Flow® Mastering Suite Walkthrough - Softube

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Flow® Mastering Suite is the ultimate music producer’s time- and lifesaver. Finalize your tracks in seconds with signal chains created by professional engineers and get access to several thousand dollars worth of mastering-grade tools.
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[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi all! Great to see such interest :) Flow Mastering Suite is a subscribe-to-own model which is better than a subscription! Each month you subscribe to Flow, you earn credits. If you have purchased all the plug-ins that make up a Flow, you own those products perpetually and you can keep on using Flow without an active subscription - you can read more here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works

[@shayneoneill1506]

Where do I find the perpetual pricing. I refuse to *ever* subscribe to software rentseeking schemes, and I'm not alone in my distaste for this. And I'm sure its just I havent been able to find it, but yeah, I cant find it.

[@jamestarby9471]

I’ve had the trial for one day and I know I will be keeping this. The fact that you can use all the plugins separately or within the mastering suite makes this worth it. This a great idea for home studio people like me. I would never be able to afford these plugins otherwise. This is quality over quantity.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Thanks for your kind words :) Happy music-making! //David at Softube

[@lloydbrothers3315]

It seems I may be the lone commenter here that appreciates a subscription to own model to access all the expensive, well made, tried and true Softube emulations as opposed to shelling out thousands in one lump sum to practice my mixing craft. Izotope 9 got me once for a few thousand. Never again. Thanks guys!

[@synaptyx]

Same here, slate too, lol. I'm up for this one.

[@BrewerShettles]

I have these plugins and get a much better sound that the shrill noise you have here

[@amalgami]

not all the plugins available outside of the flow plugin.. only some available.. or am i missing something?

[@musicpatrickmusic]

Why do I have to pay full price if I already own all the plugins?

[@darkmaer]

You don’t. You get all the flows as long as you have all the plugins in that flow. It points to you get perpetual access to those on the website. But apparently to get flow you have to start the trail. If you missing any items though you can keep subscribing for credits to get the ones you are missing.

[@TheSupergan]

I guess I’ll wait for the non monthly version… whenever and if will ever comes out…

[@darkmaer]

@@TheSupergan that’s called just buying all the individual plug-ins that are And then you have access to flow without paying a monthly subscription.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Exactly @darkmaer! It's better than a subscription 🙂 For each month you subscribe to Flow®, you earn credits. If you have purchased all the plug-ins that make up a Flow, you own those products perpetually and you can keep on using Flow without an active subscription. You can read more here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works

[@ollisaikkonen9156]

​@@SoftubeStudios Mastering flow is obviously great. However, you should bring pricing / credit stuff and "rent to own" more upfront in your marketing. It is a bit unclear how it works. People are somehow traumatized by big companies turning their plugins into subscription only and swiftly making their mind before giving you a turn. Keep up the great work👍

[@dannyk8780]

So, just to clarify: If you own all the plugins, to use "Flow" you need to start a trial, enter your payment details, and then cancel the subscription right before the trial ends. This way, you'll have access to "Flow" for free, since you already own the plugins. Therefore, even if you cancel your Flow subscription, you can still use that specific Flow within the Flow,plugin because you permanently own those plugins. 🤔

[@SoftubeStudios]

Yep, that's how it works :) More info here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works

[@iAmAsar]

A random master engineer plugin to tweak my art to copy paste a plastic sound. No wonder music is…….. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@DoitYHWH]

I think not being able to control the Flow Mastering plug-in with Console 1 was a HUGE miss.

[@nelsonleeroy]

NO WAY ! You're sure? Anyway, I will try it

[@joost3783]

Softube obviously doesn't care. Get the Nektar CS12 its universal

[@nelsonleeroy]

​@@joost3783suddenly I believe, they will make this available on the fader mk3... It makes sense to boost sales and because of the macro interface... Anyway I believe I will couple my C1 mk3 with an MP Midi instead the new version is awesome, there's so many features and also macro...

[@Etienne.6329]

I’d be VERY surprised if this doesn’t happen very soon

[@YEE941]

@@Etienne.6329 maybe with fader mk 2

[@Etienne.6329]

FINALLY a mastering suite without stupid AI and including both easy macros and real tools with full controls. Also... everyone complaints about subscription, but I find the credit thing pretty clever... and the tutorial tooltips are fantastic

[@SoftubeStudios]

Thanks! :)

[@MaPa60]

Is it possible to create your own flow presets, using only the Softube plugins you own?

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! It is not possible to create your own Flows - the Flows are built to deliver the sound of the very purposefully built signal chains and workflows by professional mastering engineers. But even though you can't create your own Flows - you can tweak the existing ones endlessly and save as own presets using the Preset Collection :) We have some more great FAQ:s here: www.softube.com/support/faq-flow/faq_flow_mastering_suite. Thanks, David at Softube.

[@MaPa60]

@@SoftubeStudios Thanks, I have all but 3 so far. Will look into it.

[@mickeychang8338]

Can the points obtained after subscription participate in discount activities to purchase plugins at the same price?

[@babybrown4289]

I’d like to know also

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! The credits can be used to buy any of the plug-ins included in Flow at a 50% discount (on list price) - more info here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works Best regards, David at Softube

[@joost3783]

Interesting so now Softube is trying to undermine their own customer base as well.. . Can all the Devs just stop to pretend like "everybody can do anything with no effort" style approach to marketing, especially when they try to sell you the same sh you already bought, AGAIN, AND as a subscription.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! Thanks for your feedback! One of the best things about Flow is that you can choose to use the macro controls to get to, say, 80% of the sound you're after and you can then fine-adjust using the individual plug-ins (these 16 plug-ins can also be used as VST/AU/AAX plug-ins within your DAW). Flow is a subscribe-to-own model (rather than a regular subscription), so if you have purchased all the plug-ins that make up a Flow, you now own those products perpetually. If you decide to cancel your Flow subscription, you can still use that particular Flow within the Flow plug-in, since you now own those plug-ins perpetually. The best thing is of course if you try it yourself and see what you think :) There's a 14-day free trial available at www.softube.com/flow-mastering-suite Best regards, David at Softube

[@joost3783]

@@SoftubeStudios If you choose to respond to a comment like the one I made, you IMHO should try to actually reply, not try to sell me the product.

[@benbenzon]

So it provides different softube plugin preset chains ?

[@TransistorLSD]

Yes, with macros for ease of use. I don't use presets, so it's a no for me...

[@joost3783]

truly revolutionary, just like waves did YEARS ago, except waves pretended their sh is somehow AI. What a mess..

[@TransistorLSD]

​@@joost3783 Well to be fair Softube never said it's revolutionary... I think...

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! Thanks for your feedback! One of the best things about Flow is that you can choose to use the macro controls to get to, say, 80% of the sound you're after and you can then fine-adjust using the individual plug-ins. Flow is a subscribe-to-own model (rather than a regular subscription), so if you have purchased all the plug-ins that make up a Flow, you now own those products perpetually. If you decide to cancel your Flow subscription, you can still use that particular Flow within the Flow plug-in, since you now own those plug-ins perpetually. The best thing is of course if you try it yourself and see what you think :) There's a 14-day free trial available at www.softube.com/flow-mastering-suite Best regards, David at Softube

[@TransistorLSD]

@@SoftubeStudios DAVID!!! PLEASE PROVIDE DAN WORRALL WITH A LICENSE FOR GERMANIUM COMPRESSOR!!! YOU GAVE HIM A LOT OF COMPRESSORS BUT NOT THE GERMANIUM!!! GIVE HIM A LICENSE SO HE CAN REVIEW IT!!!

[@uncle-ed]

Where can we see a list of Flows? I mostly master film scores so I'm not into pop/edm flows.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi there! Here's the list: www.softube.com/know-your-flow-mastering Best regards, David at Softube

[@uncle-ed]

@@SoftubeStudios Thank you David. Nothing seems to be tailored for orchestral nor classical music. Some day maybe.

[@alexeytereshonok]

Hey Softube, if you gonna start a Summer Sale soon, please don't forget to put your Clipper on sale! Thanks.

[@TransistorLSD]

And of course it's one of the few products that didn't go on sale... Huh.

[@SoftubeStudios]

There might be offers coming later on; stay tuned :) Best regards, David at Softube.

[@alexeytereshonok]

@@SoftubeStudios I got it. Thanks!

[@TheSupergan]

I was ready to purchase and then I saw the monthly charge?… I got all these plugins already, why I need to pay the monthly fee? Cool concept but I guess I’ll pass, thanks for sharing!

[@TransistorLSD]

People say if you start the free trial & cancel subscription you will still have access to Flows where you own all plugins.

[@SoftubeStudios]

@@TransistorLSD This is true! More information here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works

[@Audesi]

Seems like a bad idea to apply some preset eq and settings via a macro without consideration of the song, no AI or anything? Just mapped controls that add or remove eq in certain bands or other settings? I don’t think that will help anyone get a better result? The tool looks nice otherwise.

[@Audesi]

Was trying to play with the demo, but there’s a major iLok Cloud outage in the US today.

[@Etienne.6329]

AI doesn't "consider" your song either. It just measure a handful of parameters and just sets the plugins to some sort of statistical average of whatever seems to match in its database... but in reality, you have no idea if it doesn't confuse your rock song for an EDM track (because you've used an octaver pedal) and/or if the mastering settings it was trained on were good to begin with.

[@Audesi]

@@Etienne.6329 AI does take into account measurements of frequency response and dynamic measurements against those weighted statistics though. Something like Ozone allows you to choose the genre as well. Or something like Tonal Balance, or Sonible True Balance and their other tools. At least they rely on references and have some kind of input to guide their settings. Better than a preset with macros that just gradually turns up 3kHZ the more you turn it.

[@BLUEHINDU]

Well ultimately… with new music in the state it is now in… making everything sound like everything else may not be helpful, either to the craft or acquired skill in making great records, or to our cultural and creative development. Love and own most of the best Softube softwares already, and take such pleasure in creating the very individual voices that so clearly define us as a generation. Don’t take that away from us, please. I have other versions of this idea from other companies, and find that I almost never use or even refer to them in preference to a ‘hands on’ creation. Just maybe, if you can’t make brilliant musical sounds with the collection of plugins already on offer from Softube… then maybe you never will. Music happens in its own well tempered time. There’s no need at all need to hurry.

[@VEsound]

Yes, just with the exemple of the EQ macro it seems to be a really bad idea to use this « mastering tool » because it adds and reduces frequencies without analyzing the song itself. One example: our song contains already too much bass at a certain frequency -> the macro can add even more bass because the Softube « mastering preset » is done that way and it will sound even worse! So unprofessional I can’t believe it.

[@ekredel]

The subscribe to own model is kinda cool, but I am just tired of everyone asking me to subscribe. Put a fixed “own forever” price as well, and I am in. The way the pricing is set now, I’d rather buy a Weiss complete bundle for 423 EUR, own it forever and be able to master anything with it (there really isn’t much you cannot do with it) and it is Console 1 ready.

[@matiasmoulin2126]

you'll aways lose with subscription. Just take a look at the credit system, it does not align with the monthly cost, there will always be unsused points left in the end...

[@akagerhard]

I think the issue in this case is, that there are so many big hitters (moneywise) in terms of plugins incorporated. So basically, if they made it a fixed price, they would sell you all the plugins incorporated at the same time.. that would be a lot more expensive than the Weiss Complete Bundle or Console 1. So the idea is, that if you want to own it perpetually, you can still buy all the plugins, start the subscription to flow and cancel it. In that way, you theoretically still have an individual fixed price.. it's just not visible in the shop.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! :) If you own, or decide to buy all plug-ins included in a (or several) Flow(s), you'll still have access to Flow even without an active subscription - so there's still the possibility to choose whether you want to subscribe-to-own or buy the plug-ins at their regular fixed prices and own them perpetually. Speaking of that, we just launched the official Summer sale at softube.com if you'd like to check it out :) Finally; thanks for your feedback regarding Flow! It is much appreciated :) Best regards, David at Softube.

[@ekredel]

@@SoftubeStudios Thank you for addressing my issues. Again, I love the product (all your products actually) and I get what you are trying to achieve, I am just not sure I am currently aligned with the pricing strategy. But, tomorrow is a new day, you never know. :)

[@brownmoney27]

Why do you earn credits through the subscription? Why don't you just say how many months it takes to own it?

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! With an active subscription, you earn 30 credits that can be spent in the credit store - you earn 2 credits per USD/EUR spent, which means that you will have a 50% discount on list price of the plug-ins included in Flow® Mastering Suite. For example, you would get Clipper for 79 credits after 3 months of subscribing, and Weiss DS1-MK3 after 19 months of subscribing :) All plug-ins in the Credit Store are listed here: www.softube.com/flow-credit-store Best regards, David at Softube

[@vulturecsoundworks]

Subscription only?

[@darkmaer]

Not really. If you own any of the plugins, you get all the flows perpetually as long as you own those plugins. So if you own all the plugins that is used, you have free access to it. But I think in order to get it you have to start the trail to get access to the download and putting it into your account.

[@thoveler]

Why the hell do I have to watch ads before watching an ad?

[@mickeychang8338]

There is no Chinese UnionPay card option for payment

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! We accept credit cards and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, and American Express) - if we add more payment options later on, we'll update the FAQ at www.softube.com/support/faq-flow/faq_flow_mastering_suite Best regards, David at Softube

[@MichaelSimonmusic]

No way i will add another subscrition model.I will skip anythingwith subscription.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! 😊 Flow Mastering Suite is a subscribe-to-own model which is better than a subscription! Each month you subscribe to Flow, you earn credits. If you have purchased all the plug-ins that make up a Flow, you own those products perpetually and you can keep on using Flow without an active subscription - you can read more here: www.softube.com/how-flow-mastering-subscribe-to-own-works

[@G_handle]

Is this another Waves debacle!?

[@DoitYHWH]

Not really, rent-to-own at 50% off is not too bad.

[@aric7485]

You realize how CPU intensive these mastering plugins are? Even on fast hardware, I can count to 5 when switching presets. Ableton Live thinks the plug is not responding after 3-4 seconds and closes it after each present change. I own all but 2 plugins already, so I'll see how I like these "flows."

[@TransistorLSD]

It's because it loads multiple plugins at once.

[@Fwuzeem]

Hi!

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! :) Let us know if you have any questions about Flow :) Best regards, David

[@akagerhard]

Hello Softube, here is some feedback about my main thoughts when it comes to this plugin: 1. The marketing model isn't good from a customers perspective. It's not transparent enough on first sight. 2. There needs to be an option to create your own flows (with macros and everything). This is a need, not a nice to have. 3. One needs to be able to control flow with console 1. People who bought into your eco-system feel fooled without that option. I believe it would have been best to sell the Flow-wrapper with the presets seperately as well. You can still offer the rent-to-own subsciption model to use certain flows (in case you don't own all the plugins), but people like to own things. So let them own the wrapper straight-up - whether it's a free download or a cheap plugin is not all that important. PS: I have read your answers to other comments and while I get that the idea is to have "professional" flows, some of your customers are professionals too and would like to input their own flows - especially (but not exclusively) for a rough mix.

[@IniresMirrors]

It's another thing they could've clarified in this video, but the landing page the link leads to has more details. The subscription allows you to use these plugins outside of the Flow suite, as well, so if you'd like to set up your own chain on your main out, you can do that; and all of the plugins are Console 1 controllable (yeah, not the same as being able to control the macros with Console 1, but perhaps that'll be built into a future update--can't hurt to email Softube with your feedback). Right now you have to apply if you want to create your own flows, as Softube presumably is open to having more pro signal chains to offer, but once again, it couldn't hurt to email them your feedback. As a fledgling mastering engineer with a modestly-tuned home studio, my signal chains are pretty simple, but I could see myself wanting to build my own macros in the not-so-distant future, too. But if you can make performance macros with Modular, they may yet build that feature into a later release of Flow.

[@akagerhard]

@@IniresMirrors Thank you for taking the time, but I was already well aware of all of this before I wrote my comment! Yes, they could potentially improve on the product and deliver everything I'm (and others) are asking for, but for now it is not the case and I have yet to read that Softube intends to do so. You're right - an e-mail probably wouldn't hurt - it just seemed to me like they are reading the comments here anyway! Thanks again for taking the time to elaborate! It's the thought/intention that counts.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! We're definitely reading the comments here - your feedback is much appreciated :) Best regards, David at Softube.

[@phelper4554]

a comparison between ozone would be nice 😅

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! Check out this video for a comparison: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aneohqFjl6ZkipI

[@douggroulx1525]

Cool!

[@SoftubeStudios]

Thank you! :)

[@tonyvinsento3736]

Softube T-Racks?

[@akagerhard]

Nope, while T-Racks Suite comes with chains too, it is not about macros - it's about presets that you then micro. Softube's Flow lets you control macros of chains, but you have a cleaner slate at the beginning and more trouble if you want to micro the controls. Similar general concepts, but not quite the same.

[@matlefflerschulman]

Very cool but sad Softube is calling this "mastering." Mastering is much more than just 2 buss processing.

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi! That's very true. We think that one major application of this will definitely be stereo bus processing. But if you're a seasoned mastering engineer, you can either use the full plugin features within Flow Mastering Suite, or you can load the plugins separately as VST/AU/AAX in you DAW.

[@teddym2808]

Ok I just do NOT get it. I'll be straight with you as I love you Softube and have been a customer since your very first plugin. I have most of these plugins individually. Why would I pay 15 USD, 25 AUD a month for this to have access to the same plugins - for a few macro shortcuts, seriously? Also, you said gain matching is possible but didn't let us listen to a single example of that? It felt like cheating, you showed us only louder than source example, therefore of COURSE every "processed" example sounded better LOL. Rather than subscribe to this, I still advise others to buy individual plugins when on sale and own them for life. Apparently the latency is terrible too and makes for very cumbersome real time tweaking. I mean low latency mode obviously has massive sonic compromises not discussed in the video, otherwise there would only BE a low latency mode. Edit, OK, now that makes a BIG difference - if you own the plugins you don't pay, and you can earn with monthly sub, credits to buy the ones you don't have. Suddenly, it is making sense! Edit 2, I take that back. I just checked the credit store, it takes THREE YEARS just to get ONE of the premium Weiss plugins. One. I'll be dead by the time I have subscribed long enough to get the missing plugins I don't have. AND, all these audio demos on the Softube FLOW info page, and not one single gain matched example, so all we are hearing is louder = better. That in itself, that you didn't realise how CRUCIAL it was for us to hear examples of gain matched A/B, to hear what the plugins are truly doing to our source material, is just mind boggling to me. There is nothing more important. Nothing. If I sign up for a demo, I guess I'll have to cancel as it will auto subscribe, so will give it a miss until I hear some gain matched examples to know for sure that these "flows" are impacting the material in a positive way. Edit 3 - OOPS, my math was off. It is 18.5 months to get the most expensive Weiss plugin, and I thought I had a lot of these as I have like 40 Softube plugins but I only have 4 of these. It will still take me MANY years to get them all, so I just don't know. For 60 credits a month as a "brand new product launch" incentive, I would probably jump on it, or if they had "credit sales" i.e. plugin sales at a discounted credit rate from time to time.

[@TripleBProduktionz]

Eh yall buggin with that subscription sh*t

[@joldschool64]

I hope this not another Waves con job.

[@TjMoon91]

I love Softube, but this is awful. You can’t even build your own signal chain. I don’t understand who this is aimed at.

[@smits98]

This is a miss, Softube

[@SoftubeStudios]

Hi there! :) If you have the time, please don't hesitate to elaborate and let us know what you think we could have done differently :) Best regards, David at Softube

[@Wedontwantnowarnomore]

Horrible Examples. This sounds awful !

[@benoitfecteau495]

how to kill creativity

[@Etienne.6329]

how ? you have full access to all controls