In a comparatively short time SoundFlow has made a massive impression on the industry, particularly with Pro Tools users who have found its power and customisability to be a huge benefit to the working lives of professionals everywhere. In around 5 years SoundFlow has gone from a scripting based app which, while powerful, required technical know how to use, to the fully featured tool we recognise today.
The newest version, SoundFlow 5, targets Pro Tools users and seeks to address the principal barrier facing new users - Getting SoundFlow set up. Previous versions of SoundFlow installed as a blank canvas and required the user to set it up before any work could be done. It was like a powerful synthesizer which shipped without any presets. SoundFlow 5 ships with 1700 Pro Tools macros and 30+ preinstalled Decks. The setup process now requires zero product knowledge and a new users can be set up and working with SoundFlow, with or without a Streamdeck or via an iOS or Android device in 10 minutes.
This new version continues a pattern which has been in progress throughout the development of SoundFlow - opening up the product to new users who are put off by the learning curve necessary to use the product, either for reasons of technical confidence or for a lack of time. SoundFlow 5 streamlines the onboarding process so much that even the busiest professional can afford the minimal setup time - 10 minutes!
In this extended video demonstration with Christian Scheuer from SoundFlow we look at the new features and what they mean for new users.
Intro
0.30 - What is SoundFlow?
2.26 - Why is this relevant to the Production Expert audience?
Demo / overview of new features - SoundFlow 5
5.35 - Overview of the new Official Pro Tools integration with 1700 macros and 30+ decks.
6.08 - New onboarding workflow that lets users set up SoundFlow completely in less than 10 minutes with no need for manual setup or any particular knowledge.
10.00 - Demonstration of using SoundFlow 5 In Pro Tools
11.16 - New Store. Improved navigation and access to 350+ packages with macros, decks and scripts made by the community.
Going into more detail
14.40 - How can you easily build your own Deck to customize SoundFlow to your workflow?
20.28 - How do you add a missing feature? For example Is there a way to get the Color Palette on a Deck?
24.40 - Set up an AudioSuite plugin like RX De-plosive to run from a single button click?
Round Up
33.07 - How do the demo and subscription work?
34.30 - Where can I learn more?
SoundFlow community and forum with 6,000+ threads and 40,000+ posts where our users help educate each other on how to build, automate and improve workflows. and the Soundflow YouTube channel36.20 - Thanks and goodbye
Where can I sign up?
Go to soundflow.org and click Sign Up. This gives you a free 30-day trial.
If you had a trial in the past but aren't an active user we can set you up with another new trial.
SoundFlow - The Story So Far…
In 2017 SoundFlow started as an app for creating extra shortcuts for Pro Tools. Christian launched it as a product with 103 shortcuts for Pro Tools. A year later, they had turned SoundFlow into a platform with the release of SoundFlow 2, in which you could build your own scripts and develop your own workflows. Commands could be triggered from the keyboard, external hardware devices, MIDI controllers, touch surfaces or be integrated into existing scripting.
SoundFlow 3 enabled regular users to be able to build their own automated macros and workflows in DAWs like Pro Tools as well as iZotope RX, Soundminer, in fact, any macOS application. This version also added deep integration with the Stream Deck, which is a 15 button hardware device with LCD screens behind every button, enabling users to be able to design their own dynamic ‘Decks’ inside SoundFlow that react to what you are doing, as well as providing access to all of SoundFlow’s integrations. You can read much more about SoundFlow in our comprehensive article.
Soundflow 4 enabled users to design their own cross-platform touch surfaces and have them instantly work across both macOS, iOS and Android. the introduction of SoundFlow Surfaces enabled a wide range of new workflows. SoundFlow scripts and macros could be triggered by inputs like virtual faders and XY pads and skinned buttons. Users were able to use the new Surfaces designer with an easy to use drag’n’drop editor.
SoundFlow worked hard to improve on other solutions like Lemur or TouchOSC by removing the need for manual configuration. The objective was to enable the user so that once you have designed a surface on your Mac, it will instantly sync to all your connected devices, iOS or Android, with no need for complicated setup, or manually routing MIDI or OSC.
SoundFlow takes care of all communication to and from all your connected devices automatically. SoundFlow tells us that you can use as many iOS and Android devices as you wish.
In addition, since surfaces travel with your SoundFlow Cloud Account, this means you can have access to all your surfaces, like any other SoundFlow setting, from any computer in the world once you log in to your SoundFlow account.
SoundFlow 5 In Numbers
SoundFlow 5's official Pro Tools integration comes with 1752 pre-built macros, scripts & presets, up from ~500 in SoundFlow 4.
80% of all macros now have beautifully designed icons assigned – and the rest are coming soon.
SoundFlow 5 has all this content organized in 86 pre-designed decks, of these 30+ ready to use on a 5x3 Stream Deck.
Thanks to the new onboarding workflow, you can sign up for SoundFlow 5, install it and integrate it with Pro Tools and Stream Deck in less than 10 minutes.
As part of the new platform, SoundFlow will now be able to deliver new features and bug fixes to its Pro Tools integration independently of SoundFlow platform builds and releases. With this, they can roll out bug fixes and features to the Pro Tools integration on a daily or weekly basis, instead of the multiple months they had between releases before.
SoundFlow 5 has more than 40 new features and countless bug fixes and improvements.
What We Think Of SoundFlow
SoundFlow has established itself as a favourite amongst the Production Expert team with several users having been vocal about their enthusiasm for the product in the past.
For example Oxfordshire based engineer James Richmond says:
SoundFlow is indispensable to my way of working- I love how configurable it is and how well it integrates with Pro Tools and my other DAW's and other applications. It also seamlessly works with Stream Deck as an app and macro launcher whilst being contextual. It is the perfect blend between ease of use and an insane amount of configurability. I cannot wait for the update.
Connecticut based studio owner and engineer Steve DeMott comments:
SoundFlow is one of those tools that helps you save an hour a day, 30 seconds at a time. Even just using it for the Melodyne scripts will save you significant time, if you do any amount of tuning. And when you can't find a pre-made script to do what you need, creating your own really isn't that hard. I've created a couple scripts that help me set up a session to get ready to mix faster.
And Grammy winning engineer/producer William Wittman says:
There are loads of what feel like little things that I find myself doing every day working in Pro Tools that, while not individually onerous, add up over the course of a mix to be quite a lot of wasted time and mental energy. SoundFlow lets me automate those busy-work tasks into simple single button pushes (or key commands) so I can focus on actually mixing instead of “running Pro Tools”.
SoundFlow Cloud Pro, the most popular choice, is available for $9.99 per month. There is a free demo available and you can pause and restart your subscription at any time without losing your cloud data. Head over to the SoundFlow website for more information using the button below.