Sound Library: Heroes & Villains (Blastwave FX) Review
I’ve been a huge fan of Ric Viers for the a few years now. I’ve read every article and piece of information I could find on this guy. A true inspiration to me as a person and a sound designer.
Late 2013 I got my hands on two of Ric’s sound libraries, Heroes & Villains and Zombie Apocalypse. I wasn’t able to fully test them until after Xmas.
For testing I simply snagged video footage of me playing video games and replaced the sounds. I chose the Heroes library first because I have plenty of super hero games installed on my gaming machine.
So, let’s get into my thoughts and opinions about this library.
Sound Library: Heroes & Villains (Blastwave FX)
What I Loved About This Sound Library
It’s unique theme. Yes, most libraries have a title or theme of some sort, but they’re generic → Car sounds, guns and grenades, war, household sounds etc.
With names like that, you have a pretty good idea of what you’re going to hear. With the Heroes & Villains library, I wasn’t sure. I figured there would be some fighting impact sounds, footsteps, capes, guns, maybe even some older cheesy dialog “never fear…” and so on.
I actually thought “oh, I wonder what that would sound like” So right off the bat there is some interest drawn to the unknown.
The sound library is well organized, great descriptions and meta data, making it very easy to find what you’re looking for. He’s even listed the category and duration of each sound bit
The Audio Demo (Just Take a Listen)
Great audio demo that takes you on mini journey along with commentary telling you what to expect from the sound library, I wish more people would do this.
Sound Quality Shines
There isn’t a single sound that clips (that would be a sin), good head room, and everything has dimension. When the explosions blow and the gunshots fire, I felt as if I were in the middle of the action.
You can tell that a lot of time and attention was spent on the detail of each sound. I’ve heard libraries that have gone for twice as much that contained horrible bg noise within the fx. I don’t know, I just feel if you pay $200 for a sound library it should sound…. good? I shouldn’t have a to run NR plugins on any of them. They should be ready to go!
What I Didn’t Like About The Library
Didn’t come with a back scratcher. What? That’s big thing for me!
Who Would Benefit Most From These Sounds
I think anyone working creatively with audio can benefit from this library, but more specifically, these sounds are a must have for anyone working with video, film, podcasts, videos games etc.
They’re especially useful to indie professionals, it’s a good way to save money and have quality sounds for their projects without having to hire a sound designer.
The Making Of Heroes and Villains Sound Library
Chop Shop Crew 2013 (Left to Right)
Steve “Oz” Pankotai, Bradley “Opie” Ross, Ric Viers, Chris “Boris” Trevino, Leah “Willie” Putlek, David “Casper” Adamczyk, John “Ty” Rake.
Oz - Video Producer, Audio Assistant
Opie - Sound Recordist / Sound Editor
Boris - Sound Recordist / Sound Editor
Willie - Sound Recordist / Sound Editor
Casper – ideo Producer / Camera Operator
Ty - Sound Recordist / Music Composer
To Find Out More About Ric Viers & BlastwaveFx
www.ricviers.com
www.blastwavefx.com
Twitter – www.twitter.com/ricviers
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sfxbible
I dig that this guy is doing something to really set himself apart in a sea of like faces (superhero themed set instead of generic household items)–this type of creativity should be observed by all artists in pretty much any genre. Everybody is making music nowadays. What are you doing to stand out?
Dope post.