Red Libraries Huge Hidden Passages sound effects review

In this review we will be looking at the Huge Hidden Passages Complete, a sound effects library from Red Libraries dedicated to opening doors to the unknown. If you want to know more about how the library was created, check out our interview with the Red libraries founders Fredric Devanlay and Cedric Denooz.

The library is comprised out of two main categories. One being the designed category and another a construction kit or how Red Libraries calls it, a toolbox. The designed category features plenty of castle, temple and pyramid sounds and also a separate mini construction kit. The designed pack comes as a 96 kHz, 24 bit download and it will set you back for around $70 bucks.

The second category of the complete bundle is the construction kit where you will find various categories from debris, doors, gears, frictions, impacts and many more. Each category has plenty of sounds and for the additional $70 dollars (if you want to buy the pack separately). It certainly doesn’t feel cheap plus all the sounds in construction kit are 192 kHz which makes the sounds suitable for extreme pitching and stretching.

One thing I would like to mention is that in sub category “Misc 2” there is a rumble folder that seems to be empty. I reached out to Red Libraries and they said that the sounds are spread out through other sub categories. I cannot confirm or deny that since I don’t know the original filenames.

Sound

I really enjoyed the sounds of the designed category. They seem carefully designed and each sound really gives you the sense of the weight of each door. Castle and temple sounds have plenty going on. You feel each rattle, gear and rumble and you get the sense of the depth of the castle or a temple. Pyramids, on the other hand sound more rocky with debris and dirt.

The construction kit is also well recorded but you should know that most sounds are reverberant because of the way they were recorded. You can find out detailed recording process in our interview.

Each individual sound comes in two perspectives. Far and near. The far perspective is of course more reverberant and suitable for layering.

You can download Red Libraries free pack which includes some of the sounds and I recommend that you do so. You will have a better understanding of the sounds and how you might use them.

Overall, I have to say that the library is well recorded without any clipping or other unwanted noises.

Metadata

I personally don’t like the way metadata was handled in this library. First few sounds in each sub category have embedded metadata while the rest just have filename copied over to the description field in BWAV. You can however download a separate spreadsheet with metadata where each category is properly tagged.

As in my previous reviews, you will find images of the BWAV metadata from Soundly, Metadata Touch and Reaper.

Example

For this example, I created a simple animation of a castle and played with the sounds a bit. No effects were used to enhance the sounds besides layering and minor panning. At the end of the animation, I have pitched one of the files to the extreme. Below you will also find a project screenshot.

Conclusion

Huge Hidden Passages is a well recorded sound library with a lot of useful sounds. Specifically, the designed sounds are fantastic. The construction kit offers plenty of sounds to choose from and since HHP is on sale right now for the fraction of the price, I have to say that it feels like a no brainer. If you missed the sale, the bundle will set you back for around $120 bucks.

If you don’t want to buy a complete bundle, you can purchase each category separately. As for the poor metadata, you have to decided if this is a deal breaker for you or not.

[ethics]

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