Hi, how can we help you today?

ElevenLabs Sound Effects (SFX) – The Essentials


1. Overview

ElevenLabs Sound Effects v2 represents a major advancement in AI-powered sound design, enabling creators to generate high-quality sound effects directly from text descriptions. Built on ElevenLabs' advanced audio AI, the model understands acoustic concepts, environmental contexts, and sonic characteristics to produce professional-grade audio.

Unlike traditional sound libraries limited to pre-recorded samples, Sound Effects v2 democratizes sound creation by translating natural language into custom audio effects. It captures complex acoustic relationships, from material properties to spatial environments, making it accessible for both professionals and beginners.

Key strength: Sound Effects v2 generates contextually appropriate audio for films, games, podcasts, and other media — always consistent, realistic, and tailored to your creative vision. The model excels at creating environmental sounds, mechanical effects, organic textures, impact and collision sounds, plus atmospheric and specialized audio effects for comprehensive sound design needs.

ElevenLabs Sound Effects v2 generates up to 30 seconds of professional-grade audio in multiple MP3 formats, suitable for direct integration across various media projects.


2. Getting Started

Model Selection

In Scenario, choose ElevenLabs Sound Effects v2 from the Generate Audio section. Use descriptive prompts specifying source, environment, and acoustic traits for best results.


Interface Overview

  • Sound Description Field – Enter your prompt

  • Duration Control – Set length (up to 30 seconds). If None, optimal duration will be determined from the prompt.

  • Guidance Control – Adjust model adherence to prompt

  • Loop Toggle – To create seamless audio loops

  • Output Format – Select audio quality and format


3. Crafting Effective Sound Descriptions

3-1. Basic Structure

Prompts could typically include:

  • Sound Source: footsteps, car engine, rain

  • Material/Surface (if relevant): gravel, wooden floor, metal

  • Environment: hall, outdoors, small room

  • Intensity/Quality: heavy, gentle, echoing

Example: “Heavy footsteps on wooden floorboards in an old creaky house.”


3-2. Advanced Techniques

You may want to add depth to your prompts, with:

  • Acoustic Properties: with reverb, dry, muffled

  • Temporal Elements: fading, sudden, continuous

  • Contextual Details: during a storm, underwater

  • Emotional Tone: ominous, peaceful, mysterious

Example: “Distant thunder rumbling across a vast open plain during a summer storm, gradually building in intensity.”


3-3. Categories & Examples

  • Environmental: “Gentle ocean waves lapping against a rocky shore.”

  • Mechanical: “Vintage typewriter keys clicking rhythmically.”

  • Impact: “Glass bottle breaking on concrete pavement.”

  • Organic: “Sizzling bacon in a hot cast iron pan.”


4. Generation Controls & Settings

Set duration between 1-30 seconds (3-10 seconds optimal for effects, longer for ambience).

Use high guidance (0.7-1.0) for precise results or low guidance (0.1-0.5) for creative variations.

Enable loop for continuous sounds like rain or hums.

Choose output format based on use: mp3_44100_128 for professional projects, mp3_44100_96 for balanced quality, mp3_44100_64 for web, or mp3_22050_32 for mobile applications.


5. Asset Management & Workflow

Generated sound effects can be previewed directly in Scenario, downloaded in your chosen format, pinned to favorites for easy access, tagged with custom labels for organization, and shared with team members using Scenario's collaboration tools.


6. Creative Applications

Use Eleven Labs Sound Effects v2 to custom foley, ambient soundscapes, UI sounds, and unique effects for:

  • Film & video post-production

  • Podcasts & voiceovers

  • Game design

  • Commercial & marketing content


7. Best Practices

  • Be specific about source, environment, and material

  • For mechanical sounds, describe condition and operation

  • For environmental sounds, specify weather, time, and space

  • Avoid combining unrelated sounds in one prompt

  • Use guidance and looping strategically


8. Example Prompts by Category

Environmental & Atmospheric

  • “Gentle rain falling on a tin roof during a quiet evening.”

  • “Peaceful forest ambience with chirping birds and rustling leaves.”

Mechanical & Industrial

  • “Vintage steam locomotive chugging slowly down railroad tracks.”

  • “Mechanical clock ticking steadily in a quiet room.”

Impact & Collision

  • “Heavy book dropping onto a hardwood table.”

  • “Ceramic mug shattering on kitchen tile floor.”

Organic & Natural

  • “Dry leaves crunching underfoot during an autumn walk.”

  • “Paper pages rustling as someone flips through a book.”

Specialized Effects

  • “Magical sparkles with ethereal chiming tones.”

  • “Sci-fi laser beam charging up and firing.”


9. Troubleshooting & Advanced Tips

  • If results are off, simplify prompts and refine descriptions

  • Add environmental or material details for accuracy

  • Adjust guidance for precision vs creativity

  • Use longer durations + looping for ambient effects

Pro tip: Build custom libraries by generating reusable effects, replacing stock samples, and creating unique audio tailored to your projects.

Was this helpful?