Free Whoosh Sound Effect – How to add Whooshes to your Video

From radio adverts to feature-length movies, mobile game sound effects to trance music, there’s a “whoosh” for every scenario. If you’re not familiar with whoosh effects in an audio context, the onomatopoetically named word refers to a rising or swelling noise that can be used for a range of applications.

There are a whole host of ways to create a swoosh sound, but it can be somewhat of a complex task if you’re not a sound design specialist. In this article, we’re sharing our whoosh sound effects pack so you can add whooshes to your videos for free. We'll also show you how you can create unlimited free whooshes with Krotos Studio.

Download 10 Free Whoosh Sound Effects

But wait! Get unlimited free whoosh sound effects and more with the FREE Krotos Studio

Krotos Studio lets you generate unique whooshes yourself, for a custom effect that exactly fits your scene and its unique character – no chopping, no slicing. The best part is, whoosh sounds can be created using in the free version of the software, so you can easily start creating bespoke whoosh and transition sounds today! See it in action in this quick Youtube Video.

What are whoosh sounds?

If you’ve watched Top Gun, Star Wars or Cars (the movie), we're afraid to say that you’ve heard the sound of an emulated whoosh effect. It might be news to you, but many of the sounds heard in your favourite film or TV show are in fact created in the safety of a studio, and not by bolting a microphone to the tail wing of a fighter jet.

Tools like Krotos Studio are a firm favourite amongst sound designers and Foley specialists. They give you maximum control over your whoosh or swoosh sound, so you can fine tune the movement and character of each swoosh effect for every circumstance.

Different types of whoosh sound effects

Krotos Studio is a sound effects powerhouse, packed full of high quality and easy to use sounds for a range of applications. One way in which you can incorporate Krotos Studio into your own video productions is with our free whoosh sound pack. As we’ve already established, different situations require different sounds. Using Krotos Studio, you can quickly and easily create your own bespoke whoosh sounds for any eventuality.

Each swoosh sound preset is categorised by name to make it as simple as possible to create the right sound for your needs. You also get a different set of controls per preset, putting the most important parameters at your fingertips at all times.

In the Electrical preset, Krotos Studio’s expressive X/Y pad lets you control Glitch, Pulse, Tone and Sparks parameters to create everything from stuttering static electrical noise to a deep resonant hum.

The Fire preset lets you adjust according to audio characteristics that are represented by Big Fire, Sizzle, Bonfire and Stones parameters. As a result, you can emulate the sound of subtle crackling embers, all the way up to a roaring inferno.

https://youtu.be/YRcriqEbNX0

You can create more atmospheric whooshes using the Airy preset, with Vent, Wind, Exhale and Jet parameters. This is a particularly versatile preset that is equally as useful for creating some subdued weather ambience as it is for simulating the sound of an airliner taxiing down the runway. Try the Airy preset if you’re looking for a cinematic whoosh sound effect.

For a more general whoosh effect, the Hybrid preset lets you create a multi-purpose sound with adjustable Air, Cloth, Fire and Animal factors. The Air and Fire factors are amalgamations of their own dedicated presets respectively. The Cloth preset is full of movement and texture, while Animal emulates the sinister growl of various wildlife.

https://youtu.be/qj2prSGE0Ss

How to get unlimited royalty-free whoosh sounds

If you’ve already downloaded Krotos Studio for free; great, you’ve taken the first step to accessing unlimited royalty free whoosh sounds for use in your creative projects. If not, you can download the free sound design software for free now by following the instructions at the start of this article.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed Krotos Studio, open the desktop application, or as a plugin in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). You can select the Whoosh category from the Preset panel, then within the Whoosh category you can select one of the presets outlined above.

Within each preset, there are two main control windows. The Performance XY Pad and the Four Zone XY Pad.

On the right hand side, the Four Zone XY Pad lets you select between the various predetermined characteristics of the preset. You can either set the character of your whoosh sound before creating it, or you can smoothly morph between the characteristics in an expressive way.

To record the sound, simply click and drag within the Performance XY Pad and Krotos Studio will begin to record the movement as an audio file, and boom, you’ve got your very own whoosh sound effect. The position, direction and speed at which you move your cursor within the window will impact the volume, pitch, tone and character of the sound. Generally, moving towards the centre of the window along the X axis increases a sound’s volume and pitch, but you can experiment with different movements and speeds to discover new sonic results.

Once you’ve created a whoosh sound you’re happy with, you can click and drag the Drag Recording button into your software. From there, you’re able to reposition, edit and process your brand new custom whoosh sound in any way you want.

The lightsaber – the most famous whoosh sound effect

As well as the four free Whoosh presets discussed in this article, Krotos Studio also ships with Lightsword, an exciting and expressive sword whoosh sound effect that closely resembles the sound of a laser-powered sword from a certain popular movie franchise. It gives you the Performance XY Pad, plus a Two Zone XY Pad for controlling Crackle and Hum characteristics. On top of that, the Clash button lets you trigger the sound of an impact between the lightsword and something else. You can either click on the button to trigger the Clash, or the MIDI note shown in the Clash button also triggers the sound.

To use this sword whoosh sound effect in your own projects, and all the others covered in this article, you can download Krotos Studio now for free. For even more sonic possibilities, subscribe to Krotos for access to the full Whoosh Sound Effects pack and a whole host of other categories and presets.

FAQs

How do you add a whoosh sound effect?

To add a whoosh sound effect, click and drag the Performance XY Pad to create your own unique whoosh sound, then click and drag the recorded audio into your NLE or DAW.

What makes a whoosh sound?

A whoosh sound is typically a rising or falling sound that can be characterised by a movement of air, water or another material. They can be used for specific actions, or as a more general cinematic whoosh sound effect.