vintage sci-fi retro sounds

Vintage laserHey again. More from the Lost Track archives! As my last contribution focussed on the huge NZL14 Yacht, I thought what better than to continue where I left off…

This sound is not an original discovery, but it certainly feels satisfying one you know where it came from – I’ve heard many techniques on getting this sort of sound, including striking telegraph poles. In this instance, it came from a large steel mainstay cable which was very thick and under several tonnes of pressure. After being struck, they started to move metal rings up and down, giving a raspy sound. I’ve got hours of this stuff!

Sci Fi retro laser gun sound!

Creaks ‘n Groans


Hey Audio Cookbookers,

I’m Tom Player and have been a reader of ACB for a while, and a sound recordist for a long time. I run a website lostrack.co.uk where I store some commercial and personal work. I’ve got a huge archive of great recordings, some of which I plan to unleash here soon!

About this time last year I was in New Zealand, exploring and recording everywhere I went. I was fortunate enough to meet one of the captains of the NZL14 racing yacht who invited me on board with their crew, to record the sounds of them all in action. What I didn’t expect was the sound of the boat to be so fascinating!

A bit about the yacht, it’s a work of engineering excellence. The sail is one piece Kevlar, the hull carbon fibre, and the keel is 16 tons of lead. It’s formula 1 on the water – she makes beautiful groaning, creaking noises, like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

Gear: Fostex FR2-LE with matched stereo pair rode NT5 mics.