Back in the day, when CDs were young, a well-heeled production studio might have something called “The General.”
The General, from a Canadian company called Sound Ideas, was a series of sound effects on CDs. It had a lot of effects in a wide range.
The photo from a Sound Ideas video shows a weapon being fired so its sound can be recorded.
In fact, unlike some generals, this one never faded away, and it was retooled over the proceeding decades. The latest is The General HD Sound Effects Library. Packing in the neighborhood of 25,000 effects, it’s available on a hard drive. Windows and Mac versions are available. Each file is available as in 24-bit/96 kHz, 24-bit/48 kHz, 16-bit/48 kHz and 16-bit/44.1 kHz BWAV files.
You want a flamethrower? A San Francisco cable car? The Queen Mary II? A music box? Footsteps? A vintage slot machine? The sound of a bone breaking? They’re here. The company says it rented a variety of planes, choppers, cars and boats to create these sounds, and it offers a video summary of the process on its website.
The company calls the project a “mammoth production.” Sound Ideas founder Brian Nimens said the company has released more than 1,000 CDs of sound effects but he considers this the best.
The package costs $3,995; it’s offered online in a “pre-release special” for $2,995. The package is shipping in beta form now; beta buyers will also receive the final version come July.
