Make a Sound Effects Kit

For a good Sound Effects (SFX) kit,  start with:

CRASH BOX --made from a metal Christmas popcorn container.  Fill it with junk , but not glass.  Roll it around in all directions for a variiety of sounds.
                         
OLD DIAL TELEPHONE  - and ringer bell box -- the kind companies use for delivery doorbells. Don't bother trying to make the old phone ring--it'll cost hundreds for a step down transformer to deliver the 84 volts necessary to engage the phone ring circuit. Just build a $10 ringer box. (See the "advanced SFX" listing below).

THUNDER SHEET  - 2x4 foot 16th inch high-impact polystyrene. Look in your local yellow pages for "Plastics" and call around. It'll cost about $10.

WALKBOARD   - 2x3 foot doubled 3/4 inch plywood for footsteps. Put tile on one side to get a different sound.

SMALL DOOR   - Ideally, cut a regular door just after the latch and make a door frame to fit. 

GRAVEL BOX  - Wooden drawer-type box with gravel--for horses/dirt. Also, coconuts and short 2x4s as "boots"--with spurs!

CAVEMAN CLUBS -- Large hollow caveman style toy clubs--great for fights and bodies dropping to the floor.
                                       
STIFF PLASTIC BAGS  - For fire, static, even marching feet.

CLIP BOARDS  - For gun shots or a metal trash can.

TOY RATCHET  - Plastic New Year's noisemaker. Good for handcuffs, winches, drawbridges... ratchets.

VIBRO PEN  - A "Dizzy Doodler" pen that writes wobbly--for planes/jackhammers. Turn it on and apply the top (not the pen) to a cardboard box for a convincing airplane. Do the same on a stack of saucers and you'll have a great jack-hammer.
The KB Toy liquidator chain sells them for $4.

TOY CELL-PHONE  - For radars, space beeps, even cell-phones!
                             
SLIDE WHISTLE  - Besides eeeeeYOOOP, it can also be quickly slid back and forth for radars and space sounds.

PLASTIC EGG MARACAS  - for jungles, rattlesnakes, weirdness. You could make some with plastic easter eggs and rice, but many music stores sell them. 

WIND MACHINE  - also useful for other mechanical sounds--machine guns, cars, rotors. 

TEACUP SAUCERS - Good "dishes" sound. Apply vibro-pen to two stacked saucers for a great jack-hammer.

METAL SPOONS/SPATULAS -- Get a really big pancake flipping spatula and some large metal cooking spoons for great sword fights.

PLASTIC TUMBLER - For pouring water. Drop AA batteries in empty tumblers for ice cubes.

CIRCUIT BREAKER - A home circuit breaker (the kind that go in electrical panels) gives you that old fashioned, LOUD click of a light switch.

COMPILED SOUND EFFECT “HOW TO”:

BLACKJACK:
 Plastic club hits once on wooden walk board.  (Large “Flintstone” toy clubs)

BLOWGUN:
 Blowing through a cardboard tube, then slapping the tube.

BODY DROPS TO GROUND:
 Plastic clubs beating on cardboard box.

BODY DROPS:
 Two plastic clubs fall on cardboard box.

BREAKING THINGS. (FURNITURE, BOXES):
 Maniuplate a crash box. (A giant potato chip/pretzel can filled with wood, metal and stones)

BUBBLING VAT:
 Blow bubbles into large drinking cup. Close to mic.

CABIN DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING:
         WINDOW SHUTTERS CRASHING:
         CAR CRASH:  Crash box.

LAMP CRASHES:
         FURNITURE BREAKING:
 Shake the crash box.

CAR DRIVES OFF:
CAR DRIVING:
 Electric car driving toy.

CHAINS RATTLING:
 Drop chains in wooden wagon. (a wooden box using old roller skate wheels)

COOKIE TIMER RINGS:
 Triangle and striker. (one time) “Ding!”

COOKIE TRAY DROPPED:
 Drop metal tray with coasters on walk-board.

COWBOY BOOTS WALKING ON DIRT:
FOOTSTEPS RUNNING ON A DIRT FLOOR:
FOOTSTEPS ON UNDERBRUSH:
MEN DISMOUNTING FROM HORSES. (JANGLING SPURS, FOOTFALLS):
 Use wooden “feet” in a hoof box. (A wooden box 14 x 18 x 4 filled with gravel.)

CRAWLING IN UNDERBRUSH:
 Crinkle large plastic bag.

CUTTING NOISE.
 Scrape butter knife against some metal.

DOG BARKS:
 Vocalize it. “Rarf Rarf Rarf!”

FACE BEING SLAPPED:
 Slapping hands together

FACE SLAP:
 Slap stick. (two 15" x 3" boards connected by a spring loaded hinge)

FIGHT BELL RINGS:
 An old school bell--about 15 inch diameter

FIGHT:
BODY FALLS TO THE GROUND:
MEN STRUGGLING DURING A FIGHT:
PUNCH:
 Whack two plastic clubs together or on a leg. Grunt.

FIRE BELLS:
 Triangle and striker.

FIRE:
 Repeatedly crinkle a stiff plastic bag.

FOOTSTEPS on UNDERBRUSH:
 Twist straw (hay) or a broom's brush..

FOOTSTEPS:
 Shoes on wooden walk-board. (walk-board is 2'x3' doubled 3/4 plywood)

GIFT WRAPPING PAPER CRINKLING:
 Crinkle a stiff plastic bag.

GLASS DROPS:
 Knock drinking glass on table. (So it does NOT break!)

GLASSES CLINKING:
 Drinking glasses clinking.

HAND CLAPS:
 Clap hands three times.

HAND PICKS UP PHONE:
HANG UP PHONE:
 Rattle phone receiver (handset) on phone.

HANDCUFFS LOCKING:
 Handcuffs locking, first one then the other.

HORSES GALLOPING, TROTTING, WALKING:
 Use coconut shells in gravel hoof box.

ICE CUBES IN A GLASS:
 Drop Christmas tree light bulbs into a glass. (Carefully!)

NATIVE AMERICAN DRUM (ONE-2-3-4, ONE-2-3-4 ETC.):
 Use bongo drum with hand (or toy drum with beater).

JACKHAMMER:
 Apply vibrating toy pen to 3 tiny plates on table.

MEN YELLING:
 “Hey!” “Look out!” “Here they come!” “Get ‘em!”

CAR DOOR SLAMS:
 Old metal ice chest  - open then shut

OPEN/CLOSE WINDOW:
 Roll wooden cart or old fashioned roller skate back and forth on table.

OVEN DOOR OPENS:
 Roll wooden wagon across table.

POURING WATER:
 Pour water from pitcher into a glass. Close to mic.

RAIN:
 Shake a rain stick or bucket with BBs. 

RAY GUN BLAST :
 Toy light saber.

SIREN:
 Blow on siren whistle.

SLIDE WHISTLE DOWN:
 Pull plunger on slide whistle. “Eee-yoooooop!”

SWORD UNSHEATHED:
 Scrap a metal cooking spoon against a large pancake flipper.

TAPPING ON WINDOW:
 Tapping on glass sheet.

TELEPHONE RECEIVER PICKED UP:
TELEPHONE HANGS UP:
 Rattle phone handset on cradle. 

  THUNDER:
 Shake a 3'x4' 1/8 inch thick plexiglassc sheet. Use the crash box first for the thunder crack.

TRAIN CHUGGING:
TRAIN SLOWING:
 Drummer’s brush on an old fashioned wash-board. A metal pie tin with holes punched it could substitute for the wash
 board.

TRAIN CRASH:
 Crash box SFX device. Shaken a lot.

TRAIN WHISTLE:
 Wooden train whistle. "Whoo-whoo!"

YOO-HOO WHISTLE:
 Human whistles.

Information from:  Re-creating Radio Workshop