After reviewing Sound Soap 2 in our November issue, I was eager to get my hands on their flagship noise reduction product! And I must say, Sound Soap Pro has become one of three noise reduction solutions that I turn to first. It's the only one under $2,400 -- way under, actually! I've found that different NR packages work better for different situations, but I can always depend on very solid results from SS Pro.
When I started installing the software, I had a little bit of trouble getting the USB key working. (Much like Avid, Protools, Nuendo, and other software companies, Bias uses a code key stored on a special USB thumb drive as a key to prevent piracy.) The latest drivers were not included on the SS Pro CD, causing some issues with installation. But after a call to customer support and downloading the latest drivers from Aladdin's (the manufacturer of the USB key) website, everything was up and running very quickly.
Ease of Use
The GUI is very intuitive and though there are several processes available, the four tabs make it easy to get around. SS Pro includes a spectrograph that monitors input or output and provides visual feedback of the changes you are making to the sound. There is also a "Noise Only" button to let you listen to just the audio that is being removed. This is great for making sure the processing isn't affecting the desired audio too much! The Broadband tab may require newbies to take a little time to feel comfortable, but considering all that this package can do I'd say the controls are as simplified as one can hope for! This is a professional product with pro level controls.
Depth of Options
Most of the controls are simple, fast, and effective. The Hum & Rumble tab includes settings for the fundamental frequency of the hum (usually 50 Hz in Europe and 60 Hz in the US), the number of harmonics above the fundamental that need taken out as well, the width of the filter (determines how many adjacent frequencies it affects), how much to attenuate the hum, and the frequency below which the rumble filter will go into effect. The Click & Crackle tab has two sliders on it that determine the sensitivity to these undesirable transients.
