Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?

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Offline Hmpf

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Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« on: January 06, 2013, 19:43:45 »
Is there something comparable to the KS editor (in its utter noob-friendly simplicity), that will allow me to put together simple soundscapes? I'm not really looking for a full music editor, but something rather more basic... ideally something that comes with a library of sounds/instrument sounds.

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Offline LPChip

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2013, 20:19:08 »
Does it also have to be free or doesn't it matter?

If price doesn't matter, I'd aim for VSTi's like Native Instruments Absynth etc, as they can also run stand-alone.
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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2013, 20:25:45 »
Depends on the price. Since I do not really want to get into making music as a new hobby, but rather am only looking for a tool to help me create some soundscapes for a KS level, and since I'm also not exactly wealthy, the money I'm willing to spend on this is limited. However, I'm willing to spend something - just not very much.

Overall, simplicity is the most important feature I'm looking for. Really, something comparable to the Knytt Stories level editor, only for music, would be ideal.

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Offline LPChip

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2013, 21:22:00 »
I see.

Thats going to be hard to find. Anything that creates soundscapes this advance is advanced by itself. The more quality stuff is also pretty expensive.

I think you'll be better off with a microphone and a reverb plugin in a wave editor.

A wave editor would be Wavosaur which supports VST effects to be applied to the waveform, and a reverb plugin would be this: http://www.kvraudio.com/product/dx_reverb_light_by_anwida_soft or http://www.kvraudio.com/product/karmafx_reverb_by_karma_fx
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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2013, 21:38:26 »
See, I'm not sure I'm actually looking for something very advanced. Actually, I'd like something reduced, rather than something advanced. Something that only has a couple of functions or so. I'm far better at making do with reduced functions than learning a complex new tool.

ETA: Basically, something like a children's version of a sound editor.

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Offline LPChip

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2013, 21:44:48 »
Which is what I gave in my previous post. Its that or something complex, really.
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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2013, 22:27:41 »
Which is what I gave in my previous post. Its that or something complex, really.

Okay... I had no idea what what you said in your previous post meant, sorry. I'll have to do some research to understand the terminology...

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Offline LPChip

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2013, 22:46:43 »
Which is what I gave in my previous post. Its that or something complex, really.

Okay... I had no idea what what you said in your previous post meant, sorry. I'll have to do some research to understand the terminology...
Wavosaur is a program that can edit and record wave files, which is what you want to accomplish in the end. (wave file is the raw output (file) of sound.

You record something, and then you use one of the two plugins I linked you to and apply it to the sound to get these soundscapes.
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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2013, 23:37:35 »
Oh, okay, so I need to be able to record stuff. That's... unfortunate.

I was really wishing for something a lot more like the KS level editor - something that doesn't require me to be able to make my own "raw materials" (like with the KS level editor, you don't have to be able to make your own graphics; you can build a level just using the pre-existing tilesets that come with the program.)

I don't really have anything I could record, nor any idea how to record stuff, nor the necessary tech.

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Offline LPChip

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2013, 23:46:20 »
Then it'll cost a lot of money. Thats basically the issue.
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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2013, 00:43:35 »
Ah. That sucks. :-( Thanks for trying to help, though.

I guess I need to find someone who will score my level.

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Offline sergiocornaga

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #11 on: January 07, 2013, 05:13:02 »
Here are some instructions for using free tools to crudely hack together soundscapes like the pros:

1. Make some melodies with Tonematrix (you can record them using Audacity).
2. Trawl Freesound.org for source material with licenses that will allow modification for use in your level.
3. Plug stuff into paulstretch, a great program for making droning ethereal ambiances. Fiddle with the sliders and see what happens.
4. Overlay and fade stuff together in Audacity. Apply some effects if you want. Export to OGG.

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Offline egomassive

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2013, 06:08:50 »
I'm a complete n00b at audio myself, but using Freesound.org, Audacity, and the Paulstretch built into Audacity I turned this into this (see attachment.) ETA: I only used 175 milliseconds of the original recording

I think I'm going to try out Wavosaur. I checked it out and it looks like it has more functionality than Audactiy.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2013, 06:15:24 by egomassive »

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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2013, 01:00:51 »
Wow, thanks for the mini-tutorial! :-) I'm gonna try that... Though by now some people have offered to help in my preview thread, as well... (gotta reply to them... but tomorrow, because Real Life shit has started happening again.)

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Offline Hmpf

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Re: Easy, basic tool for creating soundscapes?
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2013, 23:06:19 »
@sergiocornaga: Oh my. That's sort of addicting... (The Tonematrix thing, I mean.)