How to Use Sound Effect Sweeteners
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Anytime you’re in the process of creating your own sound effects, sometimes you might have noticed that your sound comes out lacking just a little bit of oomph. That’s where sound effect sweeteners come into play! These are sound effects that will enhance (sweeten) the sound you’re working with.
So, in this post, we’re going to be going over the three main types of sweeteners I use in my work, what they are, and how to use them. So, keep reading to learn more!
1. Transient Sweeteners
As the name suggests, transient sweeteners are effects that improve the quality of your sound effect, typically at the loudest point (the transient point) of the sound. In this article, we’ll be going over three great transient sweeteners that’ll really improve the quality of any sound.
1. Sub Sweeteners (Kicks)
These sweeteners will really accentuate the depth of a sound effect by adding a bit of bass to it. It’s really helpful for any time you need a sound effect to add that “punch-in-chest” type of feeling.
2. Down Pitched
These types of sweeteners are great for highlighting the high end of a sound effect. I created them by dropping the pitch of a sound file really quickly. With a sharper attack, these samples go together really well with the sub sweeteners.
Adding both of these two transient sweeteners together does a great job at improving the overall power of the sound and it gives the sound effects more character. Together, they will work great for sound effects related to explosions, gunshots, lasers, or any heavy sound effects in that realm.
3. Sub Synth Plugins
There are many types of plugins, but sub synth plugins add more bass to the sound effect you’re working with. Similar to sub sweeteners, they’ll add more kick to the sound effect so it has a lot more character and presence overall.
2. Pre-Transient Sweeteners
These are sweeteners that will lead into the transient section of the sound and usually, I will use whooshes for this. These types of sweeteners help to add interest to the sound and almost prepares you for the impact of the transient.
In general, I find whooshes do the best job as pre-transient sound effects.
3. Post-Transient Sweeteners
For this last type of sweeteners, there are two ways to approach them. The first is a slow deep rumble that can extend the “note” or tone of the sound effect. The second one does the same thing, but on a higher frequency.
You can add a sub-note to enhance the interest of the sound effect and really draw out that deep quality to the sound effect. Of course, different projects will call for different sweeteners, but for any project you have where the sound effect has a deep and bassy sound, these types of post-transient sweeteners can be a good option to incorporate more character towards the end of the sound effect.
And naturally, the second type of post-transient sweetener extends a sound effect, but this time to the higher frequencies. So, for example, if your sound effect needs to include a higher, more magical style to it, then adding a sparkling top layer sweetener can be just what is needed to extend the sound.
It’s as easy as that!
A reminder to to check out the free workshop I created if you want to learn how to earn passive income from creating and selling sound effects online.
You can watch the full video tutorial on my YouTube Channel.
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