Free Nature Sounds Mixer Review

by Christy Terry

Description

This is as awesomely simple as it gets. This tool is exactly what it says it is, a free nature sounds mixer. It's hosted online and requires no downloading or external resources of any kind. Users mix sounds using options from the dropdown menu at the top of the mixer and then save them as a link or export them as OGG files.

There are four tracks, each with the option of activating a sound or "No Sound." The interface is minimal, which works well for quickly rearranging sounds for experimentation. There is a control for panning tracks, which helps achieve a balance of composition. 

There is also a small social aspect to the site given that users' compositions are rated by how many other users listen to them within a ten-day period. Compositions can also be searched by how long ago they were made as well as searched by the sounds that they are associated with.

Access 

The sound mixer absolutely free and can be found at the following site:  http://naturesoundsfor.me/

Sample Usage

http://naturesoundsfor.me/Childhood-Kitchen

What the Tool Does Well

It's pretty simple. It does what it says it does without any bells or whistles.

The fidelity of the sounds is remarkably good for such a seemingly simple, free resource. The nature sounds are convincing, and the inclusion of a few quirky sounds -- Darth Vader, for instance -- is a nice touch. The scope of the sound library isn't overly ambitious, so there are just enough sounds to allow for versatility while not getting overwhelmed by too many options.

If faced with time constraints on a project, this would be a great tool for quickly making an interesting track, downloading it, and incorporating it into the project.

What it Does Poorly

There is a registration option and I'm not quite sure why you would need to register because everything appears to be publicly accessible. UPDATE: Turns out, registration gives you authorship of your composition. Until that happens, it's not rightfully "yours".  The fact that your exported file can only be saved as an OGG file is a little inconvenient, though it can be converted to an mp3 format. ...Also, "nature" is being used loosely here. There are nature sounds, of course. However, there are a ton of other sounds that are clearly not related to nature.

Though the simplicity of the mixer interface is an overall asset, it would benefit from the addition of a few basic mixing features, such as control over tempo, or the option of effects (reverb, echo, flange, etc.).

What happens when you...

The mixer is intended "play nature sounds on headphones while reading or meditating just for fun," but it also lends itself to surreal compositions. The mixer doesn't allow for manipulation of the provided sounds, but individual tracks could easily be downloaded and then edited in a DAW.  Even with just the basic mixer, unlikely combinations of sounds could be produced for great effect on video projects that might benefit from sound design that is outside the norm.

Additional Resources

If you need to convert the file format, this converter is of good quality and free to download:

http://converterlite.en.softonic.com/