REVIEW: Apple Soundtrack Pro 2

One Step Closer to Being a Complete Audio Post Tool

David Leathers

November 1, 2007    Source: Studio Monthly

Soundtrack Pro 2 is a unique audio post program. It lets you create intelligent compositions and place sound effects to picture with Apple Loops and MIDI. It features audio recording for ADR, voiceovers, music and sound effects and provides a wide range of processing tools for manipulating and finishing audio. It does all this in an appealing creative environment that’s closely integrated with Final Cut Pro 6.

The first thing you’ll notice about this new version is its improved interface. The previous version’s separate windows for multi-track editing and waveform editing have been combined into a single window interface, with major interface sections available as tabs.

While the earliest version of Soundtrack was mainly a Garage Band-like music composition program for FCP, each successive version has added more audio functionality, as well as tools to help in spotting sound to picture. Soundtrack Pro 2 is a step closer to being a complete audio post tool, capable of taking a project through music composition, editing, effects, mixing and mastering.

New Features

In addition to the interface improvements, there are many other new enhancements. I’m most excited about three new features: support for 5.1 surround sound mixes; the new effects library with over 5,000 sound effects total; and a non-destructive, multi-channel waveform editor. The Spectrum View editing tool has a screen that shows variations in amplitude as variations in color and lets you edit specific frequencies without affecting nearby or surrounding frequencies. You can knock out unwanted noises without blowing away other simultaneous frequencies above or below. The new Multitake Editor lets you see multiple takes of Foley effect, ADR or voiceover recordings and easily lets you edit between them. The "Lift and Stamp" feature means you can lift the effects and EQ settings of a clip and apply them to other clips or save them as a preset. The new "Audio Conform" process tracks changes made in an FCP project and automatically conforms the Soundtrack Pro 2 project to match.

Performance

So far, we’ve tested Soundtrack Pro 2 on a dual 2.7 G5, a new generation Macbook Pro and on a new Mac Pro with 8 GB of RAM. Performance is obviously greatly enhanced with the more advanced processors and more RAM.

Overall, with the right hardware underneath, Soundtrack Pro 2 performs well and presents the most integrated and advanced audio post solution available for FCP users.