How to Make Sound Effects with Soft Synth VSTi's?

#1 You've already discovered parts of the secrets, so keep thinking along those lines :)

It's amazing what you can do with just a weirdly tuned equaliser or compressor. Try that in Ableton Live, for instance. Layer more sounds and/or more effects on each or the master track.

If you are prepared to shell out for professional sound design tools there is quite an array to choose from. You probably already know of them, like the massive OmniSphere supersynth/virtual instrument. 50GB sample library, filters and effects you'll spend a lifetime discovering.

Native Instruments have their Absynth, FM8, Massive and Reaktor products for different forms of synthesis.

Absynth and FM8 are relatively easy to use. Especially Absynth has some fun tools to just randomly generate sounds based on parameters (mutations). Massive is great for bass sounds and computery sound effects. Slightly more complicated than the first two, but comes with good presets sort of in the field you want, and they can all be tweaked in numerous ways.

Reaktor is the Lego kit of NI's instrument/synth range. Build synths visually and create damn near anything. Lots of free ensembles are available for download which could probably help you make the sounds you want. There are also about 200 included, all with many variations. Reaktor can also record sound output without the need for a DAW. Highly complicated tool, but worth learning.

One of their other major products from the Komplete range is the [http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kontakt-5/]Kontakt[/url] sampler, which also many 3rd party instruments and sound design tools rely on. The newest version has some quality compressors built in as part of the effects set. Combine with a DAW to record.

There's a free Kontakt Player with a small selection of samples if you want to play with it. Reaktor Player is also available, for use with a few free synths they give away (MicroPrism, Carbon 2, Newscool, SpaceDrone). If more than one NI product seems interesting, you might as well get the whole Komplete :)

Like the Star Wars example, a lot of sound is more than one waveform colliding in a pleasing way. Most of the above tools let you create in that way. Kontakt is sample-based, and would use a different approach. It is possible to create soundsets that make experimentation with real-life sounds much easier.

I would recommend Absynth, simply because of this tutorial. It'll teach you many of the things you desire, along with that specific software.

Also, Guitar Rig is useful for more than just guitars. Excellent post-processor to make some unique sounds.

For a free and simpler tool: sfxr is great for hacking up some quick noises. Lots of options there, but it's distinctly 8-bit in sound.

These tools aren't even the tip of the iceberg, but I'd be here all weekend listing cool stuff :)

#2 If you love programming and want to make music at the same time you can try CSound Csound is very powerful and it's a good way to learn the theory behind synthesis.

If you don't have enough money to get reaktor, try Pure-Data. Pure Data is like reaktor because of the visual feel but it's heavier on the programming.

Both are free.

#3 Um wow, dangerously close to giving up secret sauce here, but check out this link... These are simply the highest quality sounds I have found anywhere at any price.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/loops

For game making, check out specifically the 8-bit sounds library and 1001 sound effects.

Once you get familiar with the various sound libraries, and assuming you listen to the radio, you will start hearing these sounds all over the place.

Also there was a Mythbusters episode where they interviewed a Hollywood foley artist guy who spoke about how they made really dramatic sounds.

#4 Anyone know of any ebooks that teach somewhat on making game sound effects with soft-synths?

#5 For classic movie type of sound effect i suggest recording various things around your desk, some objects have surprising sounds.

#6 I have no desire what so ever to record stuff with a mic, like birds or stuff outside. I 100% want to make game sound effects via either mixing samples, or VSTi patches i make, but need a book to get me off the ground.
There's got to be at least 1 ebook on this.

#7 I do not know what kind of sound effects you want but if you want to have a sound of a door slamming behind you it is much easier to record it and edit it then using a softsynth to recreate that sound completely using synthesis.

Things like horns, alarms, clicks, bleeps etc. are more easy to create using synthesis.

Maybe something like www.synthesizer-cookbook.com can help you on your way? (the book even contains a few sound effects tutorials).

#8 Wow Synthesizer-cookbook looks awesome and covers a lot of stuff I've always wanted to know. Thanks I most likely will buy that when i get some money. But yeah right now I'm working on a torque game with a friend, my main job is actually modeling, but since I've been writing music for like 12 years I could really help out with sound effects and it would be a win win situation for me because I'd be helping out on the game and also learning new methods for creation of instruments for my music. Or selling sound fx could actually make me some decent money. So far I've made a couple laser shot sound effects that are pretty good but I want to get very good at creating SFX with soft synths, I know its possible.

#9 I do not know if there are better applications available but www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforge is a great way to start.

With Soundforge it is possible to analyse and edit waveforms.

#10 Ok thanks, I actually used Soundforge and acid pro, more acid pro though back when i was like 16 years old and first recording guitar songs. Didn't think to check out Soundforge now but it looks like its been updated a LOT and has decent analysis features. But really Thanks a MILLION on the cookbook link, I've asked like 10 times on forums over the past 8 years is there any book or tutorial that has basic synth parameters for each instrument like violin, koto, piano, ect... and no one knew (The cookbook volume 2 is purely focused on that). Cookbook first and second volume looks like its going to really help me out thanks.

#11 I'm in a similar boat as the guy in the above thread. I like creating Power Point presentations and need to punctuate them with sound effects. The ones I'm looking for are used on the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman series that aired on TV back in the 1970s. Unfortunately there is very little available online that come even close to them. I have the DVD collection and have converted the discs to MP4 and clipped the sound effect out with Movie Maker and converted them to MP4 audio but they are overlaid with theme music that can't be stripped out without destroying the sound effect, even with programs like Adobe Audition. Since these sound effects were created 40 years ago on synthesizers, there has to be a software program where I can make my own similar sounds. What's your recommendations? Thank you.

#12 I am FL user , usually also some making music for my games , prefer using this sound bundle https://www.lucidsamples.com/sound-effects-packs/300-4000-sfx-bundle.html