Sound On Sound USA Reviews

by Jake_6700

Can no longer read issues I own via my subscription through SoundOnSoundUSA store, or download the latest issue. Even the subscribe and buy options are broken. Restore Purchases doesn’t work even though I have a sub through June... which I suppose I’ll cancel now.

by Jazzbass12

I am a digital subscriber. I can log in but it does not allow access to magazines. They still say $5.99..

by Resonant Rhythm

App Title says USA...In App says UK

Logging in using credentials does not provide access to anything. Completely useless right now.

by DB123

I used to be a Sound On Sound subscriber for over three years. When my old iPad died, I went out and got a new. I downloaded the Sound on Sound app four months ago to try and restore my purchases. I continuously get the message “Can’t connect to the iTunes Store” so I am unable to download my purchases. I contacted Sound on Sound and they gave me the runaround saying it was Apple’s fault and that I should subscribe directly to them through SoundOnSoundUSA and not Apple (since Apple did away with Newsstand). I am not going to resubscribe until I can recover my old magazines! And if other users are complaining about downloaded issues disappearing with their direct subscription model, why would I or anyone else subscribe? Please fix the issue! Sound on Sound does not care about their loyal customers.

by MarkleyJr

I have had a digital subscription for the last three years in an effort to cut down on the bulk of physical issues. Despite assurances on the website that I could access/download my purchased issues at anytime (and SOS's inane reluctance to allow paid subscribers to save purchased digital issues on their computer), I can no longer access any of my purchased issues before Jan 2016. Do not download SoundOnSoundUSA or make any purchases until this is rectified.

by JJ Loopy

I can't count the number of times I've sat down on a plane or subway (with no internet), opened up the SOS app, and had all of my downloaded issues gone without a trace. I am able to download them again, but not until I get somewhere with internet, defeating the purpose of having downloaded them for offline reading.

Slightly less annoying is that SoundOnSoundUSA does not keep track of where you left off reading. So if I close SoundOnSoundUSA on page 40 of a particular issue, when I return I have to open the issue again and figure out where I left off.

Please note that this is a review of SoundOnSoundUSA , not the publication itself. If anything, it is a testament to the quality of the magazine that I am willing to put up with a sub-par app.

by Drely

Sure, the magazine looks great on the iPad—and that’s with just a standard (non-Retina) screen. A pleasant experience all around.

That said, I am disappointed that existing subscribers aren’t somehow being given access to this incarnation of the mag. A bit silly, if you ask me, considering that current subscribers already get access to all monthly content via the web site. Hopefully, this is being addressed, because I have no intention to pay for two subscriptions. (I would consider paying a nominal extra fee.) Should this come to pass, I’ll raise my rating to 5 stars.

by CaptainFearful

Everything that made the old version good and useful is now gone. Not sure who made the old version, but this new version is absolutely terrible. Aside from the now corrected issue with all back issues being unavailable, it looses a whole host of features, and yet, despite the iPad Pro being out for over a year, it still does not support the iPad Pro 12" features.

Not sure what prompted this move, but please go back to the old version, this one is a subscription cancelling downgrade.

by RDBowlin

A very nice app. But all the loyal SOS subscribers (I've been one for years) was given the shaft by not providing access to any issues without a new purchase. I'm certainly not going to purchase the same magazine twice. There are distinctions between the paper and iPad versions, but it just strikes me wrong that existing subscribers were thrown to the wayside. Not a good move Paul and company.

by Eeegah

Other reviews for this version mention that you can't download back issues, even with a subscription. This looks like it's been silently fixed. There's still some interface downgrades in this 'upgrade,' however. Most notably if you read part of an article then start another, it forgets your place in the first one. Similarly, the ToC at the top forgets your place.

by ArcadiaStudios

I've read the magazine for years; it can't be beat for recording. But the latest update to iOS8 needs to have bugs fixed. Downloaded issues have vanished from my iPad, and cover images no longer appear in the Library. It's impossible to download back issues that have been bought, and Restore All Purchases doesn't.

by Pighuddle

Not impressed with SoundOnSoundUSA. No pinch to zoom, no adjusting font size - and apparently it doesn’t store the issues for offline viewing. I do like how the articles are arranged vertically. I’d much rather have it as a pdf or maybe a Kindle or iBooks. The web version is better than SoundOnSoundUSA many ways.

[UPDATE]SOS must have read my review! They just made PDF versions available! With that in mind SoundOnSoundUSA is pretty good as an alternative reading method.

by Amcpherson

As of December 2021, SoundOnSoundUSA works well with a digital subscription from the website, and has easy to use navigation as well as a good representation of the look and feel of the magazine. I’m not sure why there are so many one-star reviews; I suspect people are rating SoundOnSoundUSA before they pursue a solution with the developer, a common problem on SoundOnSoundUSA Store.

by Quadrod

Is there really no access to the SOS website with this digital subscription as with the hard copy subscription? Not being able to read some of the articles on the page is annoying. It really is the only thing I'm not happy about.

by Stragedy358

I was so excited to get the email today about SoundOnSoundUSA ’s recent overhaul, and I think they knocked it out of the park. Super happy with the ease of accessibility and overall look/feel on my iPhone.

Definitely recommend!

by DJGmix

I never bother with reviews, but after buying a few digital magazines from various publishers, I quickly learned that Sound On Sound was doing it right. SOS does a superior job delivering their magazine on the iPad (even better with Retina display). Clear, sharp text and images mixed with interactive articles yields a very pleasurable experience.

by Bashfull

I used to subscribe to the printed edition, then I found out this was coming out so I didn't review the printed version. This was well worth the wait. I love the interface, I love that you can zoom in to view images and scroll around while on the page. The text is crisp, navigation is very intuitive, and content is amazing as always. Keep up the great work. well worth the yearly price of admission.

by Windcrier

I've looked at a variety of magazines for the iPad thus far, in several of my areas of interest, and I believe that Sound On Sound has done the best job by far of translating their magazine to the iPad format of any I've seen, especially now that they are taking full advantage of the retina display of the new iPad. This made my choice to subscribe an easy one when I already knew that the content of the print edition was consistently good. If you are interested in music recording, there's no need to hesitate on getting this one - you won't be sorry!

by Joeflyer59

Of all the Brit music mags I subscribe to (future music, computer music, and their specials). SOS is the smoothest to read. The photos are interactive, and the articles scroll vertically, preserving the continuity quite nicely. It never feels like I'm looking at a scanned page. Not to mention all url's work with just a tap (and the browsing stays inside SoundOnSoundUSA ) as well as audio clips relevant to the articles are embedded and activated with just a tap. Wicked!

I've updated my review from 4 stars to 5 with the latest update. Every print mag wanting to make the jump can learn a thing or two from SOS.

Totally worth the subscription price!

by Jon_atlanta

We US customers have been patiently waiting on a Sound on Sound app for iPad for quite some time. While other British publishers went the Zinio/PixelMags route, SOS went with a far more user friendly and interactive solution. The Zinio/PixelMags apps basically give you the equivalent of a PDF, requiring you to constantly zoom in and out in order to read and navigate SoundOnSoundUSA . The SOS app takes a much more intuitive approach by presenting the magazine articles in horizontal pages, so that as you scroll left to right you peruse the articles/ads, while vertical scrolling takes you to the subpages within a specific article/ad. Brilliant! SOS is already the most respected music production magazine on the planet and this adaptation for iPad only serves to cement that position. In the past 12 SOS print copies would have cost you almost $200 on the newstand, then they created a US version that was a more reasonable $10 per issue. The iPad edition, with all the content and then some from the print edition, only costs $5/issue or $40/year. Plus I don't feel guilty about downing trees to print the pages I never read (e.g., the ProTools, Cubase, Reaper tutorials, etc). All in all, I'm very pleased with SoundOnSoundUSA right out of the gate, reading it is a far superior experience to reading other British mags (.net magazine, Web Designer, Music Tech, Computer Music, etc). Well done, SOS!

by Yamguitar

Worked great until December 2016, when they tried to rewrite it. Now, every login attempt on every screen generates error messages, I never received the last few issues on my subscription, and I've received no spontaneous communication from the subscription department. I've subscribed to Sound on Sound (my favorite mag) for over 9 years and I'm afraid to resubscribe, since I don't know when I'll be allowed to read it. VERY disappointed customer!!