Foley Gun
FOLEY GUN, the portable audio device for recording samples
and real-time audio editing. A must-have for everyone
a sound designer who enjoys experimenting.
A project by Lores Estevao, Marietta-Sophie Osterlow, Timon Meyer and Yannik Obel, 3rd semester, 2020
Supervising lecturers: Prof. Dr Kyrill Fischer, Prof. Thorsten Greiner, Prof. Dr Jürgen Schwab
The Foley Gun is a portable sampler for recording sounds. It combines the recording capabilities of a portable audio recorder with the use of effects plug-ins for sound processing, which takes place whilst the device is in operation.
It enables the creation of organic sounds that originate from the real world rather than the digital one. With its wide range of adjustable effects, it is possible to create a unique and new sound with every recording.
Wireless and versatile
The Foley Gun operates as a standalone device thanks to a built-in mini-computer. Thanks to a power bank, it can be used anywhere without a power cable. To record, simply connect a microphone to the mount on the gun.
Find your perfect sound
Press the trigger to start recording. 16 different effect controls give you full control over the sound of your sample. As you adjust the handy knobs, you’ll feel as though you’re truly immersing yourself in the sound. Change the pitch of your sample with the pitch control, add harmonics with the EQ, or create new fundamental tones with the vocoder. Shape your sound with settings for the envelope, equaliser, filter and various modulation effects.
Creative, intuitive and inspiring
Need some fresh ideas? The Foley Gun promises to spark your creativity thanks to its straightforward controls, which let you achieve results quickly. Get inspired and build your own sample library with sounds you’ve created yourself, which you can then import into your DAW. Not digital sounds, but organic, real-world sounds that give your songs a distinctive sound.
How does the Foley Gun work?
Communication between the hardware and the Max patch takes place via buttons and potentiometers connected to the Teensy. The Teensy sends MIDI Control Change commands to the Max patch, which are used to adjust the parameters within the patch. The trigger is activated and recording begins. The recording is saved to the mini-PC’s RAM via the Max/MSP patch. Pressing the Play button plays back the recording and processes it using the Max patch’s effects. The effects can be adjusted using 16 potentiometers. Once the sound has been processed to the user’s liking, it is saved to the SD card by pressing the Record button.
