To thief or not to thief

            I am a student.  More specifically, I am a college student studying audio production.  Is there a possibility that I will need to purchase sound effects?  Personally I might, when mixing parts or pitches of SFX into songs or working on a movie project.  Certainly I can make any amount of sound effects but what about time?  Hypothetically, maybe I haven’t used my time to the best of my abilities and now I’m at a breaking point; Is it better to purchase sound effects off of the Internet or is better to just download some free ones and mix them together to make a “new” sound effect?  Is this legal, is there really something out there called a “free” sound effect? 

            Once again, long story made short, the answer to my last question is, no.  By downloading “free” material, you are only kidding yourself.  By pirating software and sound samples for a commercial purpose you are stopping someone getting paid for their hard work when they deserve it.

            “I don't think it is risky. There isn't a governing body listening out for illegitimate sounds.” I am sure however if you were caught out, the Copyright Holder would come looking. 

            Yes, you could theoretically with the correct knowledge and gear recreate sounds made. However, you'd 1) need to know a lot about what you were doing, 2) have great analytical skills 3) Have a lot of time on your hands to do so. Some sounds, particularly synth ones, have a very complicated make up, and can take a long time to design anyway.

            Keep it honest! Integrity! Plus, making sound effects from scratch is fun and rewarding.