Sony's Sound Forge Pro Mac Launching This Month for $299

[MacRumors]

We've been following the story of Sony's work to bring its Sound Forge audio recording and editing software to OS X for some time now, beginning with the initial teaser site that our investigation suggested was indeed a Sony project and continuing through to Sony's confirmation late last month.

Sony has now officially announced Sound Forge Pro Mac, noting that it will launch this month at a price of $299.

"People who work on audio editing platforms recognize the need for a fresh option in the marketplace, one that's built for OS X as opposed to something that's simply been ported over. In addition, it's no secret that cross-platform professionals have been demanding Sound Forge for the Mac for years," said Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. "Our response is Sound Forge Pro Mac, a truly contemporary OS X design. Producers will appreciate its simple elegance, uncluttered look and amazing flexibility. The included suite of mastering and repair plug-ins makes this 1.0 edition a value-packed editing powerhouse right out of the box. Sound Forge Pro Mac is our second major OS X application release this year, and we're pleased to now be very actively engaged in application development for the Mac platform."

Sony's press release addresses a number of features of the new software, including focused editing with viewing panels and toggles for customizing tool sets and a number of mastering, processing, and repair/restore plug-ins to enhance the functionality of the software.

Sony Creative Software has yet to update its site with information on Sound Forge Pro Mac, but new pages should be going live shortly to share screenshots and other promotional materials.

Article Link: Sony's Sound Forge Pro Mac Launching This Month for $299

[4God]

This is cool, I've used Sound Forge, Vegas and Acid during the Sonic Foundry days (right before my move to Mac) and really liked the remixes I was able to do with it. Haven't used any of the products since but like the idea of new options coming to Mac.

[dysamoria]

Upgrade options for existing Windows users??

[jontech]

App store?

[519tbarr]

As a Sony Creative Software purchaser of Sound Forge Pro 10 and Acid Pro 7 i've asked the same questions in their forums. So far no answer. Being a purchaser of the previous product makes me want a version of the mac Sound Forge 1.0 but their quietness on the issue makes me think they are going to class it as a completely new platform and not opt for an option to upgrade existing users.
SCS - has been busy this year with Spectra Layers Pro, A new Vegas Pro 12 version coming soon, Sound Forge Pro 1.0 coming to the mac - and still no word on Acid Pro. Acid Pro is approximately 4 years old. Either it's next for a refresh and maybe mac version or it is pretty safe to say after 4 years the platform is dead.

[jsalda]

New Mac Pro? Oh wait, that says "....Pro Mac"

[spoonie1972]

I've always liked Sound Forge.... with that said..

It's 2012. WTF is with the $299 price point?

I'm honestly shocked this isn't something like $49, $89 or even $99.

[milo]

Originally Posted by dysamoria

Upgrade options for existing Windows users??

Disappointing they haven't announced that. But it probably wouldn't be that big a discount, their current upgrade from previous windows versions runs $239.

Originally Posted by spoonie1972

I'm honestly shocked this isn't something like $49, $89 or even $99.

That's actually a drop from their previous PC version at $375. And they charge that because they can - cheaper apps don't have all the features pros need, and people doing audio for a living are more than happy to shell out that much. It pays for itself in time saved very quickly.

If a $49 app covers your needs, buy that $49 app instead. I'm ecstatic to finally get it on mac.

[Winni]

Originally Posted by jontech

App store?

Only Apple is allowed to violate their own AppStore rules - I doubt that you will see this product in the MAS.

[petsounds]

Granted, it's been years since I used Sound Forge on a Windows box (XP era), but my shoddy memory tells me it used to be much cheaper. Did the price jump up after Sony bought it?

$299 is just not a price that resonates with me. I had assumed it would be around $199, which is fair value for what you get with this tool. $299, with options like Adobe's Audition out there, it just doesn't make sense.

[spoonie1972]

milo:

i'm not against spending the money - i'm simply surprised. Logic audio (while a completely different tool and frankly useless at wave editing) is $200 on the app store. Pricing has changed with the times. (I remember buying V5 for $1199 $CDN).

[milo]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Granted, it's been years since I used Sound Forge on a Windows box (XP era), but my shoddy memory tells me it used to be much cheaper. Did the price jump up after Sony bought it?

SF has been around this price (or higher) for years, maybe Sony jacked the price, but they bought them out in 2003. Looks like it may have been cheaper around version 6, but back then there were extra options like noise reduction that used to cost extra and are now included.

Whether any price "makes sense" depends on how it stacks up to the competition, and I suspect that Audition doesn't do everything SF does.

Originally Posted by spoonie1972

Logic audio (while a completely different tool and frankly useless at wave editing) is $200 on the app store. Pricing has changed with the times. (I remember buying V5 for $1199 $CDN).

Apple is selling Logic as a means to sell macs. I wouldn't be surprised if they're barely breaking even or even losing a bit on it. Other audio software companies don't have the option of subsidizing software like that (including Emagic before Apple bought them) and making it back on the hardware.

Pricing has changed a bit over the years, but Logic is way outside the norm. Just look at PT, DP, Cubase (Nuendo!), Sonar, etc, all even more expensive than SF. And Sony does offer a light version of SF for $65, although no announcment of that coming to mac yet.

Originally Posted by Winni

Only Apple is allowed to violate their own AppStore rules - I doubt that you will see this product in the MAS.

What rules would SF violate?

[TTOZ]

Hi guys, my first post here, i have been lurking for years..

It's nice to finally register..

I am an avid mac nut and audio professional, who has been wanting sound forge on mac for a long time!

My gripe at present is that none of the media reports indicate anything about cd architect being included as it is on the windows version, and i hope it's just an oversight and it does indeed include CD burning...

If not.. it really won't be the end all solution i have been hoping for...

Adobe audition is also a brilliant editor that does burning, but although the AUD is stronger than the USD at present, Adobe will not allow me to purchase from the American store, and their Australian prices are pretty much double.. it's something i can't fathom or understand...

So i really hope SF for mac has CD burning, $299 USD for such a complete app is very reasonable i feel.

cheers!

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by milo

Whether any price "makes sense" depends on how it stacks up to the competition, and I suspect that Audition doesn't do everything SF does.

Well, ultimately "makes sense" will come down to whether it sells well at that price or not. For me personally, it doesn't make sense, even though it's a fantastic editor. This is a problem as programs get large -- individual users only use a subset of features, but the developers expect to be paid for the entire feature set and charge appropriately.

[Mr. Retrofire]

Originally Posted by milo

What rules would SF violate?

The "Do not ask!" rule. ;-)

[bobobenobi]

Originally Posted by spoonie1972

It's 2012. WTF is with the $299 price point?

It's 2012, why does a PreSonus StudioLive cost $2K?

It's 2012, why does a Hofner 500/2 Club bass cost almost $3K?

It's 2012, why does an Audi S5 cost $63K?

[HornetMontana]

I can't see needing to switch to this from my $80 Twisted Wave for editing of narration.

[thefourthpope]

Why not just use GarageBand? So much cheaper...


(kidding)

I've never used sound forge but it sounds cool. Hopefully my school picks up a license I can play around with before dropping that much myself.

[iPadPublisher]

I'm a little rusty having moved over to a Mac in late 2010, but I'm so pumped about this. My biggest gripe by far with the switch to a Mac was that I didn't have Sound Forge anymore.

I've done some incredible work on Sound Forge over the years. My next big hope is going to be that all my favorite parts have carried over. I'm going to be mighty upset ($299 upset) if they have dumbed it way down, or taken away some of the best features.

I think I read on another site that the downloads are already live... but I haven't gone to see for myself yet.

[jeffmic]

As long as it does everything Peak 7 did before they closed their doors last June, I'll buy SF it immediately. I still use Peak every single day and creating Playlists to make edited versions of songs is my primary job. Does SF has this ability? Plus I need to have my Waves native plugins work in SF too.

[Jodles]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Well, ultimately "makes sense" will come down to whether it sells well at that price or not. For me personally, it doesn't make sense, even though it's a fantastic editor. This is a problem as programs get large -- individual users only use a subset of features, but the developers expect to be paid for the entire feature set and charge appropriately.

Maybe you'd want Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Business options?

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by Jodles

Maybe you'd want Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Business options?

Funny. No, I just don't think in 2012 that an audio sample editor should cost $300. It's ridiculous. Sony amortized the development costs of 90% of the features of Sound Forge years ago. What's left is just profit. Yes, porting a Mac version took some money, but the cost is shared across both platforms. I just think pricing Sound Forge at $300 is arrogant.

[eicarr]

I used to use this at work and agree with the postings that $49-89 in the APP store would be a fair price. $300 just makes me laugh.

[milo]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Well, ultimately "makes sense" will come down to whether it sells well at that price or not.

Of course. But considering it has been at that price or even a bit higher for years, it seems like it probably has been selling well and adding mac support should help sales even more. Again, this is a tool that is hugely useful to guys doing audio for a living. Of course people doing basic editing for fun are going to find it overkill, that's not who it's designed for. But for pros, the time saved means it pays for itself many times over.

And who knows, they have a light version for $65 on the PC side, maybe if the mac version is a hit (which it will be) they'll do that version on mac as well and you'll get your wish for the budget version after all.

Heck, there are mac guys who have PCs just for this one app (or at least something like bootcamp/parallels/etc). Even at $300, a mac version can save some money.

Originally Posted by Mr. Retrofire

The "Do not ask!" rule. ;-)

Do not ask what?

Originally Posted by iPadPublisher

I think I read on another site that the downloads are already live... but I haven't gone to see for myself yet.

Don't see it anywhere yet, if you find it for sale, post a link.

[xav8tor]

You guys whining about 300 bucks for a full featured multichannel editor with numerous included plug-ins from developers like iZotope are not living in the real world. That's a great deal. I have three different more focused, but overall less capable, editing/analysis apps that cost four figures and I thought they were a good deal. They've paid for themselves 100 times over.

For example, iZotope's basic audio repair app costs more than SSF for the Mac. Quadruple that for the advanced version. Pro level apps are intended for pro users, or the serious hobbyist. Those who know how to take full advantage of such apps can make the cost of the app back in less than a couple hours of billable work.