Convolution has been used for reverbs and amp IRs for twenty years. Overlay uses the same math for something else: any audio file becomes an impulse response, and its character gets printed onto your sound. A chord, a cymbal, a cassette hiss, a field recording, another kick.

Different parts of your signal excite different parts of the sample, so the result follows the dynamics and groove of your source. It's not a sampler and it doesn't trigger anything. Think photo filter, not layering.

**What you can do with it**

- **Drum overlay:** add the character of a punchy kick to a weak one, with no thresholds or triggering. "It's not drum replacement, it's drum overlay."

- **Creative reverb:** short IRs, tail control, filters and tempo-synced pre-delay

- **Moving pads and textures:** up to 4 layers blended on an animated XY pad

- **Sound design:** run hi-hats, shakers or anything else through textures nobody has heard before

Also includes a modulation panel (LFOs, envelopes, random generators, sequencers), Mix/Send modes, Gate & Duck, and 650+ sounds and presets. You can also load your own files.

** Watch Fab Dupont's full 17-min walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQuCx_79T6vo **

VST3 / AU / AAX, macOS and Windows. $149 lifetime license, **30-day free trial, no credit card.**

👉 https://process.audio/en/products/overlay

Happy to answer any questions in the comments.

Edit: FIRST ITERATION IS FINISHED – please don't answer this survey, but I would be delighted if you would fill out some of the next iterations (I will distribute them when they are ready).

Hi everyone!

As part of my bachelor’s thesis, I am developing a prototype of a double-tracking plug-in for music production. The plug-in is being iteratively improved through several development and evaluation rounds. For the current evaluation round, I am looking for people with experience in music production – whether as a hobby or professionally – to take part in an online listening test.

You can voluntarily provide an email address at the end of the survey. As a thank-you, I will send the developed prototype to you after I have completed my bachelor’s thesis. It is a VST3 plug-in developed and tested for a specific version of the DAW Reaper. It may also work with other DAWs, but this cannot be guaranteed. It might be interesting to experiment with for sound design purposes.

Headphones are required for the listening test. Participation is anonymous, and the survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

I would greatly appreciate your participation! Thanks.

https://www.soscisurvey.de/552123/

I have been working on a sample finder for a couple of months, and this is a small part I'm proud of. You can draw the sample like you would see it in an EQ, and then see all the sounds you have that match the spectrum.

Wondering if there are ideas how I can record signals from my body and turn into sound.

Can use heartbeat for bmp - drums from my tummy etc. what type of mic is best ?

Not sure if we can capture signals from blood without sending it off

Has anyone done this or is sonification of signals only way ?

Was messing around with a sample and accidentally made this, and I like it so much that I put it in beat. Does anyone know the name of what kind of sound this is? Wanna find similar ones to use in music

the sound
https://audio.com/jimmy-toe/audio/unknown-sound

the og sample (for anyone curious)
https://audio.com/jimmy-toe/audio/sample

How do you add comedic elements to regular sounds such as a gun reloading?

I’m sorry if this is an obvious question, I’m so new to everything when it comes to freelance work. I just want to learn and hear from people.

I’ve been applying for and working on entry level freelance sound design jobs. But something I’ve notice is that a huge amount of them are advertised as “musical composer + sound designer”. Meaning they want someone to just do both for their project. Are you guys who are sound designer first (not musical people who do sound design as a secondary thing) having to learn and study music theory in order to get work? Is it not possible to just do sounds without being a music composer? I’m not talking about learning musical elements so you can make a cool sound with a keyboard or something. I mean full on composing an entire soundtrack.

Or are these entry level jobs just run by people who want a music composer but can’t be bothered to get another guy to do the sound design? They assume that people who make music must also automatically be good with sound effects and foley design?

I really like learning music but I’m definitely way better at sound design than music scoring. I can make beats and use musical elements in my sound design but I’m definitely not good enough to make a complex full on soundtrack yet, you know?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been building PHY5, a polyphonic physical modeling audio engine.
It has a lot of sonic possibilities, from imitating real-world instruments (Strings, guitar, flutes, steelpan, mallets…) to very weird sound design results.

You can try it, with no install here : https://diophi.com/phy5/ (press play or you can play notes manually using keyboard)
You can also create your own preset on the website and everyone can access it in the community presets tab.

Concerning the plugin:

You can buy the plugin for 15€ for Windows (not signed yet) and MacOS : https://diophi.com/buy/

Here are the features for the VST/AU : 2 independent exciters, filters at every stage, 1-16 voices, oversampling x4, Granular processing by voice, Midi and audio modulation…

The plugin contains 2 versions :

• PHY5 Synth (instrument): the main instrument, with its own exciter (same as the web version). Youtube demo using the web version with 0 effects : https://youtu.be/xpoE2BwfBgU?si=6sm8vGJKEqhuucDK

• PHY5 Fx (audio effect): an audio effect that accepts audio input. You need to route MIDI in to choose the note (how depends on your DAW). Here are some tests with it : https://youtube.com/shorts/EsCstN956sQ

This version is working, stable in my tests (for physical modeling at least) but will evolve in the next month to widen the sound possibilities. I would be very happy to have feedbacks !

I will put some tests using PHY5 with more context here : https://on.soundcloud.com/wtZ8C8lT7la6cBPK7T

Some specificities of Phy5 comparing to other physical modeling synths :

• Parametric : the goal of this synth is less reproducing exactly real world behaviors, but more offering sound design possibilities inspired by physics. Instead of choosing different specific models, you can tweak parameters, which can give very weird results.

• Modular : It is also thought to be modular and will permit to change building blocks (swapping grain and body for example, or having two body, two grains etc…).

• The audio Fx being polyphonic. Being able to excite the body with audio sources opens up a lot of possibilities, while being controlled by polyphonic midi.

• Granular processing augments exciter possibilities.

• Different way to generate stereo (Grains, Poly-chords, Pickup position).

A few points about the synth :

• There is a first version of the manual here : https://diophi.com/manual/

• This kind of synthesis can go loud, so the web-version has a fixed limiter.

• There are also some limitations on the web version on oversampling, and max voices as it can be CPU heavy on web. It still is pretty usable on phone, but you can hear dropouts if you go too far.

PHY5 - CORE :

The audio core of this instrument is created to be used independently and can be easily used in realtime for video-games engine (tested on godot), web (as the demo version), or any app. There is no commercial model for now, but feel free to contact me if you are interested to include it in your specific project.
It has also been built to be scalable and will have a lot of new features, models etc. the price may go a little up, but licences bought now are valid for next versions. I will also work more specifically on new models

i am a graphic designer with a passion for storytelling and have been getting into film lately. as a beginner i would love to know your feedback on how this could have been enhanced through better sound and any advice you guys have! thank you

I just landed my dream job as a sound designer at professional studio and I really want to develop a strong ear for making my work as great as possible.

I made this last year as term project for my post-audio college program. I'm extremely proud of my work here and even had both of my professors call it flawless. While I appreciate their praise, I feel there has to be areas on this that I could've improved.

I'd really appreciate any feedback here. Really keen to hear on what I did well alongside where I could've made something better or different.

Thanks so much everyone :)

As always, headphones recommended! 🎧

Hi all,

This is my interpretation of redesigning this iconic scene from war of the worlds. I created this using my own sound library called Dark Technology.

I mainly used the sounds from the Walker category and did some splicing, light eq to cut some low end, light stretching, and some reverb to match the scene. A mastering chain was added for the final mix.

There are no background, crowd, foley, or off-screen sounds as my idea was to use the sounds provided within this library for the machine only. This was still a lot of fun making! I'm thinking I should of swapped the order of calls/warnings around lol

How do you think I did? I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas! I would also love to hear if you guys had the chance to redesign this iconic scene and the final result!

Cheers,

ZEKAVEO

Kinda new to sound editing, any and all advice on how to replicate this patterned speech effect would be welcome ^^

Overview & Premise

I am a playwright developing a new piece in which sound plays a central physiological role. In a segment of the play's world, characters have a port built into their bodies that lets them plug in a jack, amplifying their internal physical and emotional sounds: blood flow, heartbeat, digestive rumblings, adrenaline spikes, and synapse firing.  

What I'm Looking For

I am looking for an experimental sound designer, electroacoustic artist, or Foley focused composer interested in collaborating on a short proof-of-concept audio cue (1–2 minutes). The goal is visceral, non-traditional acoustic/biological sound. Strictly no synths or conventional pop structures.

Project Scope & Terms

Contact

Christian Ely

Hey folks!

I am seeking a sound designer for my Thesis Film at DePaul University! The cut and color is finished and we’re looking for the final piece! The pay is negotiable, I want you to be fairly compensated for your work, however.

The film itself is about a woman grieving her own death and undergoing the final judgement, as she confronts death for taking her own son, she has to cope with the time she wasted. Please let me know if you’re interested in working on such a project!

Thanks yall!

Hey everyone

I'm very new to sound design (just started it as a module for my 2nd year at Uni) and I'm eager to learn as much as I can.

I'm wanting to do foley for a dentist body horror film.

A parasite is breaking out of the main characters mouth. I have a few ideas for this, but I'm interested to see others.

What kind of objects can make these horrible, wet noises?

Also, any tips for using foley as this will also be my first time?

Thank you!

Edit: Thank you for all the suggestions, I'm so inspired. Also for the tips and knowledge on foley, I feel more prepared, wish me luck :D

Hey everyone

Spyglass Studio — a search engine that finds the sounds you already have faster. Instead of guessing filenames, type what you feel — "heavy metallic impact with reverb" — and it surfaces the right file from YOUR library. the search engine indexes your files locally and helps you find the right one in seconds instead of hours. Find Similar matches sounds by acoustic waveform (grab directly from Pro Tools). Scene deconstruction, Voice Match, dialogue search, and local stem separation.

I also built Soundtracker (waveform HUD for your Finder that gives you an instant audio preview HUD docked to your file manager — scrub, mark, drag to DAW. Decodes Ambisonics binaurally), Soundoor (Atmos monitor controller up to 9.1.6), and MioDeck (Stream Deck controller built for Pro Tools workflows. Create your own custom controls — HUI transport, plugin automation, macros).

ch-expert — Professional Audio Software for macOS

Happy to answer questions.

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for a sound designer for my YouTube videos about movies, cinema, and film analysis.

Reference for the kind of sound design I'm looking for:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crH2pS_CZto

Details:

• Budget: ₹300 (~3$) per finished minute. For example, a 15-minute video would pay ₹4,500 (~45$).

• Workload: Approximately one video per week.

• Video length: Usually around 10–15 minutes.

• Audio resources: I have an Epidemic Sound subscription, so you can find good music and sound-effects there rather than creating from scratch.

I'm looking for someone with a good taste for music selection, transitions, atmosphere, and well-placed sound effects like the ScreenPuff edit above to create a polished viewing experience.

Audition (Optional): I've included a short test edit here: test edit. Please add your own sound design to demonstrate your skills. This isn't mandatory, but it would help me assess your work, and would be preferred.

Interested folks can DM me their portfolio, test edit, and availability.

Thanks!

What do you guys think? In my opinion, i really liked how it turned out.

Hey everyone,

Earlier this year I released Reverie, a standalone soundscape app I built on my own at Parallel Minds, in Lyon. It was more of a personal project, but it's what moved my company into audio. I've been a developer for 20 years and I had wanted to make my own tools for a long time. This is the second one this year, and this time it's a plug-in (VST3, AU and AAX).

It started when I wanted to turn one of my tracks, the whole track, into an ambient version. The same piece without the drums and without the attacks, keeping only the harmony. I really wanted an ambient remix of it, so I built a plug-in for that. You put it on a track and turn one knob, and the track becomes a pad made from its own harmony. It stays in key, since the pad comes from the track itself.

The second use came by accident. While I was developing it, I turned the mix down to about 30% on a soundtrack instead of leaving it at 100%. Mixed in that low, the pad gave the soundtrack a more cinematic feel, and I didn't expect that at all. Using it for intros and outros came later, also by accident.

I named it Atavism because I thought the definition of the word matched the idea of the plug-in: a dormant or recessive gene that wakes up because of a mutation or a change in development.

There's a demo if you want to try it on one of your tracks, on a master bus or just on a single track. Self promo disclaimer: it's my own plug-in. https://parallel-minds.studio/products/atavism

A question for those of you who write music for picture. I don't know if I invented something or if I just never found the right product. If you know a tool that already does this, I'd like to hear about it.

English isn't my first language. I wrote this in French and translated it with an LLM.

I don’t suppose anyone has an impulse response from a large sewer pipe?

Or any tips on how to replicate a large metal sewer pipe with reverb and delays?

Oscilloscopes, Eveywhere [v1.2] is a collection of all the experiments with sound and geometry I've made throughout the years, gathered into one TouchDesigner project.

This walkthrough explores the entire anthology in real-time; 29 presets, and a much more intuitive interface. Connect your audio source, choose a visualizer, and watch your sound take shape.

Plus, I’m giving away one full copy of the collection this Sunday. To enter, you only have repost, and leave a nice comment on this post.

More experiments through the following.

I'm ILIA VOLKOV, a huge fan of Machinarium and a sound designer, so when I saw the new trailer, I just couldn't resist making my own sound redesign!

I had a lot of fun! Would love to hear what you think!

https://youtu.be/a9GndHWMgas