AudioEase previewed a new utility at NAMM that integrates with your Mac to provide ever-present sound file previewing, editing, and sample utilities. (Thanks to our readers who picked up on this in Barry Wood’s NAMM Oddities.)
Soundabout has a lot of tricks up its sleeve:
- It provides waveform previewing, auditioning, and selection tools.
- It integrates with Finder, so it’s always available when you navigate sound files.
- It integrates with iTunes.
- It drags. It drops.
- It edits, slices, and dices.
- It automatically converts files to MP3 for email.
- It integrates with Pro Tools, automatically aligning to the cursor.
It’s unclear whether the integration will extend to other apps, as well; at this point all we know is what you can see in the video. We’ll keep an eye on this one; will be great to see this idea develop into a finished product.
Of course, there’s already another Mac-only utility that does all of this and a lot more: Iced Audio’s excellent AudioFinder. The difference is that AudioFinder does a lot more, but within a window, rather than integrating as Soundabout does in the Finder. Certainly, Soundabout’s purpose seems to be lightweight, always-on access, whereas AudioFinder is the heavy hitter — your pocket Leatherman and your Dremel tool, in other words. (For instance, AudioFinder has lop BPM detection, a BPM tap pad, a reference tone generator, a delay calculator, Audio Unit effects features, etc. But it doesn’t pop up in the Finder.)
It’s not hard to imagine sample addicts using both — AudioFinder now, and Soundabout when it comes out. We’ll be waiting.