Software Review: SoundFX III, Pg. 2

One benefit of the Juicer aside from being a very competent media manager is it’s ability to change the output of files to a host of different sample rates from 8kHz to 96kHz (remember source files originate at 96kHz) to match your projects needs and size requirements. You also have an option of stereo or mono output and 8, 16, or 24 bit sound files. Output format is *.wav or *.aiff. File names can be renamed from the generic number system to a specific project title before the render and the final save location can be determined as well. While this barely scratches the surface of how the Juicer software interacts with the SFX3 library, it’s a free tool that adds to the value substantially.

After choosing files, the settings screen allows for playback of audio and provides an option to render the sound effects.

Variety
The following is a short list of the category listing to give an idea of the massive scope that SFX3 covers.

Disc 1 is an index file. It contains small compressed ogg vorbis files that are used in the Juicer 3.

Disc 2-4 are from the General FX category. Sub-categories are Ambience, Animals, Comical, Creatures, Explosives, Foley, Horror, Household, Human, Industrial, MedicalScientific, Melodious, Office, SceneFX, SciFi, Sports, TestTones, Tools, Toys, Transportation, Underwater, and Weather. An example of the thoroughness in SFX3 is when looking under transportation to find a simple car sound you’re met with numerous makes and models of cars ranging from a new Pontiac G6 to a 1998 Saturn. Multiple sounds from your typical engine running to a seatbelt clicking. All, once again, recorded at a wonderful 96kHz.

Disc 5 is the Human FX category. This is where to look for various spoken dialog in both a male and female voice recorded in English and Spanish. Some of the human sub-categories are Business, Commercial, Common, holiday, Preventative, Retail, Spiritual, Statements, States, Uplifting, and Vocal Riffs. The small sample I checked had the same person doing each voiceover so many statements could be seamlessly tied together. If you’ve ever hired V.O. talent before this can be a lifesaver, if the tone, energy, and context fit what your looking for.

Disc 6-7 contain Music FX. These musical samplings contain more than your ordinary loop based samplings. A majority of the listings contain what Digital Juice understandably call a musical bed. Typically running 30 seconds each, they are have enough depth on their own to be a 30 second commercial spot, but may benefit with adding loops to really customize the piece. Included musical FX are Alternative, Ambient, Corporate, Country, Easy Listening, ElectricBass, Euro, Fiddle, Harp, Jazz, MandolinChords, MandolinLicks, MountainDulcimerChrods, MountainDulcimerLicks, Pop, PVCHangDrum, Rock, Scratches, SlideGuitar, SpanishGuitarArpeggios, SpanishGuitarLicks, SpanishGuitarPluckedChords, SpanishGuitarStrummedChords, SynthElementsLong, SynthElementMedium, SynthElementShort, Techno, and Violin. With 20 or more music beds per section, this is a very complete offering for that next short action scene.

Disc 8-10 are Noise FX. The offerings are so varied and cover such a wide range I won’t be covering all of the categories. Simply put, three DVD’s of alarms, bells, flange, laser, warble and more really offer every need foley effect that one could need. An added benefit for people who already own other Digital Juice’s animated offerings is that many of the sound FX included in SFX3 are paired with single animations. An example is animated flags that when searched for in the Juicer 3 software will automatically pair with it’s corresponding sound FX. No need to do an additional search for the most basic sound effect. Sometimes the two go together well and sometimes the attached sound effect doesn’t match what one would expect, but the quick reference is there and the user can choose to attach the sound effect to the graphic when you render.

The settings and output options are diverse enough to really tweak the files to match what you need.

Quality
So SFX3 is reasonably priced, includes over 10,500 sound effects, and is offered in a high quality format that should fit into most studio or low-budget film budgets. How does the quality and offerings of the software hold up on its own? As I mentioned earlier in my search for “child”, 10 sound effects were returned from the library. The first item returned was a child’s grunt that was less than 1 second in duration. The name of the clip from with the juicer was Comical Sounds Child Grunt 1. The sound wasn’t what I would expect for a child grunting, but could pass in the right circumstance. The clip sounded odd in that it didn’t mimic what one would expect if a child bumped his knee or dropped something on his foot. While the clip wasn’t listed specifically as a male, it was surely intended to be a little boy’s voice.

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