Build an explosion
You will build an explosion from four layers: a rush of noise that closes down, a low thud that falls, a sharp crack at the very start and a rumble that lingers. You will learn noise layers, the filter and sliding pitch.
Start from nothing
Open a blank sound (opens in a new tab)
1. A rush of noise that closes down
Noise is every pitch at once, like static or wind. On its own it sounds like a hiss, so the trick is the filter: it cuts away part of the sound. A lowpass filter keeps the low end and removes the high end, so the lower you set it, the more muffled the noise.
- Press + Noise.
- Set Length to 0.9 and Volume to 0.3.
- Switch on Filter. Leave Kind as lowpass.
- Set Cutoff to 3000 and Sweeps to to 200.
- Play. The noise starts bright and gets duller as it plays, like a blast dying away. Sweeping the cutoff down over the length of the layer is what makes noise sound like it has distance.
Hear step 1 (opens in a new tab)
2. A thud that falls
A real explosion has weight: a low note you feel more than hear, dropping in pitch.
- Press + Tone. Leave Wave as sine, the purest low sound.
- Set Pitch to 130.
- Switch on Slide to another pitch and set Slides to to 40.
- Set Length to 0.6 and Volume to 0.3.
- Play. Gliding down sounds like a thud or a fall (gliding up sounds like a pickup or a jump).
Hear step 2 (opens in a new tab)
Very low notes are quiet on small speakers and on phones. If your thud disappears, raise its Pitch to around 80 to 150 or add the crack in the next step: the noise carries the sound there.
3. A crack at the start and a rumble behind
- Press + Noise for the crack. Set Length to 0.05 and Volume to 0.2. Switch on Filter, set Kind to highpass (keeps the high end) and Cutoff to 1500. It is a tiny sharp click that gives the blast its edge.
- Press + Noise again for the rumble. Set Starts at to 0.12, Length to 1.3 and Volume to 0.1. Switch on Filter (lowpass), set Cutoff to 600 and Sweeps to to 80.
- Play. Look at the Timeline: the rumble starts a moment after the crack and runs longest.
Hear the finished explosion (opens in a new tab)
4. Make it bigger or smaller
- Bigger: lengthen the rush and the rumble, and lower the thud's Pitch and Slides to.
- Smaller, like a pop or a puff: shorten every layer to under half a second and raise the filter cutoffs.
- Grittier: on the thud, change Wave to triangle or switch on Metallic (FM).
- Press Mutate for variations, so repeated explosions do not sound identical.
The Explosion button under Start from makes one too, so you can compare yours with it.