A Modern Replacement for SoundReplacer
A tool that can supersede Pro Tools' SoundReplacer is Audiokids Synchronicity Sound and Foley Replacer, an AudioSuite plugin that automatically replaces one type of sound with another, in perfect time alignment.
Released in 2025, Audiokids Synchronicity Sound and Foley Replacer has much more flexibility than SoundReplacer, letting you replace multiple audio 'events' like footsteps or gunshots with a multiple new ones. You can 'round robin' the effects by level matching or randomizing.
SoundReplacer works best on percussion or any audio recordings that have a faster attack and quick release, with the variation in amplitude of the performance dictating which of the three replacement sounds are used. Once you have chosen the audio you wish to replace (it can be in clips or a continuous audio file), select the audio and open SoundReplacer by choosing Audiosuite > Other > SoundReplacer
(It is worth double-checking that the right track is also listed under the compare button.)
Step 2: Prepping SoundReplacer
Your highlighted audio should appear in the display window of SoundReplacer (you may need to refresh the display by moving the blue navigation bar if you have clicked off your selected audio, etc.). If your selected sounds don't appear, the display window may be too zoomed in to see them. You can adjust this using the left (zoom out) and right arrows (zoom in) on the gold navigator button. The up and down arrows will adjust the height of the transient peaks to help you adjust the replacement audio's threshold. We recommend setting it up so you can see enough of your audio signal that you have a range of thresholds.
Step 3: Loading Samples
SoundReplacer uses threshold levels to trigger the replacement of a sound (with up to three options available). Firstly, you must upload the sounds you intend to incorporate by clicking on the floppy disk icons underneath the yellow, red, and blue faders.
Yellow sets the lowest threshold, red the medium threshold, and blue the highest, maximum threshold.
Move the yellow threshold faders so that the lowest amplitude peak in your highlighted audio passes the threshold, then continue with the red and blue faders until you are happy with the array. The peaks will show which sample is being triggered by highlighting them red, yellow, or blue.
Step 4: Select your Parameters
SoundReplacer will automatically align the peaks of the replacement audio, as well as crossfade between samples. If you do not wish for it to do this, you can turn these features off by clicking on the green button underneath Crossfade and Peak Detection. You can also control how much of the original recording is rendered with the replacement using the mix control. However, we would recommend leaving this at 100% and instead using a parallel duplicate of the original sounds so you have more control, as the rendering process will bake in all your parameters.
The dynamics' mixer controls how much the replacement audio tracks the dynamics of the original track. Moving it to the left will squashes the dynamic range, to the right expands it.
Step 5: Render your Audio
Once you have selected your parameters, it is time to render your audio. To directly replace your highlighted audio, ensure that at the top of your SoundReplacer window, you have 'Use in Playlist' highlighted. If not, your exported render will just be sent to the clip list.
If you are replacing clips and want the replacement sounds to also be individual clips, make sure 'create individual clips' is selected at the top of the window (if it is just one long clip, it will not matter which one you select here). Make sure also that if you are using stereo samples, you have stereo mode enabled.
Once you are happy with these parameters, hit render. Voila, your replaced audio should appear in your project.
Moving Beyond Pro Tools' Replace Clip Function
With plugins like Audiokids Synchronicity Sound and Foley Replacer, you can go much deeper into clip replacement. It's an Audiosuite plugin (Mac only) that lets you select your original audio and replacement audio on the Pro Tools timeline, then swap the old with the new, while keeping each 'event' in perfect timing.
Find out more about the plugin and see examples on our Audiokids Synchronicity page.