Free Sample Collection

These samples are almost all in stereo and CD-quality. Recordings include: busrides, walking through streets and buildings and natural backdrops. They should be usable for radioplays, movies and other material. The beginnings and endings of almost all samples will be mucky, since they aren't edited at all. But the main parts should always be fine.

These samles are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. I'd still be pleased, if you'd drop me a line, if you want to use one of those.

The recordings were made with a Zoom H4N handheld recorder. It has a stereo built-in microphone, which I have adjsted for most recordings to 120 degree angle between the two mics. The samples were directly dumped to disk afterwards. There is no editing or processing at all. Some may have been normalised, perhaps. :-)

All files are provided in OGG. If you need a flac (free lossless audio compression) file for productions, let me know and I will provide.

>Enjoy!
Julien

The auditorium Maximum (608 seats or 613?) at Paderborn University before a lecture. Recorded from the front row, more or less in the centre.
Link: [Download "Audimax moderately full - Front row" OGG (3.7M)]
Bird song in the afternoon. Probably recorded sometime in autumn, out of my attic window. This recording is mono.
Link: [Download "Bird song after rain" OGG (3.4M)]
Bird song at morning (about 9am) in summer (june), recorded from a balcony in my home village (5000 inhabitants, so rather big village).
Link: [Download "Birds from balcony - summer morning 9am" OGG (4.7M)]
Bus ride from railway station to my home village. Back seat of a German bus.
Link: [Download "Bus ride" OGG (7.7M)]
Cars passing on a fast road, perhaps a bypass to my village. Recorded on a June morning, probably about 7am.
Link: [Download "Cars passing on fast road" OGG (1.5M)]
Cars passing and a bus arriving, recorded on a suburban road. Recording was done in winter (mid-december). That is German suburban, for some this would be out in the country. :-)
Link: [Download "Cars passing, bus arriving - winter" OGG (3.2M)]
Cars passing on the same suburban rad, still in winter, same day. The time is probably 6pm or 7pm.
Link: [Download "Cars passing - winter" OGG (984K)]
the cemetary gate in my village, opening and closing. Time mmorning/late morning in June.
[Download "Cemetary gate - open and close" OGG (264K)]
Walking through a corridor at Paderborn University. This starts in the administration wing (wing C). the time is mid-morning.
Link: [Download "Corridor walk through" OGG (5.9M)]
Walking into the entrance hall of the Auditorium Maximum at Paderborn University. It's pretty messed up in the beginning. the time is mid-morning and it's winter.
Link: [Download "Entering audimax - pre-hall" OGG (3.2M)]
Again entering the Auditorium Maximum entrance hall at Paderborn University. This time the outdoors is not distorted.
Link: [Download "Entering auditorium pre-hall" OGG (4.0M)]
A full walk through the corridors at Paderborn University. Starting at wing N, and continuing through E, D, C, B and A. Which is a full circuit. Unfortunately somewhere a genetor acosted me. :-)
Link: [Download "Full corridor circuit - uni" OGG (9.6M)]
The full morning bathroom routine, with nothing untoward or no hanky panky. :-) Toilet washing hands, brushing teeth, leave, come back barefoot, shower, brush off water droplets, dry. I always found it a lack of sampling, that you didn't have such domestic everyday things in their fullness. the window is slightly open, so: it is june, late morning.
Link: [Download "Full morning bathroom routine" OGG (14M)]
Byuilding or demolishing a house. This is a mono recording, done from my attic window. I haven't seen the vehicle doing the work. It was probably still demlolishing and preparing the ground. The hammering is a fake, I'm afraid. Wanted to do a funny phone call to my friend, telling him, that they were still working at 11pm. The recording was done in the afternoon, it was late spring or moderate summer.
Link: [Download "House build" OGG (3.7M)]
Walking upto our front door, in the village, going in, up the stairs and open the door to our flat. Time was morning (8-9am) and still mid-june. You can hear the motorway in the background.
Link: [Download "Into house, into flat" OGG (764K)]
Into the boiler room. We started in the small cellar hall, went down the two extra steps and into the boiler room. The boiler is a rather new gas one, put in in 2009 or 2008. It wasn't really firing. Probably we shouldn't have done this in June as well. :-)
Link: [Download "Into the boiler room" OGG (2.4M)]
Walking into and through our livingroom. It's winter, so no exterior sounds intruding. When the floor is slightly growning, I've stepped up onto a raise bit of wood planking. The floor is paquet immitation.
Link: [Download "Livingroom walk through" OGG (756K)]
The moderately full auditorium G at Paderborn University (900 seats I think), recorded from a centre seat in the front row.
Links: [Download "Moderately full auditorium - front row" OGG (11M)]
A motor scooter or some such passing by on our road in the village. It's directly next to the cobs (small wood). The time is about 5am or 5:30, it's mid-June. So you get an idea, speed limit is 30 km/h.
Link: [Download "Motor scooter pass by - near cobs, 5am" OGG (508K)]
Our old Mercedes c 180, starting up in the garage, slowly leaving, turning and then driving out onto the road. The time is mid-mornning in June. (Note: it was a very old and coughing Mercedes. :-) )
Link: [Download "Old Mercedes c180 from garage onto road" OGG (660K)]
People leaving the G auditorium at Paderborn University after a lecture. Felt time is much too early, actual time must have been 9am.
Link: [Download "People leaving auditorium" OGG (1.2M)]
Railway station of paderborn in winter (probably about 1am, december). Train arriving, announcements and water dripping. I'm standng close to the edge of the roof on platform 1 (if you care to have it in pictures as well :-) ).
Link: [Download "Railway station -paderborn winter" OGG (2.9M)]
Rain on my attic window in Paderborn. This is a mono recording.
Link: [Download "Rain on attic window 1" OGG (1.3M)]
More rain on my attic window in Paderborn. Again in mono.
Link: [Download "Rain on attic window 2" OGG (1.5M)]
And yet more drops on the attic window in mono.
Link: [Download "Rain on attic window 3" OGG (912K)]
Auditorium G at Paderborn University, slowly filling up. Recorded from the front row, centre seat.
Link: [Download "Slowly filling auditorium - front row" OGG (3.2M)]
Walking down the staircases at home in my village. It's winter so no exterior sounds. It's a six-family house with three stories and a cellar.
Link: [Download "Small staircase down" OGG (536K)]
Walking up the same flights of stairs, in the house where we lived.
Link: [Download "Small staircase up" OGG (496K)]
Walking down a staircase at Paderborn University, crossing a corridor and then walking down LOADS of staircases (it's the h-tower). For more information listen to the beginning of the recording, it was made for two friends of mine.
Link: [Download "Staircase down and corridor - uni, H tower" OGG (11M)]
Walking down the staircase of H tower at Paderborn University. there are tow, one at each end and this one is just the H-tower, the other one unites with other buildings lower down.
Link: [Download "Staircase down - H tower" OGG (2.7M)]
Walking down the staircase of H tower, uniting later on with C, then B and then the cantine (Mensa) at Paderborn University. There's some commentary at the beginning.
Link: [Download "Staircase down - uni, H tower" OGG (15M)]
Going up the staircase of buildings C, B, H and mensa. First the cantine is leaving us, then B building is finished, then C and we arrive at the top of the H tower of Paderborn University.
Link: [Download "Staircase up - H tower" OGG (4.2M)]
A summer's morning bird chorus, recorded in mid June, at about 4:40am in the small cobs in my village. You can hear the motorway in the background, sorry.
Link: [Download "Summer morning bird chorus - 4:40am in cobs" OGG (5.9M)]
A visit to the toilet. Private bathroom, nothing, that you wouldn't want to know about. Well perhaps yes, but nothing, which can't be presented to underage listeners. :-)
Link: [Download "Toilet visit" OGG (1.8M)]
Train waiting at Hamm railway station. announcements, then the train is leaving. It's a double-decker Regional Express train as still in use (2013). I'm sure you could find a picture or actual model numbers. :-) It's winter, mid-december I'd say.
Link: [Download "Train waiting, leaving - railway station Hamm, winter" OGG (4.4M)]
A village street in late spring or cool summer. This is close to our church/cemetary, the only café and lots of houses with gardens. there re trees, it's almost like an alley or boulevard. The time should be afternoon.
Link: [Download "village street - late spring" OGG (3.1M)]
Walking out of the entrance hall to Auditorium G at Paderborn University. It's winter and about 9am.
[Download "Walk out of entrance hall - uni" OGG (3.8M)]
Walking through some corridors at Paderborn University. I can't tell you now, which onces, but I'd guess there was the A wing in there, the few steps up in the beginning, seem tell-tale for A wing ground floor.
Link: [Download "Walk through uni corridor" OGG (2.2M)]
More wanderings through Paderborn University. Probably starting at buildng G, then downstairs to the crossing of D and A (G only has a connection to them on the first floor).
Link: [Download "Walk through uni- corridors and stairs" OGG (11M)]
Walking through the streets of my village. It's late morning (perhaps 10;30am) and mid-June. We were two blokes walking. The streets should all have a very low speed limit in that area.
Link: [Download "Walk through village streets - late summer morning" OGG (3.8M)]
Walking from the bus stop to our home, taking the scenic route. The time is probably 7pm and it's mid-June. We are two chaps and I think one of them has hs white cane out. :-) Although you hardly hear it.
Link: [Download "Walk through village streets - summer evening 7pm" OGG (13M)]
Waiting at the bus stop in our village, until the road is clear, then walking home, taking the direct way. First next to one of the faster roads, then onto the road next to the cobs, 30 km/h speed limit. It's 7pm and mid-december.
Link: [Download "Walk through village streets - winter evening" OGG (6.5M)]