RE: FLASH: Sound resources

[unique]

On 10/6/99 at 12:30 PM, Jeremy Pinkham <

JeremyPZYDIGO [dot] COM

> wrote:


> Ken Sherwood wrote:

> 

> "check out:  http://sounds.muinar.com "

> 

> Have you tried this service, Ken?


Yup.


> I have, at the suggestion of folks on

> this list, and was more than a little disappointed.  The main page at that

> site boasted that "thousands" of sounds were available to subscribers, but

> what I discovered when I became a member was 41 distinct sounds.  These 41

> distinct sounds were available in Mac and Windows flavors (41 x 2 = 82), 22

> kHz and 44 kHZ versions (82 x 2 = 164), and nine pitches (164 x 9 = 1,476).

> But I find it a stretch to claim that 41 basic sounds formatted umpteen

> different ways are "thousands" of sounds.  They are, indeed, thousands of

> files (well, one and a half thousand when I tried membership), but very few

> distinctly different sounds.  Thankfully, the owner of the site courteously

> cancelled our account and did not charge us for the service, but I certainly

> expected a better selection of sounds, based on the frequent recommendations

> I've seen for this site on the list.


(It was probably me in most of those cases. I happen to be a happy customer ...)


Okay, Jeremy, your points are well taken, and I have no disagreement with the

facts as you state them.


However, here's my take:


(1) Mike Krischker is the man behind this site. He also provides the

"[flashpro]" email list as a *free* service to any Flash users who want it. I

believe that he's stated that the funds from the site go to support the expenses

he incurs as originator of that email list.


(2) I got the service for free for the month of September, as did everyone who

signed up in September.


(3) I agree, Mike's math does not tell the entire story. I've mentioned this to

him, and I've seen him make some changes accordingly.


(4) There are now *75* sound sets, not just *41*. As promised, he continues to

add more sounds as time goes by, and I doubt that this will stop in the near

future. Just my opinion on this one.


(5) *Many* of the sounds are useable as *loops* ... this was/is *important* to

me, and something that is certainly not as easy to find "out there" as regular

sounds.


(6) Although you consider the 9 varieties (you call them "pitches" above, but I

I believe there's more to the differences than just pitch) to be *1* distinctly

different sound, there's more to the picture than you may have noticed:


At times one may need *similar* sounds that are related in terms of pitch,

timbre, etc. If you explore the 9-square grid at all (9 *not*-distinctly

different -- but mathematically related! -- variations), you'll find that you

can have at least 6 different subsets of (three) sounds that, for lack of a

better term, "go together". Again, this is valuable to me, but may not be to

others. Here are the subsets I've discovered ... it seems to be consistent for

all the sets I've checked:


a) 1, 2, 3

b) 4, 5, 6

c) 7, 8, 9

d) 1, 4, 7

e) 2, 5, 8

f) 3, 6, 9


[*Hey Mike*, howzabout switching the positions of number 4 and number 6, so that

these correspondences are more obvious as people click down the columns? Just a

thought.]


So, I guess it all depends on what you're looking for. If you don't need loops,

and don't need related (similar but different) sounds, and don't need any

variety regarding platform or sound quality, then, yes, what you're left with is

75 "distinctly different" sounds.


I've another recommendation for those who are seeking the maximum number of

distinctly different sounds ... I heard this idea from someone else on one of

these lists. Many office supply stores (Staples, OfficeMax, etc.) offer cheap

CDs ($5-10) in categories such as games, simple programs, clip art, and *sounds*

(hundreds and hundreds on a CD). I recommend checking these out ... even if you

don't use 95% of them, you're still left with a good bang for your buck.


Hope this helps,


Ken Sherwood


kensherwood.com

http://www.kensherwood.com




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