A downloaded sound effect can be hard to use as it is. It may be too quiet, so loud that it distorts, or have unused parts at the start and end. This guide uses the sounds published in this library as its examples, and explains how to make them easier to use by looking at measured values (peak and average level, length of silence) and waveforms.
Every number comes from the original WAV files of published sounds. Recording levels and margins differ from sound to sound, so the guides show how to check a specific sound and adjust it.
What you will find in this guide
- How to Use
The whole flow from finding a sound to listening, downloading and checking the License. Start here if you are new.
- Adjusting Sound Effect Volume
What dBFS, peak and average level mean, and how the measured levels of the sounds in this library are distributed. It includes an example of calculating the gain a sound needs, with its waveform.
- Cutting and Editing Sound Effects
Using a sound with about 5 seconds of silence at the start and a sound with silence at both ends as examples, this shows how cutting and fading change the waveform.
Before you use a sound
The sounds are free for commercial and non-commercial use, but redistributing the sound files themselves and selling them as a sound pack are prohibited. Sounds recorded in towns, parks and stations may include voices or other sounds from around. Please check the License and the FAQ before use.
Read next
For the equipment and environment used to record the sounds, see Recording and Creating Sounds. To find sounds, use the categories or the list of all sounds.