Cloud Bounce desktop app
General Producer Chat
Some time ago I wrote an overly generous review. Some points in that review are still valid I guess (you'll find it below). At that time, I did not do any research looking into other online mastering services and since then I found out there are plenty out there. Recently also Plugin Alliance entered the fray with the (brainworx) mastering.studio website and in the higher price range you can find companies like Abbeyroad (but they don't have an AI solution so you'll have to wait a couple of days ...) and there always is ... fiverr!
What worries me is that the CloudBounce desktop software still remains the same 1.01 version, I have never received any news from them that they have added new features or made improvements. I am starting to believe there isn't any ongoing development which is a big red flag. Nothing like the excitement around a program like "Loopcloud" with frequent updates and new features, the silence around CloudBounce is deafening! Always a bit iffy when a company offers unrealistic per case tariffs and monthly subscriptions but offer a too-good-to-be-true lifetime subscription at the same time. We can only hope that with "lifetime" they don't mean the (short?) "lifespan of the company" but at this point we are all kept guessing. I’d reckon at its inception it was a decent enough investment project for those infamous private equity companies but they are never in it for the long haul.
Online I learned a rather contradictory message from some established names in the business: "mastering is relatively uncomplicated and you'll learn something new at every project". So I'll stick with the learning curve and use cloudbounce for comps, temps and stems.
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CloudBounce buyer’s review:
Great to have even if you just use it for ongoing projects, stems or 'comps'
Great to have even if you just use it for ongoing projects, stems or “comps”. Slightly controversial because this service takes a bite (however small) of the revenue model of professional mastering, which is a small industry on its own. You can see plenty of comparisons on Youtube when mixed by ear (by a person) wins the public vote over the cloudbounce versions but with plenty of people saying there wasn't much between them.
So given budgetary restrictions or you just not (yet) being skilled enough (or having the proper hardware or plugins) the Cloudbounce solution might be just what you need. If you think slightly out of the box you could also (quickly) use it on projects that you haven't finished yet (e.g. soliciting feedback of your 'work in progress' from a select group of people) or you could use it on polyphonic/multitimbral/multilayered 'stems' you are making or - and this is an underappreciated aspect of the cloudbounce service - you could use it on a track you (kind of) finished and mastered yourself and then use the CloudBounce version as a 'comp' (playing with the cloudbounce settings) to see whether your version is ok or could benefit from +/- bass, mids, highs, volume, clarity, stereo width etc. etc. Being able to load a reference track in the desktop version of CloudBounce is very useful. I would also assume they tweak their AI and other stuff so this service might become even better in the future. For the current promotion price it is (almost) a no-brainer but acquiring the mastering skills yourself remains the ultimate goal (for some of us).
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