Freesound Forums

1) What do you use Freesound for?
I use Freesound to find sound effects and high quality recordings, primarily of nature.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesound user community? If so, which ones?
To save the world by curing insomnia and sleep-related problems everywhere!

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in?
Long recordings (over one hour) in high quality.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites?
I don't really know, I only use Freesound. Everybody here are simply such nice people, and you can easily get in contact with them.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

Looking for "classical" samples, piano, violin, brass, applause (for recitals, not rock concerts), etc.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

n/a

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

Steinway samples, ( ex. Neatonk steinway, etc.)

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

free!!!!

frederic.font wrote:
Hello everyone,

as most of you will know Freesound is a site that was started six years ago in the context of the Music Technology Group of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. One of the aims of the project was to create an open database of sounds that could also be used for scientific research. Freesound is being maintained by current and former members of the Music Technology Group - the Freesound team - and we are continuously researching about Freesound to learn about sounds and online communities, and to be able to use our scientific outcome to improve the site. For this reason, we are now conducting a very small survey to better understand your motivations using Freesound and at the end the nature of Freesound itself.

This survey is composed by 4 questions which are listed below. Each question has a little "help text" with more specific questions that may be helpful for your answer. We would like you to reply to this forum post with your answers to the four questions indicated with 1), 2), 3) and 4) (however, don't be afraid to comment on other things you feel relevant).

1) What do you use Freesound for?
(what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesound user community? If so, which ones?
(is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in?
(do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites?
(you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

Thank you very much in advance for your participation, we really appreciate your feedback...
We're looking forward to read all your answers that will help us in our research and in the improvement of Freesound!

the Freesound team

1 I can't say I do a lot with these sounds; I just download the ones I download just to listen. Sometimes I combine them with other sounds, but again only for my listening.

2 I guess it is a good place to share sounds and discussion.

3 My particular interest is transport-based sounds, but I download anything I find of interest.

4 I think the best thing about Freesound is that it is free, which is good for a casual hobbyist like me.

Keep it up!

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I've had an interest in foley since I was a kid and getting into podcasting a few years back rekindled that interest, but with some proper kit this time around. The samples I download are used to enhance my Sci Fi Podcasts (http://www.adastralpodcast.com) and I make sure to thank everyone whose work has featured in the shownotes for each episode because I am eternally grateful to them – and to Freesound for hosting. I try to create quite a bit of foley for the shows myself and when time permits I upload those for others to use.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

I think it's a mutual interest in techniques and the benefit of individual approach which makes it such a rich resource.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

Ah, well, almost anything I guess. It depends on the soundscape I'm trying to create. My approach is a radio theatre style, an aural background that gives the listener a greater sense of involvement. Quite often a sound lends itself to an effect that it might not have originally been created for and that can be really exciting. Being a Sci Fi writer I've found Freesound immensely helpful for some of the more weird atmospheric textures - one of my favourites is the work of ERH.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

Freesound is my premier resource.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)
nothing

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

no
3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

cheering and booms
4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)
free

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)
put sounds in video on YouTube, put sounds in Unity video games

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)
I love licenses that allow the reuse of music and video. Creative Commons is an excellent example. This is such a better way to be creative, in my opinion. No need to remake the wheel every video -- hop onto Freesound, check out what everyone else is doing, and see if you can leverage their work. It's sharing, it's collaboration, it's creativity.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)
Musical sounds effects (cymbal crash, comedic sound effects like "cat call," slide whistle), some human sound effects (laughing, crying, coughing)

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)
Lots of high-quality "sound effects." I primarily use Freesound for sounds effects, like boing, crash, pop, yelling. I find more "music" on Soundcloud (haven't tried Looperman, CCMixter). But, the Creative Commons selection on Soundcloud can be limiting. I feel like I'm finding a diamond in the rough. Here on Freesound, every sound is available for reuse, so I don't have to feel stressed and double check that I have the permissions to use the sound. Awesome work, I love the sound effects!

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)
Include them as samples in my music to create atmosphere, or sometimes to substitute natural sounds for drum or bass rhythms.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)
Although I acknowledge the sounds as requested, I have never received any feedback from the creators, so no sense of community has been generated.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)
Usually ambient nature sounds, but also machinery.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)
I have never needed to go to any of these for samples. But now you have pointed them out, I'll give them a try ...

Can I add a BIG thank you to everyone who uploads sounds here. It is a great resource for me and aids my creativity!

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)
I'm a musician, and rely on the Creative Commons nature of the samples to include them in my music (which I also give out)

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)
I never felt like there was an overly strong sense of community, but I try to contribute back when I can by sharing a link to what I made when I used a sample. If I made samples myself I'd like to contribute those, too.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)
I'm generally interested in sounds from instruments I don't have, or interesting samples such as voices. The most fun I've had with one was a five minute recording of noise from an airport in Dubai.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)
I come to Freesound expecting to find little interesting soundbites and samples, as opposed to, say, finished works (musical or otherwise). I don't think of it as a place to market or release music (the way a lot of people use Soundcloud), so much as a library of more elementary sounds.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I use it to find fresh sounds. I usually come here for a specific sound that I want to use for music and then I end up spending time listening to other interesting sounds. Then I download a bunch of stuff that I store for later.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

I'm by nature not a very community-oriented person. I think I've only sent a private message once or twice and posted a few comments. For a long term goal, I want to end up making a name for myself in music. Nothing huge but something to make spending so much time on the music worth it. I'm pretty sure a sense of community is needed for that though. Gotta work on that. lol

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

Percussive and wild sounds mostly. Drums, world percussion, strange instrument techniques, unconventional instruments, screams, animal sounds, nature sounds, and urban stuff. I haven't uploaded anything yet. Some stuff I've messed around with are police sirens, bucket drums being played in the street, a load of snares, a baby beatboxing, and a cuica.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

The quality, amount of sounds, and the layout/interface make the site different than others. I like how the waveforms have different colors for each frequency (If that's what the colors are showing). I feel that this site is better suited for the uploading and downloading of specific sounds (excluding conventionally musical stuff, although there is a lot of musical stuff on Freesound that is not bad), which I can't see Soundcloud being good for. Looperman is only for music while Freesound is more than that, and I've always gone here first when looking for something to use in music. ;D

1) I'm an Artist an I use them for my videos.

2)-

3) mostley with the nature sounds or ambiental ones

4) the variety of sounds. I think the the possibility to upload the sounds has created a very large variety of sounds that is incredible..and they are free..

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)
I am a novice film maker and animator. To use in my videos for both private use, school projects or Youtube videos - sourcing the main ones of course. Sounds from freesound are sometimes used to spruse up other music or sound tracks in videos

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)
Yes, I feel there is a sence of community, even though I have only been using freesound for about a month now, looking at the forums, I find that people are happy to help each other in achieving similar goals.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)
I don't have a specific group that I regularly download but when I am in the middle of a project I usually browse the sound which are needed, this could either be aesthetic sounds for ambiance or humans sound for exaggerating pain or something. Usually for music I use and source newgrounds.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)
I havn't used an of these other sites because I found out about freesound from Bashcraft on youtube who sourced freesound.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I use them on productions for video, web, theatre, art and music.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

To co-operatively pool resources to enable access of usable sound.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

Good quality real sounds. Not so much one shots, but long sustained sounds that you can craft something out of. Get frustrated by the number of sounds that are like and ape has been let loose on some fx

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

The content is very usable for me in my creative work. I suppose the same could be said of tracks that you might put in to a ix, but this is different. It's very useful.

1) I mainly use Freesound for soundFX and little bit and pieces that I couldn't normally find.

2) I like the idea of Freesound. It's brilliant. I am not on here nearly as often as I should be to be part of the close community. I upload samples that I have made to add to your database so in a sence, I guess, we are working together to create a massive online free database of audio samples.

3) I would like more quality vocal samples on here, mainly women singing. I could use that in a trance like situation. Real-life samples are great too.

4) It is mainly used for small audio files and I like that quality in this site. Oh, and requesting sounds! Thats a genius idea!

1) What do you use Freesound for?
I make short videos as a hobby, the sounds I find here are always useful

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones?
Honestly, I don't hang around much or often to even think I share any thing with the community here. I feel bad about that now )=

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in?
Depends upon what I'm working on, most recently I've been looking for background sound effect to go to a short book trailer I've been working on. I only joined because I wanted to request some dialect to go with it.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites?
There is no better collection of sound that I've found elsewhere on the net, free sound is my number one choice to look for sounds I can use.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I like the field recordings just for listening to other spaces and places. Many of the samples are top notch, have used some percussion for some of my musical "experiments".

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

I perceive the shared goal of people obsessed on some level with sound. How this translates into a community, I don't know. It is always good to get some kind of feedback, bad or good, on some sound you have worked on or been inspired by - perhaps this is a framework of community? I also see some members starting competitions or goal directed projects based upon Freesound material - there's a potential for more developed types of community.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

Drones and unusual live sounds & percussion.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

I'm only familiar with Soundcloud, so... in comparison, Freesound is more basic, not necessarily with music as the goal.

1) On one hand, to browse the sea of uploaded sounds in search of what im looking for or to come across something that inspires me. And on the other hand, share what I have created/recorded to people who are interested in using it for whatever purpose. I mainly use samples for drum n bass/tech/ambient/experimental music. Currently looking to expand my horizons and get into game/film scoring and audio

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...) To expand and grow the online library and utilize an accessible interface

3) Depends what trip i'm on at the time really haha . I have searched and used sounds from field recordings of ocean waves to lightning storms etc. To digital synth sounds created with soft or analog synths. I don't particularly search for one shot samples for making beats, I haven't found the site particularly useful for that, perhaps (most likely) its the way I'm searching.

4) Soundcloud is very different as it is a Artists SONG and DJ's SET cloud sharing site. Looperman Sounds like (excuse the pun) a site specifically for electronic "loops" for tech etc. I guess in general the fact that FreeSound in a way promotes the upload of high quality sounds that have been RECORDED and or CREATED by individuals. this makes for a highly unique library where people searching, can have a chance of coming across what they need and, if not, perhaps being inspired by another sound, or the passion of some of the contributers here and the lengths they go to record/create sounds.

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I produce audio documentaries and similar sounding programs. I like hearing how people record different things and I like that without a budget to speak of I can find some really good quality recordings that kind people are sharing.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

I get a sense of community here but I don't feel like I have shared enough (in comparison to what I have used thus far...I hope to change that). But I do sense a feeling of people participating in something that is so very contrary to the trend of monotizing everything. The name itself says so much about the people who come here.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)

The sounds I find on Freesound.org have a very authentic feel that I can easily incorporate into my productions. On some occastions I haven't had the time to record my own sounds. And other times there are some folks who simply have better equipment than I and their sounds rock! I'm mainly interested in natural sounds (not just nature but anything we might here in our day-to-day lives).

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

I get a real sense of DIY and no pretencious attitudes here (so refreshing). There is a very real authenticity about Freesound.org that just doesn't exist anywhere else (at least in my experience).

1) What do you use Freesound for?

I use Freesound for sound effects and whatnot for songs I record both in my spare time and songs I record for actual use.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones?

There is a sense of community in that we are all interested in sound no matter what avenue it's through. The best part about this community is that everyone posts everything and that is what keeps this database so free and versatile.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in?

Recently I've been downloading beat samples that are the same bpm as the songs I've been recording; but that's just one of many different ways I utilize the sounds I DL from here.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites?

I like Freesound the most out of all of the other sites because it's about SOUND. Not just specifically music. Soundcloud is mostly songs or spoken word and other websites are mostly loops. Here I can find loops AND a vast array of sounds that I'd only be able to find on some disc I'd have to purchase.

Thanks Freesound!

-Chris

1) What do you use Freesound for? (what are your specific interests? what do you do with Freesound samples? ...)

I use Freesound samples for music-creation, filmmusic and athmosphere creation.
Often I have a very specific imagination of a sound I need or want to create and here I often found things that otherwise are not available. I have mostly small projects and therefor not the budget to go to another country to record a specific sound.

2) Do you perceive some shared goals in Freesounds user community? If so, which ones? (is there a sense of community? and of long-term goals to be achieved? ...)

YES: Its to make sounds and especially atmospheres available from all different places of the world! That is why the www and Freesound is so great: Do you need the sound from a marketplace in Istanbul? You find it on Freesound, because people from all over the world are participating. And everybody here likes the idea that it is free and is happy if her or his sound is used.

Long-term goals could be to have more search options like to be able to search for 2 words that must both be in the result or to exclude a word. Another goal could be to be able to remain a non commercial site.

3) What kinds of sounds are you most interested in? (do you upload and/or download specific types of sounds? which ones? ...)
Atmospheres, Sounds of very specific places or animals and the many variations of it. Experimental sounds.

4) What makes Freesound different from other sound sharing sites? (you can compare with sites like Soundcloud, Looperman, CCMixter or others)

It seems to be more general and open. The other sites seem to be more music orientated, while Freesound covers the full spectrum of sound.

All in all: A great project ! Thanks to everybody who made and makes it possible !!!

1)
to get fx for a couple short film projects, raw material to build "instruments" from scratch, nature/cultural research, curiosity.

2)
haven't hung out there much, but maintaining a constructive, and comfortable environment is important.... keep sharing ideas, supporting each others projects.

3)
difficult and subtle sounds.. cultural or regionally unique. rare, unexpected, microscopic, mysterious, experimental, vintage equipment, synthesis, noise... cicadas of the world, top of Mount Everest, giant machines, stomach gurgling, sounds no human has ever heard. it's all here...

4)
Freesound: The Library - Sound Appreciation...
Looperman/CCMixter: The Studio - Music Architecture
Soundcloud: The Scene - Heaven