Overview
SoundQ is sound library software that helps creators deliver better sound on every project - faster than ever.
With SoundQ, you get cloud access to the entire Pro Sound Effects Library. Use download credits to select from over 800,000 sounds in the PSE Cloud Library developed with Oscar®-winners and world-class recordists.
Search, audition, and drop any sound from the cloud right to your timeline in your editing software of choice.
You can use SoundQ to organize your own local library and any new library you buy. You also get unlimited cloud access to your purchased PSE Libraries, the SoundQ library, and the Freesound.org library (CC0). These libraries do not require use of download credits.
SoundQ is available for monthly or annual subscription.
Download and Install
- Download the latest version of SoundQ at prosoundeffects.com/soundq
- Open the downloaded .pkg (macOS) or .exe (Windows) file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
- (Optional) If you are a Reaper or Adobe Premiere user, make sure the corresponding SoundQ Extension is selected when prompted
Launch
- macOS: In Finder, go to your /Applications folder and double click the SoundQ.app
- Windows: Find the SoundQ application in or Start menu, or double click the SoundQ shortcut on your desktop.
Sign Up/Sign In
Note to Pro Sound Effects Library Customers:
If you have an existing Pro Sound Effects account at shop.prosoundeffects.com, click "Sign up now" to create a new SoundQ account using this same email address. This way, your library purchases from prosoundeffects.com will sync with SoundQ (you will get unlimited cloud access to these libraries).
If you have already created an account using a DIFFERENT email address and would like to sync your prosoundeffects.com purchases to your new SoundQ account, please reach out to support@prosoundeffects.com for assistance.
Alternatively, if your email address is linked to a Google or Facebook account, feel free to sign up/sign in using those accounts.
Subscription Tiers
When logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to select a tier. For more information about pricing and the tiers, please visit prosoundeffects.com/soundq
If you continue with the Free tier, you can upgrade your subscription at any time.
Upgrading
To upgrade your account and unlock all features (full SoundQ library, unlimited local databasing, unlimited music, etc..), click the user account icon, and choose “Upgrade Subscription.”
Adding Credits
All users, whether subscribed to SoundQ or not, will have the ability to add credits to their account that can be used for sounds from the entire Pro Sound Effects Library. To do this, select “Add Credits” in the user menu:
Using Coupon Codes
If you have a coupon code, enter the coupon code after making your selection when entering your payment details:
Results List Icons
In the results list, the icon in the first column indicates whether the sound is coming from the cloud or local collections, and whether or not you need to use a credit to download.
The sound is part of a local library - i.e. on your computer’s hard drive or a connected hard drive
The sound is coming from the cloud, but downloading will NOT use a credit
The sound will use a download credit upon transfer
Collections Panel
The new Collections panel allows you to organize your sounds (cloud and local) in a way that best suit your workflow needs. Here, you can select whether to search through our entire library of sounds and music, or any combination of sources you choose. This includes:
- Pro Sound Effects: All Pro Sound Effects libraries are available in SoundQ. Sounds you don't own and that are not a part of the SoundQ Unlimited library will use a credit when downloaded
- SoundQ Music Library - 18,000 music tracks + stems
- SoundQ Sound Effects - 100,000+ sounds in 54,000+ files
- Purchased - All Pro Sound Effects libraries you own. These sounds will not use a credit when downloaded
- Freesound.org (CC0 only)
The magnifying glass indicates whether or not sounds from that Collection will be included in the search results. A crossed-out magnifying glass means those sounds will not be included in search results. Click the magnifying glasses, or Collection names, to toggle selections.
Collections can be populated with sounds from any combination of sources, with no limits on imports or number of Collections that can be created. You can further customize your Collections by clicking the three dots to the right of the Collection name. In this sub-menu, you can add colors, change the icon, rename, or delete a Collection.
Drag and drop a Collection to set the order, or to nest a collection within another collection to organize however you'd like.
When the green target icon is enabled, this allows you to press the shortcut "T" to add the currently selected sounds from the results list to the target Collection. This can be especially helpful when building a collection of your favorite sounds.
File Info Panel
SoundQ reads and writes metadata to an open iXML format and the standard Broadcast WAV format readable by most applications. All of this metadata can be viewed in detail in the File Info panel.
You can edit the metadata of any file in a local library by simply double clicking on the field you’d like to edit in the File Info Panel.
To batch edit the metadata of multiple files at once, simply select the files you’d like to change in the results list, then edit that field in the File Info Panel. All sounds will update to reflect the same recent change.
You can also edit metadata fields directly in the results list by right-clicking (control+click) on a sound and choosing the “Edit Description” option, for example.
Changes to metadata are only reflected in the SoundQ database. If you’d like to embed your metadata changes to the file itself for use in other applications, use the “Embed metadata for selected...” command in the database menu.
Importing Local Sounds
First, navigate to File > Import... to bring up the import window. Simply drag and drop as many files/folders as you’d like directly into SoundQ. You'll then be prompted to select a destination for the sounds – either an existing collection or a new collection.
Alternatively, you can drag and drop your sounds directly into any local collection, at any time, without needing to open the import window.
The scanning process will then begin. Please note that this could take a while depending on a number of factors including the number of files being scanned, the speed of your hard drives, and the types of files being scanned.
Searching, Auditioning, Exporting
To search in SoundQ, simply use the search bar at the top of the SoundQ window.
For a search that includes ALL search terms, simply type your search query with spaces:
E.g. Crow Distant
To perform an "OR" search using multiple terms, use parentheses and commas between terms:
E.g. (Dark, Moody, Drafty)
To perform a search that excludes certain terms, use a “-”:
E.g. Crow -Crowd
Auto-Translation
SoundQ will automatically translate your search query for all cloud based files. This feature is still in beta with additional support for more languages and local files on the way!
Column Display
After searching, your sounds will be displayed in the results list. Each column you see corresponds to a metadata field. You can customize the columns displayed by right-clicking (or Control+Click) anywhere on the column titles. This brings up a full list of metadata fields that can be shown or hidden as necessary.
Waveform
Simply click and drag on a waveform to make a selection:
Selections can be refined using the Selection Start/End trim. Fades can also be applied to the selection if you prefer fades to be applied before transfer. To apply fades, simply hover near the top right or top left of a selection to reveal the fade trim (shown above).
Volume
Output volume can be controlled using the volume slider. Please note this controls the audition volume and will not affect the meter readings or the transfer gain, i.e. the gain of the file or clip when exported to another application. Double-click or Option+click on the volume slider to reset it to 0dB.
Speed
Playback speed can be adjusted using the speed slider. This is a varispeed slider so changes to playback speed also affect pitch. As with the volume slider, you can double-click the slide to reset to 0. You can also right-click the slider to display the speed change in semitones!
Channel Selector
SoundQ supports most multi-channel formats. If you’d like to solo individual channels of a multi-channel file, simply click the channel you’d like to audition. CMD+click will allow you to select multiple channels. For example, this could be used to transfer just the Left and Right channels of a 5.1 file.
Exporting sounds to other Applications
To set the destination and handle length for your sounds, open the Send to Panel:
After selecting your destination, you can either hit the green SEND button in the bottom right corner, or simply hit the 🅂 key.
Shortcuts
Play: Space
Reverse Playback: 🅁
Jump to Search: /
Clear Search: ⌘ + ⏎
Send to Transfer Destination: 🅂
Add Selection to Target Collection: 🅃
Show Collections Panel: ⌘1
Show Inspector Panel: ⌘3
Show Import Panel: ⌘4
Reset Sort: Control + 🅁
Fade In: 🄳
Fade Out: 🄶
Remove Selected from Database: ⌘⌫
Support
- Visit the SoundQ FAQ
- Join the discussion on the Pro Sound Effects Community Slack
- Submit feedback
- Email us at support@prosoundeffects.com