This hint works if you have the "Add default alarm ..." preference set, but it does not work for manually set alarms. I set different alarms for different types of events, so I do not have the default alarm setting enabled. I would like to have my default alarm sound when I choose a Message with sound alarm. Instead iCal always selects Basso, which I do not particularly like, and I have to manually change it! Also, why are your previous alarm choices not visible in the alarms list when there is no alarm set yet? Instead, I have to choose Message with sound before I click on the alarms list again to see my pervious choices. This unnecessary clicking is all wrong!

-Mark

[ Reply to This | # ]

Here's a crude hack that worked for me. Quit iCal, go to /System/Library/Sounds and rename Basso.aiff to something like BassoOrig.aiff, make a copy of your favorite sound and rename it as Basso.aiff. When you restart iCal it will still preselect Basso, but this time it will play the sound you want.

BTW - I tried this but with an alias to the other sound and it didn't work. Also, iCal will still pick up Basso even if there is an earlier alphabetical name (e.g., AGlass.aiff).

[ Reply to This | # ]

I found a solution to changing your default sound in Snow Leopard...
1. First of all, you need an .aiff file to work with. To convert a sound you like, import the sound file into iTunes (assuming .mp3 or .wav)
2. In iTunes, go to iTunes > Preferences
3. # Click General at the top of the Preferences window.
4. Click Import Settings.
5. From the Import Using menu, choose AIFF Encoder instead of MP3 or AAC encoders
6. Open iTunes, highlight the original sound file, and choose Advanced > Create AIFF version
7. Find the .aiff version in your finder, and drag it to your desktop
8. Open Finder > Macintosh HD > System > Library > Sounds. Drag your new AIFF file into Sounds folder. You may need to authenticate to do this, meaning supply your password
9. Open System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects and select your new sound!
DONE!

[ Reply to This | # ]