Ambient Noise Options

[mellotron]

does anyone have any good tips for creating ambient noise? any good sample cd's? if i was to create some stuff on my own, where should i start? ive got a song that i want to put some abient noise in front of to fade in. i was thinking of making my own samples to do it. im also looking for a way to create the sound of a beating heart. im not really sure what to use to do that either.

[Bart S.]

What exactly do you mean by "Ambient noise"?... That's pretty vague...
Is it ambiences such as winds, traffic, crowds...?... Can you be a little more specific?...
There are sound libraries available for almost any kinds of sounds, realistic (Sound Ideas, Hollywood edge, Digiffects...) or abstract (Distorted Reality, various FX CD's such as the excellent XFX for those who know it...).
Also, many plug ins or stand alone apps now provide a wide range of those stuffs: Atmosphere, Reason, ...
As far as the beating heart is concerned...may I dare to tell you that this has been used over and over and over and over again?...

[ryosode]

Errr.. there's plenty of ambient samples out there. Just go to google and search for "wav sample". It'll give you numerous sites with downloadable sampled sounds.

[mellotron]

well i dont care if the sound of a heartbeat has been used over and over... i just want to use it in MY song.

i dont know how to describe what kind of ambient noise im looking for, i just was picturing several noises used as one that would create a sound that was really convoluted. i dont know how else to describe it.

im sort of new to this kind of music... im used to playing straight rock music that does not use any kind of synth or effect sounds.

[mellotron]

well i dont care if the sound of a heartbeat has been used over and over... i just want to use it in MY song.

i dont know how to describe what kind of ambient noise im looking for, i just was picturing several noises used as one that would create a sound that was really convoluted. i dont know how else to describe it.

im sort of new to this kind of music... im used to playing straight rock music that does not use any kind of synth or effect sounds.

[rickenbacker]

Search on sample sites on the web or look into buying some FX CDs - that's the best way to find what you want.

[ryosode]

Yeah, this is kind of a trial and error stuff. We can't really tell you what you want if you don't even know what you want. Just start buying some sample CDs and download samples and listen to each piece one by one or put them into a loop sequencer to see if you get the idea of it.

[Shadowman]

Listen to California's Bastard Noise for the best extreme ambient noise

www.desolationhouse.com - they have a sample mp3 track on there somewhere.

[trippinginthefal...]

Two ways to do ambience, that I can think of.

Raw - get a portable dat recorder with a microphone. Carry it with you to places that have natural ambient noise, factories, junk yards, empty warehouses... etc.

Synth - get a hardware synth. Set the oscillator to noise, play with the filters and lfos to create individual textures. Record them. Manipulate to taste, either by layering, crossfading, timestretching, pitchshifting, etc. etc.

Using sample CDs isnt really musicality. Create something, don't copy something.

Scotty

[alset]

I assume you are looking for something that listeners will feel more than they hear, right? Sound that is played around the body of a track to make it seem thicker and fuller? Try using noise on an oscillator and modulating it with cutoff and LFOs. I get great sound using this technique. You can get sounds that people will never notice, but become a crucial element to the body of a track.

Also, try adding reverb or chorus to your sound. If you need it even bigger, use the same sound on two tracks and pan them both hard left and hard right. This will spread your stereo field. Ambient, after all, should surround the listener, so you may have good luck with this.

Dan