There are many sound design sample libraries out there that you can use for your trailer music. You can even record your own sounds to create some great braams, hits, risers, and much more.
However, here are 4 really great ones that anyone interested in some new sound design samples for their music should check out. I have not focused on any melodic or pure orchestra content here – this is all about the hits, the risers, the transitions, atmospheres and all of that good sound design, hard hitting and face melting stuff, but also the soft, the big and the mysterious!
Let’s check them out.
1. BOOM LIBRARY – CINEMATIC TRAILERS DESIGNED & CONSTRUCTION KITS
$199
If you’re a sound designer, in any of the creative fields; movie industry, trailers, games, commercials and anything you might need sound fx for – you cannot go on without knowing who Boom Library are. Their professional sound FX are among the best in the sample industry – they simply deliver some of the best. And not the least for musicians! That’s why I wanted to include these libraries here; Cinematic Trailers Designed, and the Construction Kits. Audio files for click-and-drag into your sequencer.
Cinematic Trailers Designed include 150+ Impacts, Whooshes, Transitions, and Risers. Pretty much all of these sounds are highly useful for trailer music. Check’em out.
2. HEAVYOCITY – DAMAGE
$149 ON FREQUENT SALES, OTHERWISE $299
Damage is one of those libraries pretty much every modern composer knows of. It’s heard everywhere, and for a good reason – it’s one hell of a percussion library. The sound is instant Hollywood – processed, powerful, cutting and just thick. It has hits, booms, FX, great sounding ethnic, tribal and regular percussion; everything from innocent cymbal scrapes to exploding cars. And its UI is very good. You can process the sounds a lot, you have a bunch of loops, single-hits and a great sample source for sound design. Kontakt-based.
Get Damage, guys. Just do it. On the many sales Heavyocity have it’s only 149 bucks, which is a steal for all you get.
3. IMPACT SOUNDWORKS – JUGGERNAUT
$139
Here is a sound design library that’s packed with great and really useful samples. It features hits, risers, transitions, textures, whooshes, reverses, melodic patches, and more. It’s just a very useful library all in all. Kontakt-based, but audio files are available.
4. AUDIO IMPERIA – SCENES FROM THE MULTIVERSE VOL. 1 / SHREDDERS VOL. 1
$59/$65
Audio Imperia has been releasing some great new sample content lately, and some of them are ones I would recommend warmly; Scenes From The Multiverse, and Shredders. They contain braams, drones, hits, risers (only in Multiverse), FX, pulses, and more. Some great sounds with a humble price tag.
Also, be sure to check out Audio Imperia’s free sample library created by Australian composer and sound designer Joshua Crispin (Generdyn). Very generous contribution by Joshua with some great sounds – definitely check that one out! It’s free!
EXTRA TIP: YOUR OWN SOUNDS!
There are so many sound sources you can use to make some great hits, risers, SFX, atmospheres and just anything you can imagine. By the power of audio processing, you can create some fantastic sounds on your own – and without too much of a hassle. Record your door slamming, a spoon hitting a saucepan, trashcan hits, scrapes – basically anything that makes a sound that you later can process the crap out of!
Those are my 4 recommended sound design libraries for now, guys. There are a myriad of libraries out there you can use, like NI’s Rise & Hit, HybridTwo’s Project Alpha/Bravo, Heavyocity’s Gravity, and tons more.
Be sure to stay tuned for more on video tutorials and courses on how to make your own sound design, trailer music and more on that subject.
Until next time!
