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.

The paranoia on part of Bias has led me to a product that won't work. After the semi-annoying process of obtaining the authorization code, I am forced to activate the application. Naturally, the program to do this doesn't work. It asks for my serial number and then won't give me access to the "Authorize" button because it doesn't like the serial number my product came with. Just for kicks I entered the authorization number they gave me and then I was granted access to the "Authorize" button! Alas, upon pressing it, I was told that it was an invalid serial number. They aren't open either and all this does is frustrate and annoy the paying customer. Bias, please feel free to protect your business, but never at the expense of those you keep you in business. I will not be using any more of your applications. No really, I don't care how great they may be. I simply refuse to put up with this. Good-bye.

SS2's get info says its version 1 on both 2.0 and 2.0.2 versions. The window cannot be resized. STAY AWAYYYYYY FAR AWAYYYYY

I have used Bias products for sometime. While I'm tempted to use this forum to 'stick it to them' in regard to hanging a %^$##!! dongle from the latest version of Peak, I must say their products deliver.

Soundsoap is no exception. A breeze to use either as a plug in, or stand alone, I have found it does exactly what the manufacturer claims.

In terms of cleaning up old vinyl it is excellent, and as for cleaning up some archive tapes I had - fabulous. I have not tried it with video (yet), but price per functionality, it gets a major tick. Yes the interface is a little chintzy, but that's OK.

As this update only updates the RTAS plugin, I haven't put it through its paces. No reason from some trial runs to believe it will do any less than previous versions.