Noise Box to Make Spooky Sounds

It is simple and inexpensive to create a noise box from scratch. A noise box is a box to make noise, but noise that you want to capture and potentially record. Perfect to scare your neighbors' children on Halloween.

You need few supplies and skills. The most challenging part is soldering tiny wires to tiny pins with clumsy fingers and subpar soldering equipment.

1. Piezoelectric sensor(s)
2. 3.5mm female audio jack socket - for soldering (example)
3. Wooden box (or any box of any shape and material)
4. Interesting-sounding components, including but not limited to:
5. Springs connected to grounding bars
6. Flexible door stops
7. No, really, anything will do...
8. 3.5mm audio cable

Piezoelectric sensors a.k.a. piezo discs are extremely versatile. You can tape or glue them literally anywhere solid and have the potential for interesting sounds.

They are available at your local electronics shops or online on Ebay, AliExpress, Amazon, nomad traders and other convenient sources.

They can be purchased pre-soldered. You may need to extend the wires' length so as not to pointlessly stretch wires within the box.

Solder red and black wires to corresponding pins in the audio jack. In this particular example, black goes to #1, red goes to #2.

You can use multiple sensors if needed, just connect them in parallel (like in the picture below showing the interior of the box).

Find a wooden box. Any one will do.

Screw, nail and glue stuff to it. Find things that may sound interesting and put them on there. Use your imagination (or someone else's)!

Springs connected to grounding bars work well. Door stops, metallic things, anything that springs, scrapes, rebounds or does "fhthong", "chhhhingg" or "boioioioioioing".

"Can I use parts from old electronics before sending them to the local eco-center?" Yes.

"Can I use parts of an old baby monitor?" Yes, but that's a specific case of the above scenario.

"Can I use an old retractable security card holder?" Yes, but that falls under things that go "chhhhingg".

"Can I use clothespins, with or without springs?" Yes...

"Can I use bottle openers, bottle caps and broken bottles?" Yes, but handle with gloves and keep out of reach of children.

Glue, tape or magically bind sensor(s) to the box. Drill a hole for the audio jack and jam it in there solidly.

Connect a 3.5 mm audio cable from the box to the microphone input on your computer.

Open your favorite Digital Audio Workstation or any other sound processing tool, such as Audacity.

Your box should be recognized as a microphone input. You should hear sounds when tapping, grating, squeezing (?) your box.

In your favorite DAW, add effects to turn your boring noise box into a nightmare soundscape generator of doom.

Suggested free VSTs:

• Amp: Blue Cat's Free Amp
• Reverb: Valhalla Supermassive
• Flanger: Valhalla Space Modulator
• Wah: NSP Wahman

Ranini · Raising Sons Noisebox Sample