Sounds were recorded multi-mic and from different perspectives, giving large variety for designing purposes. We used microphones with extended frequency range (Schoeps CMC6XT MS kit, Sanken CO-100k) recording on 192kHz sample rate, shotgun mics (Sennheiser MKH-8060, MKH-815T, Neumann KMR81/KM120 MS kit) as well as Trance Audio Inducer stereo contact microphone (which was very useful in noisy environments and which also has very wide frequency range). We used Sound Devices 702, 744 recorders with MixPre, Zoom F8 and Sony PCM D-50.

Sound are delivered as 192 & 96 kHz / 24 bit wave files with extensive Soundminer ready metadata.
Part of sounds is delivered as multitrack waves – PLEASE USE iXML LIBRARY OPTION in Soundminer, to use it fully as shown below:

If you don’t use Soundminer, don’t worry – sounds are delivered as multi-mono tracks and you can import and audition them one by one.
COAL MINE


Conveyor Belt – 3 files
Coal-Cutting Machine – 3 files
Planer – 6 files
Pump – 2 files
Rotary Planer – 3 files
Conveyor Chain – 5 files
Shearer – 5 files
Cement Mixer – 3 files
Coal Trolley – 3 files
Vantilation Fans – 5 files
Elevator Shaft Engine Hall – 6 files
Antique Huge Steam Machine – 9 files
Mine Elevator – 5 files

ZINC MINE


Underground River – 4 files
Vantilation Fan – 1 file
Diesel Loader Trucks – 51 files

ZINC SMELTER 1


Galvanizing Hall – 3 files
Foundry Hall – 8 files
Gantry Cabin INT – 3 files
Gantry Winch Engine – 4 files
Cutting Machine – 7 files
Hammering on Molds – 3 files
Grinding Mill – 11 files
Pneumatic Air Releases – 8 files
Mills – 9 files
Loader Truck – 1 file
Conveyor Belt – 1 file
Sand Movements in Pipes – 2 files
Lye Hall Machines – 18 files
Lye Hall Liquids – 5 files
Metal Plates – 5 files

ZINC SMELTER 2


Crusher – 4 files
Conveyor Belt – 4 files
Mining Shaft Engine Hall – 15 files
Mining Shaft Engine Hall Basement – Pressure Releases – 8 files
Mining Shaft Engine Hall Basement – Wooden Wheel – 5 files
Mining Shaft Debris Drop – 7 files
Freight Elevator – 7 files
Heavy Mills – 14 files
Liquids – 2 files
Metal Textures – 3 files

ZINC SMELTER 3


Train Car Reverse Machine – 4 files
Sizzling Parched Metal – 2 files
Hammering Machine – 7 files
Metal Cover – 2 files
Saddest Machine Ever – 7 files
Machine Hall – 5 files
Clods Falling – 3 files
Vibration Machine – 1 file

SCRAPYARD


Scrap Loader – 12 + 6 denoised files
Scrapyard AMB – 15 files
Crane Winch Engines – 8 files

TRAMS REPAIR WORKSHOP


Milling Machines – 7 files
Frame Saw – 1 file
Guillotine Shears – 7 file
Welder Generator – 1 file
Tram Electric Engine – 3 files
Huge Tram Gantry – 2 files
CNC Lathe – 1 file
Blasting Machine – 1 file
Ventilation Engine – 3 files
Compressor – 1 file
AMB – 1 file

TRAINS FACTORY


AMB – 4 files
CNC Laser Cutter – 18 files
Train Gantry – 4 files

STEELWORKS


Large Blocks Roll – 2 files
Hot Rolling Mill Engines – 4 files
Rolling Mill – 16 files

VULCANIZER


Pneumatic Servo Engine – 1 file
Pneumatic Air Releases – 6 files
Pneumatic Arm Movements – 3 files
Pneumatic Drill – 6 files
Pneumatic Lifts – 2 files
Pneumatic Hose – 1 file
Tire Balancing Machine – 1 file
Tire Grinder Drill – 10 files
Tire Washing Machine – 1 file

QUARRY


Conveyor Belt – 1 file
Dump Truck Belaz 51 – 43 files
Quarry Loader – 6 files
Crushers – 2 files
Drilling Rig Machine – 15 files
Wheel Loader CAT 972M – 34 files
Wheel Loader Stalowa Wola L34 – 53 files

Available soon…

Recently we went to Łódź, city in central Poland, which was famous for its textile industry evolved in 19th century. In a beautiful former factory made of brick Museum of Textile is located, where weaving workshop is recreated and where you can see (and record…) old textile machinery in motion.

I took almost all my gear with me, since I knew there will be lots of interesting spots to put mics in.
My setup was: Neumann KMR 81 & KM 120 MS kit recording on Sound Devices 702, DPA 4060’s pair recording on Sony PCM D50 with Sound Devices MixPre as a front end, plus Sennheiser MKH 815, Barcus Berry contact mic and a pair of JrF C-series contact mics recording on Zoom H6.
Below are some sounds which I recorded there, full mixes as well individual mics.

Crochet machine. Idle and working.

[Mics order: FullMix, DPA’s, Neumann MS, 815, Barcus Berry, JrF’s]

Mechanical Looms. Narrow and half-wide.

[Mics order: FullMix, DPA’s, Neumann MS, 815, Barcus Berry, JrF’s]

Winder machines.

[Mics order: FullMix, DPA’s, Neumann MS, 815, Barcus Berry, JrF’s]

Directionality of MKH 815 is great for recording this kind of sound sources and gives large variety of textures.

I can’t imagine how insanely loud it was at those times, when there was hundreds of looms working at the same time in a factory. Those machines during their work look like living organisms with all its parts moving very fast (like 16m/s). The floor was vibrating so I placed contact mics on it.

Weaving workshop machines.

[Mics order: FullMix, DPA’s, Neumann MS, H6 XY, Barcus Berry, JrF’s]

At the end of the session I recorded this amazing small machine. It could be great source for small steam punk something.

[Mics order: FullMix, Neumann MS, 815]

Last time I bought Toy Piano and a Zither.

This time I found many vintage film cameras. The one I chose was in great condition and looked pitch perfect – it’s 8mm Revere Eight Camera.

Back home I found out that it was manufactured in 1940!
It winds with different speeds and makes interesting small clicks.

Knowing I will pitch it extremely I recorded it with Sennheiser MKH 8020 and Barcus Berry contact mic. Here’s how those two mics sound:

Here are recordings done with different film speeds, with both mics mixed:

Pitched down:

Pitched up:

And pitched even lower:

Recently I found this trick in Soundminer v4 (works in both Regular and Pro versions). You can go way beyond +200% speed, using + key. Spotting to ProTools doesn’t work above 200%, but you can record it with ReWire bus.

Here are +400% samples:

After recording normal work, I found that it makes interesting noises when shaked. Here are some samples pitched up:

[Recorded on Sound Devices 702 @192k with Sennheiser MKH 8020 and Barcus Berry Plenar Wave 4000 contact mic]