Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars
The double bass is at the heart of Signature Strings, the latest release from audio library company RT Sonics, which features over 270 designed and source sound effects. Aimed at video editors, music composers and sound designers, the library is especially suited for Hollywood‑style music production, with a wide array of options designed to create maximum impact. An offering of whooshes, pings, braams, risers, low booms and percussive hits indicates that the library speaks a modern and cinematic language, conveying emotion and excitement at the source level itself.
Even a quick first listen makes it immediately clear that you’re dealing with a top‑notch recording and production setup. The sounds are impactful, evocative, and well balanced — the booms land, the transients punch through, and the ambiences evolve, building anticipation and tension. The literature informs us that all source sound effects were recorded with high‑end professional equipment, including a Sound Devices MixPre6 MkII, Sanken CO‑100K, Rode NT5, and DPA4060, to name a few.
RT Sonics was founded by a sound designer (the award‑winning Rostislav Trifonov) and this is reflected in several details that make the library a pleasure to use. For instance, while the dynamics of the library range from soft to loud, they can all be auditioned at a comfortable level, without constantly adjusting the volume knob; you won’t accidentally create a jump scare for yourself because you play a loud effect immediately after testing a more mellow one. The second detail that is useful is that the sounds provide leeway with tails — there’s nothing worse than a too‑rapid decay on a sound when you need just another beat for a smooth fade out. Even shorter sounds like impacts and hits allow some room at the end of the sound for a transition.
What is also noteworthy is the library’s ease of use, which starts with the format itself — all sound effects are delivered via digital download as WAV files, with a resolution of 24bit/96kHz for the designed SFX, and 192kHz for source SFX. The WAV format makes it application/software‑agnostic and you can start using the library straight away without the need for any further downloads or installations. Another factor that contributes to ease of use is how well‑organised the library is — each individual file contains multiple variations of a type of sound. This speeds up the process of auditioning sounds; if you change your mind, you just have to look within the file itself for another option. Metadata is meticulous and detailed, making for a smoother workflow.
Sound designers are spoilt for choice when it comes to effects libraries but what makes Signature Strings stand out is that it offers an imaginative and expressive pack of sounds, and top‑quality production at an affordable price.
Sound designers are spoilt for choice when it comes to effects libraries but what makes Signature Strings stand out is that it offers an imaginative and expressive pack of sounds, and top‑quality production at an affordable price. Highly recommended.
$59
$59