Bounce Factory is an application that automatically bounces mixes and stems, using the SoundFlow [Tape Op #149] platform. It was created by mixing guru Andrew Scheps [#133] as a way for him to save time printing multiple mix passes. Take a listen to editor Larry Crane’s Tape Op podcast with Scheps, where they discuss creating and using Bounce Factory <tapeop.com/podcast/episode-70-andrew-scheps>.
If you’re unfamiliar with SoundFlow, it’s a program that allows us to automate tasks (macros) and create shortcuts for Pro Tools and other DAWs. Bounce Factory acts as an extension of Pro Tools, allowing automation of every aspect of the bouncing process. It’s a game changer for mixers that have a large set of deliverables required for every mix. Most of my clients need the main, instrumental, a cappella, and TV mixes, as well as stems for every instrument. It can take me an hour or more per song to print all of these, so for a ten-song album, that’s an entire day spent mindlessly printing mix passes. Bounce Factory can bounce online or offline, so if you’re using hardware inserts or a console, this is still an excellent solution for you. Scheps created a great set of tutorial videos explaining how to use Bounce Factory, and even has a “support script” in case you run into any bugs. The videos were easy to understand, and I was up and running using Bounce Factory the day I started.
One of my favorite features is the notification feature; the app texts or emails the user whenever it finishes a mix pass and/or job. This gave me peace of mind when I was using it for the first time. Bounce Factory creates “snapshots” of your session to bounce different versions of whatever song you’re working on. I’ve been aware of SoundFlow for years, but Bounce Factory has been totally transformative for me and made me want to dive deeper into learning the platform. The time I used to spend printing mixes has been drastically reduced now, and it was way cheaper than hiring an assistant. If you’ve already hired an assistant, they’re now free to do more creative tasks instead of spending their days printing mixes.
Keep in mind that a $9.99 SoundFlow subscription is needed in order to run Bounce Factory, but you can start with a 30-day free trial. You can check out Bounce Factory with a fully functional 30-day free trial of the Pro version. Since this is subscription-based, users can turn it on and off and only pay for it when they need it. There are three pricing tiers, Starter, Basic, and Pro. Starter is free, and the most limited, as it can only bounce one mix at a time, but you can still explore all the options for setting up snapshots and mix passes. For $19 a month, the Basic version allows bouncing multiple snapshots for unlimited mix passes, but still only one session at a time – the user will have to manually open the next session to run the bounce. The Pro version adds a “bounce all” function to perform multiple sessions at once, making the bouncing process fully automated. Pro also includes the option to be notified when it finishes each mix pass and/or job. As a full-time mix engineer himself, Andrew Scheps has thought of everything with this and is continually upgrading Bounce Factory. Now we can actually work while we sleep!
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