re not just talking exhaust notes, no. Microsoft has filled its environments with realistic ambient sounds, including those in this soothing 30-minute sampler from the game’s locations in Mexico.

Avengers fans assemble! This portable gadget features recorded samples of famous sound bites from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Push a button, and it’ll say “Hulk Smash!”, “I am Groot!” or make the sound of Iron Man’s suit being activated. Includes eight sound effects and runs on two AAA batteries.

Beyond the It’sa Me Mario!, you have to admit that the sounds in Nintendo’s 1st-party games are often pretty silly. Comedian Gus Johnson takes a stab at envisioning exactly how they came up with all those sounds in the recording studio.

During the creation of Halo Infinite the audio team at 343 Industries turned to an unusual method to make some of the game’s sounds. Instead of just playing this piano, they used a hammer, baseball bat, and other tools to demolish it, making some truly dissonant sounds. That dry ice on metal is especially disturbing.

For as groundbreaking as the CGI animated visuals were in the original Toy Story, Gary Rydstrom’s sound design was every bit as important in conveying the stories of Woody, Buzz, and company. The Royal Ocean Film Society invites us to listen to some of the sound effects that helped bring the Toy Story universe to life.

Musician Armin Küpper has figured out that the large piece of pipe he found at a nearby construction site makes for a great echo chamber. Until it’s buried in the ground, he’s using it to augment his various saxophones and guitar with a great bit of acoustic reverb.

On this episode of IMDb’s Special Skills, Jay Pharoah is joined by Rhys Darby to spend a few minutes talking about impressions, as Rhys shares some of his tricks for making sound effects with his voice, who simply can’t resist trying to do an impression of his New Zealander guest. Michael Winslow has nothing to worry about… yet.

This unusual guitar effects pedal changes its sound based on whatever liquid you pour into it. Unscrew the watertight lid, pour in the beverage of your choice, and the conductive properties of said liquid will influence signal gain, while its opacity affects the equalization of the sound. Demo video here. (Thanks Mike!)

Do you need some sound effects for a project? The BBC and RES have released a massive library of over 16000 individual sounds in WAV format for use in personal, educational or research projects. You’ll need a license for commercial usage though. If you don’t have a use for them now, it’s fun to browse and listen.

Guitarist Rob Scallon teamed up with the guys at Sweetwater Music to put together the most insane guitar effects rig ever – a massive pedalboard made up of 318 unique pedals, all connected in a single audio flow. Build timelapse here.

(Gore) If you’ve ever played a Mortal Kombat game, you know just how nasty the fatalities can be. Accompanying the brutal imagery are appropriately gut-wrenching sound effects. VICE News takes us inside Netherrealm’s Chicago HQ to see how they created some of the gnarliest noises in Mortal Kombat 11.

Musician and video artist Jonny Wilson of Eclectic Method decided to soften the devastating blow of war movies by replacing the sounds of guns, explosions, and war machines with joyful sound effects made by little kids.

Looking for some nature sounds to help you relax or sleep? You could download one of the many white noise apps out there, or you could play FunWithGuru’s video clip, a 16-minute-long compilation of rain sounds captured from 50 different video games.

Star Wars fans will geek out over this extensive video from Indepth Sound Design, using commentary by sound designer Ben Burtt as he explains how he came up with some of the most recognizable sounds ever recorded, from lightsabers, to R2-D2, to Chewbacca, and more.