Soundwhale is the missing link between engineers and artists who need to work remotely online in real time. Whether your collaborators are on the other side of town, or on a different continent, our lowdown will get you up and creating…
Geography Is History
One thing that’s become a fact of life over the last couple of years is the need for remote working methods that anyone can use. The products for online video conferencing are now in the public consciousness, from school kids to pensioners. But the usefulness and tech behind these remote tools also lends itself perfectly to solutions for creative professionals. While in-person working is still preferable, being physically present is no longer an absolute requirement. For those times where distance needn’t be an obstacle, we have Soundwhale.
What Is Soundwhale?
Soundwhale is an app that each collaborator has installed on their computer. Either for post professionals working remotely, or for musicians using a common DAW, Soundwhale allows the recording and monitoring each other’s audio remotely, and to communicate via messenger, video link, talkback, or any combination of each. Soundwhale handles sync and latency over the network, and has its own timeline to record into which can be synced between DAWs using machine time code.
How It Works
Soundwhale offers three plans with different functionality, but at its simplest, anyone interested in using it need only create an account to sign up for the free trial before downloading the application. Once contacts and messaging are setup, Soundwhale is ready to go. Basic functionality allows the streaming of audio between collaborators, but at its most elaborate Soundwhale is able to synchronize to your DAW’s transport for those with the Level 3 Audio Post Solution plan for sound to picture workflows.
Other Soundwhale features include:
Record sessions comfortably over the network Communicate with audio, video, or text chat. Choose the quality of the stream that suits your connection. Record into a timeline containing other audio files or video. Organize and manage your takes.
Conduct audio post sessions from a distance Take control of your post production mixing software and stream audio in sync with a video file. Make changes in real time for post production mix reviews. Record dialogue that’s locked to picture over the network.
Transmit and receive audio and MIDI over the network Send any audio from your studio to your contacts. Connect customized MIDI ports to your favorite software to send and receive MIDI data. Share your equipment with each other and create new sounds instantly.
Communicate in a way that is comfortable to you Chat with your contacts, send requests, and read messages. Synchronize chat comments to your timeline. Connect with your contacts for audio or video streaming sessions.
Enhance online education for music or language courses Record and play back performances instantly. Load audio files to learn from specific examples. Save sessions with recorded files and notes. Demonstrate clearly through high quality audio.
Review sound mixes and provide feedback on the move Receive live mixes in iOS from macOS. For audio post sessions, receive video streams with synchronized audio. Communicate via audio, video, or text chat or use the notepad to save your ideas.
Share and record musical ideas with your mobile device Plug in your instruments, connect your music apps, or open audio files and stream to your contacts. Communicate with video or text chat. Record, save, and share your audio.
Work alone and play along with audio or video files in iOS Connect your hardware or software instruments, open an audio file, and play along. Use the mixer to adjust levels and record your result. Likewise, open a video file, make some sounds, and record.
Watch Soudwhale’s comprehensive setup guide here:
Everything You Need To Know
In terms of understanding how Soundwhale is working within your wider system, the first thing to bear in mind is that its virtual audio driver sits in-between your DAW and your interface. The second is that all audio goes via the Soundwhale timeline in order to be brought into each user’s DAW via the file import and export functionality.
Soundwhale gives you everything you need for remote collaboration, right down to the talkback and video chat. Complete solutions like this are thin on the ground, and just by following the setup guide most musicians should be able to get up and creating without geographic boundaries.