It’s possible to have too clean of an audio recording. It sounds insane, but you sometimes need those annoying background sounds to accurately build the soundscape. If any scene that takes place on a busy street just had the audio for the voices of main characters talking to each other it would sound odd because your brain begins to recognize that there are actions happening that aren’t creating any additional sound. This just shows the importance of using the best ambience samples you can.
Quicklook: Best Ambience Samples
- Atmospheres – Big Room Sounds
- Sci-fi Evolution – Epic Stock Media
- Ambient Earth Nature Loops – Epic Stock Media
- Parks and Fairs – Blastwave FX
- Out in the Streets – PSE: The Producers Library
- Essential Interiors – Big Room Sounds
What To Look For When Choosing Ambience Samples
Whenever I talk to anyone about samples it always includes something to the effect of wanting to get the best and most unique sounds out there for one track and be done with it. That’s fine in theory, but if I am buying samples, I want to know I can use them in different ways and for more than one project. Beyond the quality of the samples, here are some important factors to think about when you look for the best ambience samples.
Pricing
The pricing for samples has gotten better and better over the years for producers and sound designers. Not only has more access been opened to the best ambience samples but also more people who are qualified are putting out high quality sounds in this realm. If you use a sample library like Splice or Loopmasters, you definitely will get only the best results.
Frequency of Use
If you are regularly working with film and dialogue, it is completely reasonable to use the same background samples over and over again. Just be careful to not use one with something recognizable that sticks out like a horn honking at the same interval or a siren sound going by every minute.
Skill Level
The only skill you need to have to use a sample such as these is recognizing what is going on. For an ambience sample to be accurate to the surroundings in the woods or on a city street, you need to think about and recognize what sounds would be in those situations in the first place.
Jump to:
- Atmospheres – Big Room Sounds
- Sci-fi Evolution – Epic Stock Media
- Ambient Earth Nature Loops – Epic Stock Media
- Parks and Fairs – Blastwave FX
- Out in the Streets – PSE: The Producers Library
- Essential Interiors – Big Room Sounds
6 Best Ambience Samples
1. Atmospheres – Big Room Sounds
Best for: Outdoors Sounds
Add a depth and natural feel to your audio with these ambient sounds. Whether you are looking to add them into a short film or just as another layer in your music, Atmospheres has exactly what you need for an all-natural real feel. The majority of these samples are on the longer side with many of them going over a minute (which is a lot in comparison to normal samples being less than 10 seconds).
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 81 Samples including sounds of
- Crickets
- Birds
- Ponds
- Construction
2. Sci-fi Evolution – Epic Stock Media
Best for: Space and Futuristic Sounds
While this pack does have a lot of one-shots, they are almost all built to be used for foley and as additional features in ambient samples. There is still a selection of loops that only go up to about 25 seconds, but they can be repeated to give the perfect out-of-this-world feel to your films and tracks.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 1703 Samples including sounds of
- Tech
- Space Hums
- Room Tone
- Computer FX
3. Ambient Earth Nature Loops – Epic Stock Media
Best for: Environmental Sounds
If you are looking for ambient rainfall and running water, this is the pack for you. In the tracks from Ambient Earth, you can hear birds, crickets, waterfalls, rivers, and so much more from nature. There is a certain calm to having these on and you won’t regret the smooth feel added to your mix.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 135 Samples including sounds of
- Rain
- Rivers
- Insects
- Thunder
4. Parks and Fairs – Blastwave FX
Best for: Populated and Busy Environments
This is a short pack in the number of samples, but it is full of samples that are longer than most others on this list. It has the mechanical sounds of all of the rides as well as the uproar of crowds shuffling around. Essentially anything you would need for a busy ambiance.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 31 Samples including sounds of
- Playgrounds
- Carnival Games
- Rollercoasters
5. Out in the Streets – PSE: The Producers Library
Best for: Street and Road Sounds
If you want authentic sounds of streets from all over the world, this is the pack for you. If your film needs to jump from London to Paris, to Brooklyn, and you want it to sound accurate, these sounds are the sounds for you. They have everything from the dialogue in the background to just the sounds of sirens going by.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 268 Samples including sounds of
- New York
- Tokyo
- Paris
- London
6. Essential Interiors – Big Room Sounds
Best for: Indoor Environments
Instead of trying to fill an office or a hallway with extras to get a field recording, use these samples from Essential Interiors. From airports and school classrooms to choir rehearsals and the interior of stores, this pack has all the environmental sounds you need for your domestic environment.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 117 Samples including sounds of
- Crowds
- Office
- School
- Casino
Building from the Ground Up.
Using samples to build the sounds you are looking for is the easiest way to get a professional sound on a budget. I’ve worked with friends to make short films in the past and we would do a lot with no dialogue where the story was conveyed through the actions. This left me a lot of room to use samples and Foley to build the world that was in this video and create the exact environment we were looking for in the video.
If you are looking to find more of the best samples out there for many different genres, check out our lists of samples here!
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