Directed by: Travis Knight
Starring: Angela Bassett, Hailee Steinfeld, Justin Theroux, Pamela Adlon
Corrected entry: The military used Hummers in the movie. H1 Hummers were not made until 1992.
Corrected entry: At the end of the movie, Bumblebee is seen talking to Optimus Prime and also showed fireballs falling to earth. In the 2007 Transformers movie, Optimus Prime and others didn't arrive on earth until the early 2000's.
Correction: This film serves as a soft reboot, ignoring many elements of the previous continuity.
Factual error: Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" was not released until 1988. This movie takes place in 1987.
Memo: The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.
Trivia: The movie is set in 1987. This is the same year the original "Transformers" cartoon series ended.
Question: Why didn't Frank Welker reprise his role as the voice of Soundwave for this film?
Answer: I couldn't find any other information, but honestly... Soundwave is barely in the movie. Probably just wasn't worth it for the production to pay Welker to come in just to record a few throwaway lines.
I considered that possibility as well, but since Peter Cullen reprised his role as the voice of Optimus Prime yet again for this film despite Prime's minimal involvement, it doesn't quite wash. Also, given Frank Welker's highly prolific voice acting career, it's unlikely he would have declined on the basis of pay or importance of his involvement.
Soundwave was barely in the movie (he's literally only in a few shots) and only had one or two lines. As the other answer suggested, it probably just wasn't worth it for the studio to pay Welker to come in, or they just didn't feel it was necessary given that Soundwave was essentially just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. Optimus has a much larger presence, and Peter Cullen's voice is pretty synonymous with the character in the film series. Hence, it was worth it to have him return.
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Correction: The HMMWV (other wise known as Humvee) began production in 1983. Therefore there were military variations around in 1987. The civilian Hummer H1 was built in 1991.