Available Tuesday, Nov. 4th

DESCRIPTION: 

• In Hawaii: Humpback Whales, get a large collection of humpback whale ambiences recorded in their natural habitat. Hear playful dewdrop "hellos" between whales and lyrical songs so moving I can only describe them in the language of music. Hear these whales in deep water without the cicadas of the ocean (snapping shrimp) and experience the visceral chorus of 20-50 whales talking and singing in one bay off the Big Island. 
• This library offers you the sounds of a natural wonder that teleports you to another planet. Recording among these giants was an awe inspiring experience and it is hard to believe this astonishing acoustic wonderland is happening just below the surface of the water. I hope you enjoy these recordings too. Thanks for listening. Testing2. 

KEY FEATURES:

• Humpback whale ambiences in 3D (see below for more info on setups)
• Deep water songs (without snapping shrimp)
  
• Active nature and quiet nature ambiences
• Close songs and calls
• Distant songs and calls
• 20-50 whales at the same time!
• Trumpeting 
• Whoops
• Sub-bass grunts
• Visceral clicks
• I've spent dozens of hours curating the best short sounds from the dense ambiences (in AMB95 Hawaii: Humpback Whales) and mastering them to be ready to go for sound design. So there is value in purchasing both AMB95 and SD40. That said, there is overlap between the two libraries, so contact me for a 25% off cross-grade discount if you already own SD40.

RECORDING STORIES:

• There are tons of underwater recordings of whales. But most are made with lo-fi hydros (and in mono). That's like listening to one of the most beautiful sounds in the world, with only one ear...that has severe hearing damage. That's no fun, and won't create awe. 
• Underwater recordings can sound like you stuck a pair of Sennheiser MKH8020s underwater. You just need the right tools, subject, and underwater space. 
• With a custom array of eight Gladys hydrophones, I successfully made, what are probably the world's first 3D recordings of humpback whales.
• This is like being teleported to another planet and it is hard to believe that sonic wonderland was happening just below the surface.  
• The goal of the project being to capture isolated sounds of humpbacks (without snapping shrimp). 
• After much toil and experimentation (and lots of help from assistants and whale guides). I got the 3D hydro array to work in various configurations. 
• The main lesson is don't try to built a PVC pipe frame to create an underwater cube for the 8 hydros. That is a nightmare. It works much better to create an underwater cube (or rectangle) by hanging the 8 hydros from the boat. 
• I hope you enjoy listening.
  

FILE LIST:

• View larger version or Download CSV.
• A spectrogram is included for each audio file. Double click on the photo in the file list to enlarge.
  

FILE TYPES:

• Stereo – these recordings do not include a Quad or 3D version
  
• Quad – these recordings do not include a 3D version
• 3D – view this PDF for setup diagrams. Setups included these spacings of 8 hydrophones:
  • Length x Width x Height
  • 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft cube
  • 15 ft x 15 ft x 15 ft cube
  • 8 ft x 12 ft x 50 ft rectangle

LIBRARY INFO:

GEAR USED:

• Gladys Hydrophone (x8)
• For more info on the Gladys hydro, read my blog post The DIY Hydrophone that Showed me Underwater Recordings Could Be Beautiful 
• Zoom F3
  
• Zoom F8n Pro