SoundSoap - 2.2

Some times, it works well, and other times it's worse than before. Here are some hints: 1) Make sure you have a second or two of pure noise for it to isolate what it's to remove. Otherwise, it takes a slice of everything in the peice. It actually does that anyway, to a degree. 2) Understand the program does not know any more than that. 3) You can add a little bit of "shine" with the enhancer knob on the right (I forget exactly what it's called) but too much is artificial. Do not expect under any circumstances to turn the noise remover knob up more than halfway, or it's going to sound artificial. It'll under the best of situations only do so much- I mainly use it to get rid of room noise, with only partial success.

That being said, it's only $75 dollars. If it works for you once or twice, it's worth that. But don't believe the hype. I certainly don't regret having purchased it, and would consider the Pro version.

I have used this product since version 1. It works. It does exactly what it is supposed to do and does it well. More often than not, plug-ins and stand-alone apps fail to operate correctly when there are other "issues" afoot. I have found that keeping my system clean (regularly using Techtool Pro) and keeping system and apps up-to-date, seems to overcome most issues that I have.

I note someone has indicated it can't be resized. No, nor has the manufacturer ever claimed it could. It is best used as a plug-in and frankly even when used as a stand-alone it takes up approx 1/6th of my 20" screen - and that's plenty big enough.

Cost. Not cheap. but then again price is relative. You get what you pay for, especially with many cheap products. I find the Bias products have constantly improved, the upgrades are regular and are available for many OS's. I have some very technical questions that I have not been able to fathom (not with Soundsoap) and I found the company ready to assist.

The product works. I use it for cleaning up material sent to me on cassette format (I produce and engineer a weekly syndicated pr-recorded talk program). It does significantly reduce unwanted noise and has a handy (but basic) EQ built in that allows you to adjust in real-time the overal sound. Sometimes with very heavy processing it can produce a highly processed end-result. This is not the fault of Soundsoap, but of the original material. You know the old saying about silk purses and sows ears. I have overcome this by simply utilizing other plug-ins, Graphic and sometimes parametric EQ as examples.

It does a great job on taking out "clicks" on vinyl. As I said in a response to another review on this product, if you are dealing with a 'gash' on your vinyl as opposed to a scratch - DON'T expect Soundsoap to remove it, nothing can except some careful editing which Peak Pro will allow you to do. Absolutely A1 on removing 50/60 cycle hum.

NEVER had a problem with stability or freezing, and I mean never!

Once you have mastered the basics, it is great to move into it's advanced features. Sometimes the manual get's a bit wordy, usually I jump into using the app at this point, play around then go back to the manual. Many times I have found it to be intuitive enough not to have even needed the manual.