Getting into the details
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Contents 1 WaveLab 7 Help 1 2 Getting Help 2.1 Help menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 3 Using the interface 3.1 About Tool Windows . 3.2 Adjusting Envelopes . 3.3 Command bars . . . . 3.4 Context menus . . . . 3.5 Docking windows . . 3.6 Double clicking . . . . 3.7 Dragging operations . 3.8 Playback shortcuts . . 3.9 Select-clicking . . . . 3.10 Shortcut system . . . 3.11 Sliders . . . . . . . . . 3.12 Status Bar . . . . . . . 3.13 Switcher window .
ii CONTENTS 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 Offline processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.1 Change Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.2 Level envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.3 Normalize Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.4 Silence Generator . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.5 Loop Tone Uniformizer . . . . . . . . . 4.6.6 Pitch correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.7 Time stretching . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.8 Loop Tweaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.9 Effect morphing . . . . . . .
CONTENTS 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.3.3 Oscilloscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.4 Bit Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.5 Phasescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.6 Spectrometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.7 Wavescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transport controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Specific tool windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.1 Basic Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.2 Error detection and correction . . . .
iv CONTENTS 6.4.7 Focused Clip window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.8 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.9 Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace) . 6.4.10 Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.11 DVD-Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.12 Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.13 Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.14 Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.
CONTENTS v 7.3.0.9 7.3.0.10 7.3.0.11 7.3.0.12 7.3.0.13 7.3.0.14 7.3.0.15 Stereo to Mono . . . . Pan Normalizer . . . . Loudness normalizer DC Remover . . . . . Loudness Restorer . Meta-Normalizer . . . Meta-Leveler . . . . . 8 Podcasts 8.1 FTP site . . . . . . . . 8.2 Episodes menu . . . . 8.3 Publish menu . . . . . 8.4 Specific tool windows 8.4.1 File Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vi CONTENTS 11.1.11 11.1.12 11.1.13 11.1.14 11.1.15 11.1.16 11.1.17 11.1.18 11.1.19 11.1.20 11.1.21 11.1.22 11.1.23 11.1.24 11.1.25 11.1.26 11.1.27 11.1.28 11.1.29 11.1.30 11.1.31 11.1.32 11.1.33 11.1.34 11.1.35 11.1.36 11.1.37 11.1.38 11.1.39 11.1.40 11.1.41 11.1.42 11.1.43 11.1.44 11.1.45 11.1.46 11.1.47 11.1.48 11.1.49 11.1.50 11.1.51 11.1.52 11.1.53 11.1.54 11.1.55 11.1.56 11.1.57 11.1.58 11.1.59 11.1.60 11.1.61 11.1.62 11.1.63 11.1.64 Audio Streaming Settings . . . Auto Split . . . . . . . . . . . .
CONTENTS 11.1.65 Recently used files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.66 Recording Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.67 Record create marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.68 Rename File dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.69 Render ASIO input to file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.70 Render Montage window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.71 Render Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.72 Loudness envelope options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.
viii CONTENTS 11.3.3 11.3.4 11.3.5 11.3.6 11.3.7 11.3.8 11.3.9 11.3.10 11.3.11 11.3.12 11.3.13 11.3.14 11.3.15 11.3.16 11.3.17 11.3.18 11.3.19 11.3.20 11.3.21 11.3.22 Basic Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scripting window (Audio File Workspace) . . . . Metadata window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marker Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sample attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Error detection and correction . . . . . . . . . . . Master Project . . . .
CONTENTS 12.33 12.34 12.35 12.36 12.37 12.38 12.39 12.40 12.41 12.42 ix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
x CONTENTS 15.20 15.21 15.22 15.23 15.24 15.25 15.26 15.27 15.28 15.29 15.30 15.31 15.32 15.33 15.34 15.35 15.36 15.37 15.38 15.39 15.40 15.41 15.42 15.43 15.44 15.45 15.46 15.47 15.48 15.49 15.50 15.51 15.52 15.53 15.54 15.55 15.56 15.57 15.58 15.59 15.60 15.61 15.62 15.63 15.64 15.65 15.66 15.67 15.68 15.69 15.70 15.71 15.72 15.73 Compression . . . . . . . Cross fade . . . . . . . . . DAW . . . . . . . . . . . . DC Offset . . . . . . . . . DDP files . . . . . . . . . . Decibel (dB) . . . . . . . .
CONTENTS 15.74 15.75 15.76 15.77 15.78 15.79 15.80 WaveLab 7 UPC/EAN . . WAV files . . WAV64 files . Waveform . . Wet/Dry . . . WMA files . . Zero crossing xi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1 WaveLab 7 Help Welcome to the WaveLab Help browser. You can expand the tree structure in the panel on the left (under the Contents tab) to find individual Help topics. You can also use the Index and Bookmarks tabs, in addition to a powerful Search feature (under the Search tab). Please see Getting Help for more ways of using the Help browser and other help features available throughout WaveLab. For a quick overview of the features provided in WaveLab see Features Overview.
2 WaveLab 7 Help WaveLab 7
Chapter 2 Getting Help WaveLab's detailed help system makes it easy to look up interface features and get information from within the program. There are three main types of help available: What is this? Access this by clicking on the icon, or the question mark icon in a dialog window titlebar, or by holding down [Shift]+[F1]. Once activated, the cursor changes to a question mark. Click on an interface feature for information on what it does and details of any settings/values/functions involved.
4 Getting Help Related topics Help menu Command bars 2.1 Help menu The Help menu gives you a convenient point of access to WaveLab's Help system. Help about the active window... Select this (or press [F1]/[Command]+[?]) to give help on the active window. If a dialog box is open, the dialog is described. Contents... This lists the Help contents as a "tree structure" in the Contents window.
Chapter 3 Using the interface This section gives information on interface features that may not be obvious and which may help to speed up your workflow, especially as your experience with WaveLab increases. WaveLab is incredibly flexible in the ways that you can set up your working environment. Interface elements can be arranged to suit your workflow, the type of project you are creating and the size and number of your displays.
6 Using the interface Switcher window Tab Groups Transport controls Value editing Workspaces Zooming and scrolling 3.1 About Tool Windows Throughout WaveLab there are various tool windows available that enable you to view, analyze and edit the current active document. Generally the content of a tool window is synchronized with the active document, with the exception of the audio meters which can display information related to other documents.
3.2 Adjusting Envelopes 7 mode.They can also be placed in the Control Window, in a tab group. Each shared tool window has a menu entry to allow this ("Place in Control Window"). Differences between Mac and Windows Floating windows behave slightly differently on Apple Mac and Windows, due to some basic differences between the platforms: Mac - On the Mac, a tool window is always on top of all other windows and a floating window remains visible even if its dependent Workspace is not active or is minimized.
8 Using the interface To select more than one point, press [Ctrl]/[Command] when clicking - you can then move them together. Selected points don't have to be contiguous. You can also click anywhere in the window and drag the cursor over the envelope points to select them. You can drag any segment to move the whole envelope profile up and down. You can drag a single segment vertically by pressing [Ctrl]/[Command] and move the segment up and down.
3.4 Context menus 9 cation window and release the mouse button. The application window and other Command bars will automatically make space for the Command bar in its new position. By default, Command bars are docked and don't float. You can make them float individually or not, by right clicking and selecting the desired option from the menu. Once the option has been selected, move the command bar.
10 Using the interface Related topics Shortcut system 3.5 Docking windows All of WaveLab's tool windows can be used as docked windows or as stand-alone "floating" windows. They can be freely dragged around and docked at various locations. Command bars can also be freely moved around and docked along the edges of most windows. See Command bars for more information. Undocking a window Double-click on the title bar. This works with all tool windows, Specific and Shared.
3.6 Double clicking 11 Workspace and you wish to display it in the Audio File Workspace, you can simply click the blue button and the VU Meter window will move back into its tab container. You can choose to deactivate the default moving behavior by deselecting Workspace > Auto move shared tool windows. Shared tool windows do not then move when you switch between Workspaces.
12 Using the interface Start playback (Audio File/Montage Workspace) - double click in the time line to start playback from that point. In addition to these specific examples, in various places throughout WaveLab, doubleclicking can be used to begin editing certain values. Depending on the context the type of editing triggered will vary. In most list views for example, double-clicking in a cell will allow you to edit its value. Related topics Tab Groups Select-clicking 3.
3.7 Dragging operations 13 Within the Audio File Workspace Drag objects within the Audio File Workspace to perform the following functions: Paste an Audio File - drag a document's title bar tab or document button onto the waveform area of another file, to copy and paste its audio content. You can also drag a compatible file directly from the File Browser, the operating system's file browser, or from another application. Delete/Move a marker - drag the marker along the time ruler to change its position.
14 Using the interface Delete/Move a marker - drag the marker along the time ruler to change its position. Drag while pressing the [Shift] key to create a copy of this marker. Drag above the time ruler to delete the marker. Create a marker from selected text - drop text that you have selected in an external application onto the time ruler to create a generic marker there. The text becomes the marker's name.
3.9 Select-clicking 15 0 or F7 - Stop. When pressed while already stopped, the cursor jumps to the previous playback start position. A further "0" returns the cursor to the start of the file. Enter (Numeric Pad) or F8 - Start [Ctrl]/[Command] + F6 - Plays from the beginning to the end of the selection, if any. Where there are markers it plays between them. If there are no markers it plays from the beginning to the end of the Audio File.
16 Using the interface Not all commands are restricted to a Workspace, for example, all Master Section commands are global to the application, and Record commands (Record dialog) are active only when the Record dialog has focus. In addition, a few specific Global shortcuts can be defined from Preferences... > Global Preferences > Global shortcuts tab. Shortcuts are defined and can be edited in the Customize commands dialog.
3.11 Sliders 17 Adding menu items to a Command bar button Each Workspace has a number of default Command bars defined, but you can add further menu items to customize Command bars. Each menu command with an icon can be potentially added to a Command bar. Commands are internally grouped by functionality, so the button always appears in its related command bar (File commands appear in the File command bar, for example). Add a menu command using the Customize commands dialog.
18 Using the interface Related topics Adjusting Envelopes 3.12 Status Bar The Status bar is normally displayed at the bottom of the screen and shows information about the active window using the units specified in the rulers. The Wave and Mouse cursor time positions are shown using the same units of time as in the rulers and dialog boxes. Level positions are always shown in dB. This information is updated depending on the cursor position and whether you have a region of audio selected.
3.13 Switcher window 19 Related topics Time Format dialog Zoom factor Audio properties dialog 3.13 Switcher window This small floating window allows you to switch between each of the main Workspaces in WaveLab, and also to open and create documents. It is visible at all times and floats above all other windows. You can choose which Workspace buttons are visible and adjust its transparency in Global Preferences. You can resize, rotate and move the Switcher window anywhere on your monitor(s).
20 Using the interface In an editing Workspace, a tab group contains one or more documents (e.g. Audio Files).In the Control Window, a tab group contains one or more shared tool windows. In WaveLab it is possible to create more than one tab group.To activate a tab, simply click on the title bar of the tab you wish to work on. Tip: Because it can be useful to quickly display multiple files side by side, the Audio File Workspace has a Tile mode that can be activated from the Tabs menu.
3.15 Transport controls 21 Convert from Mono to Stereo - (Audio File Workspace) by holding down [Control + Alt]/[Command + Alt] to convert a mono file from mono to stereo while dragging the file to a new tab. Quickly switch between tabs - by moving the mouse wheel while over the tab bar. This switches the focus between the different tabs.
22 Using the interface Additional transport functions such as start, skip and stopping playback options are also available from the transport command bar. In WaveLab additional playback speed and jog/shuttle shortcuts are also provided. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Playback speed Recording Dialog Command bars 3.
3.17 Workspaces 3.17 23 Workspaces A Workspace is a window that provides an editing and playback environment for a particular audio document type. Each type of Workspace presents the functions related to the specific file types it is made for; this reduces clutter in the user interface. In WaveLab there is a Workspace for each main type of file to edit: Audio File Workspace - for viewing and editing Audio Files.
24 Using the interface One or more Command bars, for quick access to functions via buttons. Command bars can be customized extensively. See Customize Commands. Tab groups, to host the document(s) to edit. This is a central part of the Workspace: you can reorder the tab bar, move it to another Workspace, create a new empty document, display the document filepath and access other functions by right-clicking. See Tab Groups. A set of Specific tool windows.
3.18 Zooming and scrolling 25 With the cursor in the wave window hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while rotating the mouse wheel. The view will zoom horizontally; if you hold down [Shift] the view will zoom vertically. Activating the zoom tool Activate the zoom tool by holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on the waveform ( [Ctrl]/[Command] must be pressed first). Zooming with the Mouse Holding your cursor over the Time Ruler and moving the mouse up and down also zooms the view horizontally.
26 Using the interface WaveLab 7
Chapter 4 WaveLab Concepts WaveLab is an incredibly powerful tool and has many features which can be used for a wide variety of audio editing, mastering and mixing purposes. This section provides you with links to some of the main concepts used throughout WaveLab. Understanding these concepts can help you to get the most out of WaveLab.
28 WaveLab Concepts features to satisfy the needs of top professionals and audio enthusiasts. Sample accurate time and spectrum audio editing Now available for both the Mac and PC platforms, ideally suited to high performance multi-screen setups Excellent performance and outstanding audio quality with support for all common bit- rates: 8-, 16-, 20-, 24- and 32-bit floating point resolution, at up to 384 kHz.
4.2 Analysis 29 you can even compare two Audio Files with the Audio file compare tool and view audio in a Spectrum or Loudness view for greater precision when editing. Below you can find links to some of these tools used in WaveLab. Most of them can be found in the Analysis menu. The meters can be found in the Meters menu or via the Workspace > Shared tool windows.
30 WaveLab Concepts Errors - this tab is to help you find glitches and sections where the audio has clipped (gone beyond 0 dB).For more control over the analysis, use Error detection and correction. Checking and browsing the results Checking the results on the Pitch and Extra tabs is simple, since only one value is returned for the whole section of analyzed audio. For all the other tabs, the analysis methods returns a series of exact points ("hot points") in the file or section of audio.
4.2 Analysis 31 vocal notes in a song, for example. The graph used in WaveLab is sometimes called a 3DSpectrogram. Displaying and viewing the graph You can choose to analyze a selection of audio or an entire file. If you select a stereo recording, a mix of the two channels will be analyzed. Once you have your region selected or no region (in the case you wish to analyze the whole file) choose Analysis > 3D Frequency Analysis.... The graph window will appear.
32 WaveLab Concepts 1. If, for instance, you have a sine of 0 dB / 2 second followed by a sine of -6 dB / 2 seconds. This means the global audio material has as much 0 dB material as - 6dB material: you will see 2 peaks (0 / -6 dB), each at 100%. 2. If, for instance, uou have a sine of 0 dB / 1 second followed by a sine of -6 dB / 3 seconds. This means there are 3 times more -6 dB material than 0 dB material. You will see a peak of about 33% at 0 dB, and another peak of 100% at -6 dB.
4.3 Authoring CDs and DVDs 33 Track markers and CD authoring In WaveLab one of the main concepts to understand about audio CDs is the use of markers to define tracks, and the breaks between tracks. Each track must at least have a track start and track end marker. Some of the various authoring tools provided by WaveLab will generate these track markers for you automatically but you can also manually define, modify and edit them using the marker window or directly in the main editing window.
34 WaveLab Concepts Authoring a data disk You can also burn data CDs and DVDs using the Data CD/DVD window throughout WaveLab (if you wish to back up all your session files, for example). You can access this window via Utilities > Data CD/DVD.... You can add any file to a new data CD or dvd at anytime via the File > Special > Add to DATA CD/DVD function in both the Audio File and Audio Montage Workspaces. Note that all files referenced by the data disk must be saved before attempting to create a data CD/DVD.
4.4 Markers 35 About marker types There are many types of markers, all of which, in addition to visually marking locations in a file, can be used to assist editing and playback. Some like the Loop and CD Track markers have a unique function. For information on each type and how to use them see Marker types. Adding markers The most common way to create markers is from the Marker window. If this is not visible make sure that "Markers" is ticked in the menu Workspace > Specific tool windows > Markers.
36 WaveLab Concepts Using markers for editing and playback Once you have defined one or more markers in an audio montage or Audio File you can use them to: Control playback - you can access various commands to start at, stop at, loop be- tween and skip markers during playback via the Transport menu. These can also be accessed from the Transport toolbar. Define a selection - you can use markers to help you make selections in a waveform.
4.4 Markers 4.4.1 37 Marker types Markers have a variety of uses in editing and playback, such as indicating cue points, absolute time locations, highlighting "problem" sections and for visually separating tracks.WaveLab provides a set of specialized markers for creating CD/DVD-A tracks, muting or skipping sections and for use with the Error Correction tool.
38 WaveLab Concepts Error correction markers These two marker pairs may be placed manually, but their main use is with the Error Detection and Correction tool - see Error detection and correction. You can access this tool by choosing Workspace > Specific tool windows > Error Correction. Error start and end markers - these markers are used to highlight errors such as clicks. They can also be saved in an Audio File Workspace file by choosing the corresponding preference in Audio file editing prefences.
4.5 Metering 39 Analyze audio selection - this allows you to make a selection and have the meters display the average values over the selected range as a static display. The Master Section settings are not taken into account in this mode. When you change the selection, you need to update the meter displays by selecting "Refresh selection analysis" from the Meters menu (or by clicking the Refresh button on the Meters control bar).
40 WaveLab Concepts The Peak Level meters display the peak levels of each channel, graphically and numeri- cally. By default, the meter segments and numerical peak values are displayed in green for low levels, yellow for levels between -6dB and -2dB, and red for levels above -2dB. You can change both the colors and the range boundaries if you wish via the Level/Pan Meter Settings dialog. This can be accessed through the Functions > Settings... menu, or by using the icon.
4.5 Metering 41 shown as a short horizontal lines above the corresponding band, indicating recent peak/maximum values. The Spectroscope offers a quick spectrum overview. For a more detailed analysis of the audio spectrum, use the Spectrometer. The Spectroscope can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace.It can also be docked in the Control Window. Related topics Metering Spectrometer 4.5.
42 WaveLab Concepts adjustment). You can try this out for yourself by playing back a 16 bit Audio File and viewing the Bit Meter - as soon as you adjust the Master Faders, note that 24 bits are used and the "inter" indicator is lit (more on this below). How to read the Bit Meter The innermost meters (closest to the bit scale) show the number of bits in use. You can adjust this display in the Settings dialog. The outer meters are "history" meters, showing how many bits were recently in use.
4.5 Metering 4.5.5 43 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material. Reading the Phasescope It can be interpreted as follows: A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and right channels are the same). A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as the right, but with an inverse phase.
44 WaveLab Concepts Related topics Metering 4.5.6 Spectrometer The Spectrometer uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) techniques to display a continuous frequency graph, providing a very precise and detailed real-time frequency analysis. The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph. Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi- mum values.
4.5 Metering 45 Selecting Spectrometer presets If you have assigned your settings to the Preset buttons in the Settings dialog, you can quickly switch between different level scales and display modes, by clicking one of the Preset icons [1]-[5], or selecting the desired preset from the Options pop-up menu.
46 4.6 WaveLab Concepts Offline processing Offline processes are used for a variety of editing purposes and creative effects. Offline processing refers to functions that are only performed when saving the file. "Offline" means the process can't be monitored during playback, either because they require too much processing power or because they require an analysis pass prior to processing. Note that WaveLab only writes temporary files when applying an effect, so the original Audio File is safe.
4.6 Offline processing 47 WaveLab contains a powerful array of offline processing tools including the following: Change Level Level envelope Normalize Level Silence Generator Loop Tone Uniformizer Pitch correction Time stretching Loop Tweaker Effect morphing Loudness distribution Loudness normalizer Pan Normalizer Pitch bend Pitch quantize Related topics Presets Rendering 4.6.1 Change Level This dialog allows you to apply a gain to change the level of an Audio File.
48 WaveLab Concepts 4.6.2 Level envelope This dialog allows you to create a volume envelope which can be applied to a selected range or a whole Audio File. This could be useful if you need to even-out loud and quiet parts, for example. You can edit the envelope by: Double clicking on the line to add a point: double click on a point to remove it. Selecting multiple points (using [Shift] click) allows you to move the selection as a group.
4.6 Offline processing 4.6.4 49 Silence Generator This dialog allows you to generate "silence", either by replacing an audio selection, or by specifying a duration. You can also specify a cross fade at each end of the silent region, for a smoother transition. Radio buttons determine where the silent period is placed in the audio. In WaveLab you can also specify a file to be inserted instead of "true" silence.
50 WaveLab Concepts 4. Set up the post cross fade parameters and click Apply. It can also be a useful tip to lock the loop markers after you use this command on a selection within an Audio File. Once the loop is processed in place, moving the loop markers will upset playback of the loop. You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via Process > Loop Tone Uniformizer.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
4.6 Offline processing 51 You can view exact time information on the original audio selection you wish to stretch and choose the amount you wish to "stretch" it in seconds, beats per minute or as a percentage. You can also choose which method WaveLab uses to stretch the audio and the quality/speed of the processing. If you select "Use modulation envelope" you can vary the time stretch over time using an envelope editor that becomes available.
52 WaveLab Concepts loop points. You can also leave this dialog window open and manually adjust the position of the markers in the main waveform windows if you need to make large adjustments. Cross fade This tab allows you to apply a cross fade at the end of a loop by mixing a copy of the beginning of the loop with it. This can be useful to smooth the transition between the end of a loop and its beginning - especially when using material that doesn't naturally loop.
4.6 Offline processing 53 4. Adjust your envelope points over time between 0% and 100%. This will determine the level and direction of the morph. For example, starting at 100% and ending at 0% will fade out the effect you just applied. 5. Choose "Unprocessed selection" for this example. As mentioned previously you can also use any audio of the same duration from the clipboard. 6. Click Apply to apply the Effect morphing. You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via Edit > Effect morphing....
54 WaveLab Concepts The Loudness Normalizer raises the loudness and limits peaks in the signal at the same time (if needed), to achieve the target loudness. In the case of stereo files, both channels are processed independently. This process happens over several stages; analysis precedes the final rendering. The Loudness Normalizer dialog gives access to useful statistics about the file and the Loudness distribution tool, and you can choose to remove any DC offset in the file.
4.6 Offline processing 55 If length preservation is activated, you can choose the algorithm that is used to perform the pitch bend operation. Depending on the type of audio material you are processing, choose the appropriate mode. For more information on the different modes, use the "What's This?" tool. You can also adjust the quality used when processing the pitch bend. The quality setting and the selected mode will affect the processing time for this effect.
56 WaveLab Concepts copy them for use on another computer.They are also useful when used in conjunction with batch conversions and Scripting. Working with Presets When working with Presets you save/edit and load them from their own pop-up menu. Depending on the context, the available functions sometimes vary but generally you can: Save/Save As... - creates a new Preset file by saving the currently selected settings to your hard disk. Explore presets...
4.6 Offline processing 57 About Preset files Each preset is stored as an individual file inside WaveLab's main presets folder. This makes it easy to back them up or copy them to another computer. You can change the location of this main Presets folder via Global Preferences > Setting location. You have the choice of the following locations: a standardized location that can be accessed by all users of the computer. That is, all users will share the same settings.
58 WaveLab Concepts Related topics Scripting 4.6.16 Rendering To Render effects into a temporary or final file, you use the Render function (note that the "Save" function from the File menu does not Render!). The Render function is part of the Master Section and in other applications is sometimes referred to as "bouncing down" or "mixing down". Rendering a file "prints" all audible settings and effects that the audio is being routed through in the Master section, to the resultant Audio File.
4.7 Presets 59 montage/audio file to free up some processing power. You can then continue editing the resultant file with the effects rendered. Remember to save a copy of your session before doing this so you can go back and edit any levels or effects if you need to. For more information about choosing settings when rendering see the Render Wave window and Render Montage window. For more information on applying effects see the Master Section.
60 WaveLab Concepts Define shortcut for the current setting - when available, this allows you to assign a shortcut to the current preset using either a key shortcut, keyword or via a MIDI trigger. For example, if you have a preset to normalize audio at -0.1 dB and you assign it a key shortcut then everytime you execute the shortcut, the preset is applied to the audio selection, without the need to open the dialog. VST-2 Presets VST plug-ins have their own preset handling.
4.8 Rendering Windows XP - C:\Documents Data\Steinberg\WaveLab 7\Presets 61 and Settings\[User Name]\Application Mac OS X - root/[User Name]/Library/Prefences/WaveLab 7/Presets/ You can also find this folder by using the "Open active settings folder" link in the preferences pane. This opens your file browser to wherever the main Presets folder is currently located. Inside this Presets folder each type of preset file has its own folder.
62 WaveLab Concepts "Apply" all settings in the Master Section to a file in a Wave window. When you render a file you can choose the format of the new Audio File and whether you wish to create a new file or render the file in place. When the file is rendering you will see a progress bar in the status bar.In WaveLab you can also view this Progress bar in the Background tasks window (a shared tool window that can be set to float independently).
4.9 Scripting 63 tasks such as trimming and cropping a file at specific times, for example. You can write scripts that perform other basic editing commands, apply offline processing, place markers, and display information about the active file. You can script commands to edit the active Audio File or the active Audio Montage. If you have some experience of programming with modern scripting languages you should have no problem writing utility scripts for WaveLab.
64 WaveLab Concepts Scripting window contexts It is important to note that certain scripting commands are only available in the Audio File Workspace and others only in the Audio Montage Workspace. Others are "global", meaning you can use them in either Workspace. To begin exploring the WaveLab Scripting Language in more detail see the WaveLab Scripting Language.
4.9 Scripting 65 activeWave.addMarker(generic, "Marker "+i, "A comment for marker "+i); //write some information about the new marker var cursorTimeSecs = nextCursorPosition/activeWave.sampleRate(); logWindow.printInfo("created a new marker at " + cursorTimeSecs + " seconds"); } Related topics WaveLab Scripting Language ECMAScript Reference Scripting window (Audio File Workspace) Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace) Control Window 4.9.
66 WaveLab Concepts Audio File Scripting Commands Objects activeWave Object representing the active Audio File. Many functions make use of presets as an argument. For example, the normalize() function accepts a preset as an argument: activeWave.normalize("myPreset"); The advantage is that you don't need to specify many parameters in your scripts, instead you can use the corresponding dialog to define the settings of a particular function, and then save them as a preset file.
4.9 Scripting 67 addMarker(type, name, comment) - Add a marker at the cursor position. Possible values for type are: generic temporary cdTrackStart cdTrackEnd cdTrackFrontier cdTrackIndex loopStart loopEnd muteStart muteEnd playbackStarter regionStart regionEnd errorStart errorEnd correctionStart correctionEnd Example: activeWave.
68 WaveLab Concepts changeLevel(dbValue) - Changes the level of the selected audio range. fadeIn(shape) and fadeOut(shape) - Applies a fade on the selected audio range. shape can be one of the following: linear sinus squareRoot sinusoid log exp expp Example: activeWave.fadeIn(squareRoot); levelEnvelope(presetName) - Loads the envelope shape and applies its setting to an audio range. morph(presetName) - Loads an effect morphing preset and applies it according to its settings.
4.9 Scripting 69 buf = activeWave.readSamples(0, 20, 100); // read 100 samples on left channel, fr om sample index 20 for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) { logWindow.printInfo(buf[i]); } Audio Montage Scripting Commands Functions Preliminary info: the Scripting API is an open project and will evolve according to user requests. size() - Returns the number of samples in the Audio Montage. sampleRate() - Returns the sample rate of the Audio Montage.
70 WaveLab Concepts regionEnd errorStart errorEnd correctionStart correctionEnd Example: activeWave.addMarker(generic, "SomeName", "SomeComment"); findNextMarkerPosition(posStartSearch, type) - Searches for the next marker of type, from a given position. Returns the marker position, if any is found, or -1.
4.9 Scripting 71 Related topics ECMAScript Reference 4.9.2 ECMAScript Reference WaveLab's scripting language is based on the ECMAScript scripting language, as defined in standard ECMA-262 Microsoft's JScript, Netscape's JavaScript and Adobe's Actionscript are also based on the ECMAScript standard. If you are not familiar with the ECMAScript language, there is a large amount of teaching and reference material available online.
72 WaveLab Concepts Objects Object Function Array String Boolean Number Date RegExp Error Examples: //Test if a value is not a number var isNumber = isNaN("this is a string"); //Print the result in the log window logWindow.printInfo(isNumber); //Traces "true" because it is a String //Convert a string to a number var numStr = "2.345"; var num = parseFloat(numStr); //Print the result in the log window logWindow.
4.9 Scripting Functions toString() apply(thisArg, argArray) call(thisArg [, arg1 [, arg2, ...]]) Example: //Create a new custom marker Object function customMarker(name, comment, timeSecs) { this.name=name; this.comment=comment; this.timeSecs=timeSecs; } //Create a new instance of the custom marker var myMarker=new customMarker("A custom marker", "My custom marker comments",5); //Use prototype function to add a new property to it customMarker.prototype.samples = null; myMarker.samples = activeWave.
74 WaveLab Concepts //Create an empty array var a = new Array(); //Add some items to it a.push("first array item"); a.push("next array item", "last array item"); //Print them out in the Log window logWindow.printInfo(a.toString()); //Call the Array's reverse function a.reverse(); //View the results in the Log window logWindow.printInfo(a.toString()); String Objects Functions toString() valueOf() charAt(pos) charCodeAt(pos) concat([string1 [, string2 [, ...
4.9 Scripting Boolean objects Functions toString() valueOf() Example: //Test if an equation is true or false var isTrue = (1 + 1 == 3); //Convert the Boolean to a String and trace in the Log window logWindow.printInfo(isTrue.toString()); Number Objects Functions toString(radix) toLocaleString() toFixed(fractionDigits) toExponential(fractionDigits) toPrecision(precision) Example: //Convert a number into exponential notation var num = new Number(13.
76 WaveLab Concepts Functions abs(x) acos(x) asin(x) atan(x) atan2(y, x) ceil(x) cos(x) exp(x) floor(x) log(x) max([value1 [, value2 [, ...]]]) min([value1 [, value2 [, ...]]]) pow(x, y) random() round(x) sin(x) sqrt(x) tan(x) Examples: //Get a random number from 0 to 1 var r = Math.random(); //Print it out in the log window logWindow.printInfo(r); //Trace out Pi in the log window logWindow.printInfo(Math.
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78 WaveLab Concepts setUTCMonth(month [, date]) setFullYear(year [, month [, date]]) setUTCFullYear(year [, month [, date]]) toUTCString() Example: //Create a new date object var d = new Date(); //Print it out in the log window logWindow.printInfo(d); //Get just the hours logWindow.printInfo(d.
4.10 The Spectrum display 79 Types of Native Errors available EvalError RangeError ReferenceError SyntaxError TypeError URIError Related topics WaveLab Scripting Language Scripting window (Audio File Workspace) Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace) 4.10 The Spectrum display In WaveLab's Audio File Workspace, the main wave editing and overview windows can be set to display your audio as a spectrogram (Spectrum).
80 WaveLab Concepts You can access this dialog from both wave windows in the Audio File Workspace via the Spectrum tab > Edit settings.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics The Spectrum display Spectrum editor 4.11 Spectrum editor This specific tool window allows you to select and perform operations on an Audio File via its audio spectrum.
4.11 Spectrum editor 81 You can resize a region by placing the mouse cursor at the edges of the region (so that a double-arrow appears) and then clicking and dragging. To remove a region that you have drawn, click anywhere else on the waveform and it disappears. If you have defined a region as a Source or Target, it can be selected at any time to create a new selection using the same dimensions.
82 WaveLab Concepts Processed separately by the Master Section plug-ins. The non-selected spectrum can either be bypassed or sent to the Master Section. Bypassed. This removes the selected spectrum region from the Audio File. The non- selected spectrum can either be routed to the Master Section input or the Master Section output. Sent to Master Section output. The non-selected spectrum can either be bypassed or sent to the Master Section input.
4.12 About Regular Expressions 83 This mode works best with the Infinite steepness setting, which is automatically selected when Blur peaks is used. You can, however, freely set any Filter steepness setting. The filter type options are not available when this mode is selected. Dispersion This is a special filter that "smears" the dynamics and pitch of the region, without changing the actual frequency content.
84 WaveLab Concepts It is beyond the scope of this Help system to describe this subject thoroughly (there are good internet resources available), but please read on if you wish to check out the basic building blocks used in regular expressions. Common expressions A regular expression is a formula composed of characters that have special meanings (called operators). Other characters are just plain letters and numbers that are searched for.
4.12 About Regular Expressions Menu item Any character Character in range Operator .
86 WaveLab Concepts The Shortcuts sub-menu on the Regular Expression pop-up menu contains the following options: Menu item Any digit Operator /d Any non-digit /D Any letter /l Any non-letter /L Any non-alphabetic /W Any number /u Number with possible +before. /i Quoted string /q Simple word /z Description Special code to symbolize any digit, as [0-9]. Special code to symbolize any non-digit, as [∧ 0-9]. Special code to symbolize any letter, as [a-z].
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88 WaveLab Concepts WaveLab 7
Chapter 5 Audio File editing The Audio File Workspace's Wave window is the heart of WaveLab's audio editing capabilities. This is where you view, play back and edit individual Audio Files. The Wave window gives you a graphical representation of an Audio File. It consists of two parts: The upper waveform (Overview) This is mainly used for navigating through long files.
90 Audio File editing editing/restoration tool. See The Spectrum display for more information on the unique Spectrum display mode. Rulers There are both time and level rulers. These can be hidden and displayed (see the Ruler and Wave Display context menus). You can also set which units of time and level they show. To access the settings for both rulers, right-click anywhere on the relevant ruler. Editing Tools Precise editing of your audio is achieved in the main (lower) waveform window.
5.1 Offline processing 91 To audition your Audio File hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click anywhere in the waveform to begin playback. Dragging can also be used with several editing functions in the Audio File Workspace. See Audio File Workspace in Dragging operations for more information. Related topics Offline processing Analysis Metering Transport controls Specific tool windows Shared tool windows Mix dialog The Spectrum display Spectrum editor Tools Zoom factor Peak Files 5.
92 Audio File editing 2. Select the desired offline process from the Process menu. 3. If a dialog appears, make the appropriate settings. If the dialog uses presets, you can load one of them to fill out the settings automatically. 4. When you have finished with the settings in the dialog, click the Apply/Paste/Process button to permanently render the effect to file. In some cases a status bar dialog is displayed showing the progress of the operation.
5.1 Offline processing 93 Presets Rendering 5.1.1 Change Level This dialog allows you to apply a gain to change the level of an Audio File. You can also use "Find current peak level" to obtain a report on the peak level of the current audio selection (or the peak level in the whole file, if "Process whole file if there is no selection" is selected in the preferences).
94 5.1.3 Audio File editing Normalize Level This dialog allows you to change the peak level of your Audio File. Enter the desired peak level (in dB) that you wish the audio selection to have. You can also use "Find current peak level" to obtain a report on the peak level of the current audio selection (or the peak level in the whole file, if "Process whole file if there is no selection" is selected in the preferences).
5.1 Offline processing 95 in level and timbral characteristics in order for a sound to loop properly. For example, this could be useful for creating looped samples for a softsynth or hardware sampler. To use the Loop Tone Uniformizer you need to have a loop defined using a pair of loop markers . The original length of the loop is not changed. Uniformizers This tab allows you to specify the method/s used to even out the sound you wish to loop. Choose between "Slice mixing" and/or "Chorus smoothing".
96 Audio File editing Method - use these controls to adjust the method and quality you wish to use when processing the pitch change. You can also choose how the length of the sound is affected by the operation. By default this process will not change the length of the sound. This tool could be useful for fixing an off-key vocal note in a live recording, or tuning the pitch of a kick drum sample to fit a particular song, for example.
5.1 Offline processing 97 Adjusting Envelopes 5.1.8 Loop Tweaker This dialog allows you to refine a region of audio to loop seamlessly. The Loop Tweaker can just be used to "tweak" an existing loop selection so that it loops perfectly or you can also use it to create a loop from material which does not naturally repeat. To use the Loop Tweaker you must first have a loop defined using a pair of loop markers .
98 Audio File editing Adjusting Envelopes Zero crossing 5.1.9 Effect morphing This dialog within the Audio File Workspace allows you to gradually mix two audio ranges that have different effects/processing applied to them. Effect morphing allows you to smoothly "morph" or blend from one effect to another, or from an unprocessed audio segment to a processed audio segment. Effect Morphing always involves two audio ranges.
5.1 Offline processing 99 2. If, for instance, uou have a sine of 0 dB / 1 second followed by a sine of -6 dB / 3 seconds. This means there are 3 times more -6 dB material than 0 dB material. You will see a peak of about 33% at 0 dB, and another peak of 100% at -6 dB. This analysis is useful for learning about how the loudness of your music is distributed. You can access this dialog in the Wave File Workspace via Analysis > Loudness distribution....
100 Audio File editing 5.1.12 Pan Normalizer This dialog allows you to ensure that both channels of a stereo file have the same level or loudness. Since loudnesss is more important than peak volume in the perception of sound, this is a powerful tool to get the best possible stereo balance. This process uses two passes to first analyze the audio and then render any level changes required. You must have a stereo selection in a stereo file to apply this process.
5.1 Offline processing 101 single instruments. It can be useful for 're-tuning' the pitch of an imperfect recorded vocal performance, for example. The dialog allows you to choose the reference frequency (normally 440 Hz) and the time taken for the pitch correction to reach the nearest semitone. An explanation of when and how to adjust the Slur time is given using the 'What's this?' tooltips. You can also choose to preserve the formants of the original material.
102 Audio File editing submenu select the number under which you want to save (#1 - #5). To quickly load the saved settings again, select the corresponding number from the "Restore" submenu. Define shortcut for the current setting - when available, this allows you to assign a shortcut to the current preset using either a key shortcut, keyword or via a MIDI trigger. For example, if you have a preset to normalize audio at -0.
5.1 Offline processing Windows 7\Presets 103 7 - C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\WaveLab Windows XP - C:\Documents Data\Steinberg\WaveLab 7\Presets and Settings\[User Name]\Application Mac OS X - root/[User Name]/Library/Prefences/WaveLab 7/Presets/ You can also find this folder by using the "Open active settings folder" link in the preferences pane. This opens your file browser to wherever the main Presets folder is currently located.
104 Audio File editing Mix down a complete Audio Montage to an Audio File. "Apply" all settings in the Master Section to a file in a Wave window. When you render a file you can choose the format of the new Audio File and whether you wish to create a new file or render the file in place. When the file is rendering you will see a progress bar in the status bar.In WaveLab you can also view this Progress bar in the Background tasks window (a shared tool window that can be set to float independently).
5.2 Analysis 5.2 105 Analysis WaveLab provides you with a comprehensive set of tools for analyzing your audio and diagnosing any errors. You can view your Audio File in many different ways using the suite of audio meters, via its frequency spectrum, or even in three dimensions. There are also several tools to interrogate any sample of your audio and find any errors or anomalies.
106 Audio File editing Extras - this tab is for informing you about DC offsets and the significant bit resolution of the file. This can be useful, for example, if you wanted to check whether a 16 bit file really uses 16 bits (or if it was actually recorded with only 8 bit resolution and then upscaled to 16 bits). Errors - this tab is to help you find glitches and sections where the audio has clipped (gone beyond 0 dB).For more control over the analysis, use Error detection and correction.
5.2 Analysis 107 starts or ends in a file, for example, it doesn't tell you anything about the timbral contents of the file. A frequency graph (frequency domain) allows you to investigate the individual frequency components of an Audio File. With the addition of the time dimension you can follow these frequencies in your Audio File over time and pick out individual snare hits or vocal notes in a song, for example. The graph used in WaveLab is sometimes called a 3DSpectrogram.
108 Audio File editing The tool gives an answer to the question: "How often does a given loudness (vertical scale, in dB) appear in the whole file?". The percentage figure is relative to other peaks. Some simple examples: 1. If, for instance, you have a sine of 0 dB / 2 second followed by a sine of -6 dB / 2 seconds. This means the global audio material has as much 0 dB material as - 6dB material: you will see 2 peaks (0 / -6 dB), each at 100%. 2.
5.3 Metering 109 Monitor Edit cursor position - the meters display static information about the audio beneath the edit cursor. Note that the Master Section settings are not taken into account in this mode. Analyze audio selection - this allows you to make a selection and have the meters display the average values over the selected range as a static display. The Master Section settings are not taken into account in this mode.
110 Audio File editing file. The upper part of the level/pan meter window shows the peak level and average loudness, in the following way: The Peak Level meters display the peak levels of each channel, graphically and numeri- cally. By default, the meter segments and numerical peak values are displayed in green for low levels, yellow for levels between -6dB and -2dB, and red for levels above -2dB.
5.3 Metering 5.3.2 111 Spectroscope The Spectroscope shows a continuous graphical representation of the frequency spectrum, analyzed into 60 separate frequency bands, represented as vertical bars. Peak levels are shown as a short horizontal lines above the corresponding band, indicating recent peak/maximum values. The Spectroscope offers a quick spectrum overview. For a more detailed analysis of the audio spectrum, use the Spectrometer.
112 Audio File editing As soon as you perform any kind of real-time processing on an Audio File, the audio data is treated at a much higher resolution (32 bit floating point), to allow for pristine audio quality. Examples of such processing include level adjustments, effects, the mixing of two or more files, etc. In fact, the only time when a 16 bit file is played back at 16 bit resolution is if you play it without any fades or effects, and with the Master Faders set to 0.00 (no level adjustment).
5.3 Metering 113 Related topics Metering Dithering 5.3.5 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material. Reading the Phasescope It can be interpreted as follows: A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and right channels are the same). A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as the right, but with an inverse phase.
114 Audio File editing Changing settings You can define display colors, peak hold time, and the resolution or number of samples to display from the Functions > Settings... menu. The Phasescope meter can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering 5.3.
5.3 Metering 115 If you want to store your settings for later use (or assign them to a Preset button), select "Save as..." from the pop-up menu in the lower part of the dialog, and specify a name for the preset in the file dialog that appears. Now, you can choose to make the settings instantly available for selection in the FFT Meter window, by using the "Assign to preset button" submenu on the pop-up menu. When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog.
116 Audio File editing It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering 5.4 Transport controls The transport controls allow you to control playback within an Audio File or montage, and to open the record window. It can be accessed via the Transport menu or the Transport toolbar. See Command bars for more information.
5.5 Specific tool windows 117 Related topics Playback speed Recording Dialog Command bars 5.5 Specific tool windows Specific tool windows are windows that are specific to the current Workspace. They can perform useful tasks in the active Workspace. They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts.
118 Audio File editing tab or document icon. This creates CD track markers at the file edges, quantized on CD frame boundaries. Drag an audio selection - dragging a selection (rather than a whole file) into the basic audio CD creates a CD track with markers at the edges, but quantized on CD frame boundaries, not necessarily exactly on the exact position of the selection edges. Browse for Audio Files - select File > Add track(s)... from the Basic Audio CD menu.
5.5 Specific tool windows 119 pauses and silences in your CD. The Master Section is never used to process the signal to burn, unlike in the montage. This is why playback through the Master Section is an option that is off by default. When you are happy with your CD layout or you wish to further refine it further you can: Check CD conformity - before burning your CD you can first check its Red Book conformity by choosing Edit > Check CD conformity.
120 Audio File editing Strategies to detect and correct errors There are several strategies that you can employ when detecting and correcting errors: Define an audio selection where you have identified an error, then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction". Use the function "Detect next error" to let WaveLab automatically find the next error, and then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction".
5.5 Specific tool windows 121 Opening and inserting a file or region Once you have chosen a file you wish to open, double-click it to open the file in the current Workspace. You can also open it by dragging it onto an empty tabbed group, or onto the tab bar of a tabbed group. You can also drag the file over a wave view to insert it at a given point. When you drag a file over a wave view, a beam is displayed so as to clearly display the insertion point.
122 Audio File editing Change marker types - You can change a marker type by (left) clicking on its icon and choosing another marker type from the pop-up list that appears. Edit a marker's name/time/comments - double click in a cell to edit a value (to align the marker to an exact time, for instance). You can edit the name of the marker, its time position and any comments. Lock a marker's position - select the checkbox to lock the marker.
5.5 Specific tool windows 5.5.6 123 Sample attributes This dialog allows you to define settings for an audio sample before loading it into a hardware or software sampler. The settings do not process the sample in any way, they just give the file properties that the receiving sampler can use. This includes information about the pitch of the sample (which can be detected automatically by WaveLab), the key range that the sample should span, and the velocity range to occupy.
124 Audio File editing 5.5.8 Spectrum editor This specific tool window allows you to select and perform operations on an Audio File via its audio spectrum. It uses high quality linear-phase filters to process a spectrum selection both in the time domain and in the frequency domain. This can be useful for advanced audio restoration tasks like removing noise from a specific source in a recording, for example.
5.5 Specific tool windows 125 Selection - use this part to refine and define your selection(s). You can expand se- lections, shift selections around and define a source and target region for performing copy operations. Operations - use this part to perform copying, filtering and processing operations. For copying operations, you require both a source and a target region to have been defined using the Selection tab. You can choose which method to copy audio between the Source and Target regions.
126 Audio File editing For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics The Spectrum display Spectrum Processing Modes Spectrogram options Spectrometer 5.5.8.1 Spectrum Processing Modes When applying processing to a spectrum region in the Spectrum Editor you can use a variety of different modes: Damp This is used to attenuate the level of a region.
5.6 Shared tool windows 127 the region, to maximum allowed by the gain parameter at the right edge), useful for gradually removing frequencies from a region. Fade In This works like Fade out but inversed. It can also be used in conjunction with any of the three filter types (Bandpass/Low-pass/High-pass). Fade out then in This is a mix of the two previous options; the filtering effect gradually fades out until the middle of the region, then fades back in.
128 Audio File editing Related topics About Tool Windows Metering Docking windows 5.6.1 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material. Reading the Phasescope It can be interpreted as follows: A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and right channels are the same).
5.6 Shared tool windows 129 Changing settings You can define display colors, peak hold time, and the resolution or number of samples to display from the Functions > Settings... menu. The Phasescope meter can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering 5.6.
130 Audio File editing The upper pan meters show the peak level difference between the channels, graphically and numerically. Note that the pan meters are "two-sided"; the level bars can go to the left or right, indicating which channel is the loudest. The two sides are shown in different colors (which can be changed via the Settings dialog as explained previously). The lower pan meters show the average difference in loudness between the channels, in a similar way.
5.6 Shared tool windows 131 of the Audio File (e.g. a 16 bit Audio File shows that up to 16 bits are used), but sometimes this is not the case. As soon as you perform any kind of real-time processing on an Audio File, the audio data is treated at a much higher resolution (32 bit floating point), to allow for pristine audio quality. Examples of such processing include level adjustments, effects, the mixing of two or more files, etc.
132 Audio File editing Related topics Metering Dithering 5.6.5 Spectroscope The Spectroscope shows a continuous graphical representation of the frequency spectrum, analyzed into 60 separate frequency bands, represented as vertical bars. Peak levels are shown as a short horizontal lines above the corresponding band, indicating recent peak/maximum values. The Spectroscope offers a quick spectrum overview. For a more detailed analysis of the audio spectrum, use the Spectrometer.
5.6 Shared tool windows 133 return to full-scale display, select "Zoom-out fully" from the Functions menu, or double-click anywhere on the display. Making settings You can adjust the behavior and display of the meters as desired, and assign up to five sets of Spectrometer settings to the Preset buttons, for instant access. Open the Settings dialog by selecting "Settings" from the Functions menu or clicking the "tool" icon.
134 Audio File editing Making settings You can adjust settings for the display via the Wavescope Settings dialog. This can be accessed via Functions > Settings... menu, or by using the icon. Here you can set various color options for the background, grid and waveform display, as well as setting the waveform rendering speed and vertical zoom. If "Clear waveform when reaching right of pane" is checked the waveform display is cleared each time the cursor reaches the right end of the display.
5.6 Shared tool windows 135 You can adjust the priority with which they are processed, pause or cancel them. It is useful if you have a number of lengthy processes underway and want to free up some processing power to focus on editing. You can either lower the priority of a task so it does not use as much of the computer processor's capacity, or pause the task temporarily. You can access this window by choosing Workspace > Shared tool windows > Background task monitor.
136 Audio File editing 5.7 Tools In the Audio File Workspace, WaveLab provides you with powerful tools for generating audio, splitting files, importing audio from CD and working with external applications. This page contains links to these tools which can be accessed from the Tools menu. Related topics Error detection and correction Auto Split Signal generator DTMF Generator 5.7.
5.7 Tools 137 Use the function "Detect next error" to let WaveLab automatically find the next error, and then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction". Use the function "Detect all errors" to let WaveLab automatically find all errors in the predefined range. Then browse the marked errors, removing or adjusting each audio range in turn, and click "Correct" to correct any specific errors, or you can use the option "Correct all".
138 Audio File editing Related topics Split Clip at silences 5.7.3 Signal generator This dialog allows you to generate complex synthesized sounds in mono or stereo. You can layer different waveform generators together and if outputting a stereo file, adjust different settings for both the left and right channels. There are a multitude of settings to adjust the character (Source tab), frequency (Frequency tab) and amplitude (Level tab) of the generated signals.
5.8 Peak Files 139 The DTMF system uses eight different frequency signals transmitted in pairs to represent sixteen different numbers, symbols and letters. The characters you can use are: 0123456789ABCD∗#,) The MF system is limited to only fifteen characters: 0123456789ABC∗#, The DTMF Generator allows you to generate these DTMF/MF tones to create an Audio File. You can enter the string of numbers and letters, specify the durations of the tones and set the amplitude and output type.
140 Audio File editing WaveLab 7
Chapter 6 Audio Montages The WaveLab Audio Montage Workspace is a non-destructive editing environment that allows you to arrange, edit, play back audio Clips. Features include both track and Clip-based effects, volume and pan automation, and wide-ranging fade and cross fade functions. The Audio Montage is a great tool for creating music CDs, mastering, multimedia work, radio spot production, etc. You can create intricate multi-track compositions and author professional audio CDs.
142 Audio Montages importing an audio CD Cue file/CD image as an Audio Montage. This function allows you to open a cue file – a text file containing information about how CD tracks correspond to the audio in an associated CD image file. The result will be a montage with Clips corresponding to the tracks in the cue sheet. Cue sheets and CD images can be created in many programs, including WaveLab. by importing audio CD tracks directly to a montage using the Import Audio CD dialog from the Utilities menu.
143 by using drag and drop from the Audio File Workspace (via a tab or the document icon). by dragging an Audio File directly from your operating system's file browser. by copying and pasting audio from an Audio File in the Audio File Workspace and pasting it into a track. by dragging from the File Browser window. by dragging a track from the Basic Audio CD window. by dragging regions from the files view.
144 Audio Montages you can also capture view settings as "snapshots", and apply these at any time using the Snapshots window. The info line The info line is the grey area below the main montage track view. It indicates what will happen when you click the mouse buttons (with or without modifier keys), depending on the location of your mouse (much like tool tips for buttons).
145 Replace selected range & bind right Clips (track) - As Replace selected range, but other Clips to the right on the same track are also moved accordingly. Replace selected range & bind right Clips (global) - As Replace selected range, but other Clips to the right on all tracks are also moved accordingly. Overwrite from cursor - If the inserted Clip overlaps any other Clips, the overlapped regions are removed from the existing Clips.
146 Audio Montages Multiple Clips and Groups It is possible to group multiple Clips together by holding down [Shift] or [Ctrl]/[Command] while selecting them. You can then save them as a "selection group" so that later you can easily select all Clips in that Group with a single click. You can even nest Groups inside each other. See Groups for more information. Playing back and using effects Playback in the Audio Montage works in much the same way as in the Audio File Workspace.
147 It allows you to render a whole Montage to a single file, or various parts to multiple Audio Files in one operation (for example: rendering regions, Groups or Clips) For more information see Rendering and Render Montage window. CD Preparation The Audio Montage Workspace is an especially powerful tool when it comes to authoring professional Audio CDs. You can easily author a CD using the CD window.
148 Audio Montages is imported into WaveLab, the markers it contains will be interpreted as WaveLab markers upon import. For the various CD track markers, the codes to use are as follows: Marker type Code Example marker name CD track start [t-start] So it begins [t-start] CD track end [t-end] The end [t-end] of the road CD track splice t-splice] Intermission [t-splice] CD track index [t-index] [t-index] Hello You must use Nuendo 2.
6.1 Metering 149 Tools Transport controls Specific tool windows Shared tool windows Utilities Audio Montage Colors Clip Audio Montage contextual information 6.1 Metering WaveLab contains a variety of audio meters to help in monitoring and analyzing audio.Meters can be used to monitor audio during playback, rendering, recording and also to analyze a specific selection of audio. There are seven different audio meters in WaveLab, each with its own separate window.
150 Audio Montages Using meter windows There can only be one instance of each Audio Meter. For example, if you dock one meter in a Workspace, it will be automatically removed from the place where it was previously located. Audio Meters can appear in the Audio File, Audio Montage Workspaces as well as the Control Window. They can be used: as a docked window in a Workspace as a tabbed window in the control window as an independent floating window.
6.1 Metering 151 time span. If you are monitoring playback or audio input, you will also note two vertical lines following each VU meter bar, seemingly "trying to reach" the current RMS value. These lines indicate the average of the most recent minimum RMS values (left line) and the average of the most recent maximum RMS values (right line).
152 Audio Montages Related topics Metering Spectrometer 6.1.3 Oscilloscope The Oscilloscope offers a highly magnified view of the waveform around the playback cursor position. If you are analyzing a stereo file, the Oscilloscope normally shows the separate levels of the two channels. However, if you activate the option "Show Sum and Subtraction" on the Functions menu (or click the +/- icon), the upper half of the Oscilloscope shows the sum of the two channels and the lower half shows the subtraction.
6.1 Metering 153 The outer meters are "history" meters, showing how many bits were recently in use. You can adjust the hold time in the Settings dialog. The "over" segment indicates clipping, similar to a clip indicator. If the "below" segment is lit, there are more than 24 bits. The bit meter will show the 24 higher bits, and the "below" segment indicates the existence of extra, lower bits. Note that audio is always processed with more than 24 bits internally.
154 Audio Montages Reading the Phasescope It can be interpreted as follows: A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and right channels are the same). A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as the right, but with an inverse phase. A random but roughly elliptical shape indicates a well balanced stereo signal.
6.1 Metering 6.1.6 155 Spectrometer The Spectrometer uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) techniques to display a continuous frequency graph, providing a very precise and detailed real-time frequency analysis. The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph. Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi- mum values. Snapshots By using the "Add snapshot" and "Erase last snapshot" buttons, you can take and erase snapshots of the current spectrum.
156 Audio Montages Exporting FFT data as ASCII text When using the Spectrometer in off-line mode ("Monitor Edit cursor Position" or "Analyze audio election" mode) you can export the displayed FFT data as a text file, by selecting "Export FFT data as ASCII" from the Options pop-up menu. The resulting text file can then be imported into applications that allow graph plotting from text files (Microsoft Excel, for example).
6.2 Tools 157 Related topics Meta-normalizer Configure external tools 6.2.1 Meta-normalizer This dialog allows you to adjust the loudness of each Clip so that they get the same loudness. You can use it to equalize the volume of all the Clips within a montage, either by peak level or loudness. This can be an easy way to ensure that all Clips playback at a similar volume. You can choose to only equalize the volume of selected Clips, and effects can be excluded if you wish.
158 Audio Montages Select how you wish WaveLab to behave before the external tool is launched. Once you have defined an external tool in this way, you can run it by selecting its title from the Tools menu from within its Workspace. You can access this dialog by choosing Tools > Configure external tools.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help 6.
6.4 Specific tool windows 159 Related topics Playback speed Recording Dialog Command bars 6.4 Specific tool windows Specific tool windows are windows that are specific to the current Workspace. They perform useful tasks in the active Workspace. They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts.
160 Audio Montages replace individual files in a montage (this will update any Clip references) rename a file (this updates all internal Clip references) select Clips that are referenced by a specific file open a file in the Audio File Workspace, and view the file in your computer's file browser. This window is a useful tool to use when constructing and editing your montage. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Workspace > Specific tool windows > Files.
6.4 Specific tool windows 161 Edit a tracks's name - You can add/edit a name for each track. Double click in a cell to edit. Note that to change the track name is to indirectly edit the marker name. Edit a track's start/end time - You can edit the start and end time for each track. This is the same as moving the track markers physically but can be done with more precision. Double-click in a cell to edit.
162 Audio Montages Red Book CD-DA CD Text ISRC UPC/EAN 6.4.3 File Browser This dialog allows you to browse files directly from within WaveLab rather than using your operating system's file browser. It provides you with all the standard browsing functions (such as List and Icon views)as well as additional controls to audition Audio Files and any marker defined regions.
6.4 Specific tool windows 6.4.4 163 Marker Window The marker window is a specific tool window that allows you to create, edit and use markers while working on an audio waveform. From the Functions menu you can also access useful functions to convert marker types, rename multiple markers and export the marker list as text. The Marker list The marker window contains a list of any markers placed in the currently active file along with their corresponding details.
164 Audio Montages Related topics Specific tool windows Markers Marker types Convert marker type Text format 6.4.5 History This specific tool window allows you to view a history of all your recent editing operations. You can revert the current montage to a previous state by selecting the operation you want to return to and double clicking on it. You can then use the redo command (Edit > Redo) to return to any state.
6.4 Specific tool windows 165 Lock a Clips's position - select the checkbox to lock the Clip. This prevents it from being accidentally edited or dragged to a new position. Change Gain - use this control to increase/decrease the gain of the Clip. Double click in the cell to edit the value. Mute - select this to mute the Clip. Its color changes in the track view and it is no longer audible during playback.
166 Audio Montages Fade-out - provides you with a range of tools for adjusting a Clip's Fade-out curve. Colors - up to 20 colors may be assigned to help distinguish particular Clips visually. Select a Clip then click on a color. Custom colors can be defined with great subtlety from Options > Colors... Select the Custom color to be defined, then the parts to which it is applied, then define the color value using the color wheel (or type a set of RGB Red, Green, Blue values).
6.4 Specific tool windows 167 editor, and loaded via the File menu. To run a script, from within the script window choose Functions > Execute script. For a general description of scripting, see Scripting. For an overview of the scripting language, see ECMAScript Reference. You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Script.
168 Audio Montages 3. In the dialog that appears, select the Group to which you want to add the Clips. 4. Click OK. Removing Groups 1. Select the Group by clicking on its name in the Groups view list. 2. Pull down the Grouping menu and select "Remove selected group". The Group is removed (the Clips are not affected). Using Groups There are some important things to remember when using Groups: A Clip cannot be part of more than one Group.
6.4 Specific tool windows 169 WaveLab's Audio Montage. It is worth noting that throughout WaveLab, where "CD" is mentioned (for example, in messages), one can usually substitute "DVD-A". To create a DVD-Audio disk, follow these basic steps: Create an audio montage - you need at least one audio montage in order to create a DVD-A. You can import any currently open ones or add them as ∗.mon files. Note that the Audio Montage must have DVD tracks defined with red (track) markers.
170 Audio Montages Each track is represented by a horizontal colored block. By default, stereo tracks are dark blue and monotracks are purple or pink (any custom colors you set for a track or via the Groups window are also displayed). The visible Workspace is shown by a surrounding black rectangle. Dragging this rectangle scrolls the main montage window, enabling you to easily navigate to a location in your montage.
6.5 Shared tool windows 171 Each independent Clip and/or audio track in the Montage can be independently processed by up to ten VST effect plug-ins. Effects are configured either as Inserts, when all sound is processed by the effect, or as Send effects where the balance between the unprocessed sound and the effect send level can be adjusted or controlled by effect envelope curves (clip effects only). Note that not all effects are capable of "Send", and if this feature is not available, it is disabled.
172 Audio Montages Shared tool windows: Phasescope VU Meter Oscilloscope Bit Meter Spectroscope Spectrometer Wavescope Timecode Background task monitor Log window Master Section Related topics About Tool Windows Metering Docking windows 6.5.1 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material.
6.5 Shared tool windows 173 Phase Correlation meter At the bottom of the display, you will find a Phase Correlation meter, which shows the same information but in a different way: The green line shows the current phase correlation, while the two red lines show the recent peak minimum and maximum values, respectively (these are the default colors, which you can change). With a mono signal, the meter would show +1, indicating that both channels are per- fectly in phase.
174 Audio Montages time span. If you are monitoring playback or audio input, you will also note two vertical lines following each VU meter bar, seemingly "trying to reach" the current RMS value. These lines indicate the average of the most recent minimum RMS values (left line) and the average of the most recent maximum RMS values (right line).
6.5 Shared tool windows 175 Making settings By opening the Settings dialog you can adjust the display colors, and choose to activate Auto-zoom or not. With Auto-zoom activated, the display is optimized so that the highest level reaches the top of the display at all times. The Settings dialog can be accessed through the Functions > Settings... menu, or by using the icon. The Oscilloscope can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces.
176 Audio Montages When to use the Bit Meter To check whether dithering is necessary or not. As a rule, if you're playing back or mixing down to 16 bits, and the Bit Meter shows that more than 16 bits are used, you should apply dithering. To see the "actual" resolution of an Audio File. For example, even though a file is in 24 bit format, only 16 bits may be used. Or, a 32 bit file may only use 24 bits (in this case, the "below" segment would not be lit).
6.5 Shared tool windows 177 The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph. Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi- mum values. Snapshots By using the "Add snapshot" and "Erase last snapshot" buttons, you can take and erase snapshots of the current spectrum. These will be superimposed over the current peak spectrum graph, in a color you can customize, until you click the icon again to take a new snapshot.
178 Audio Montages "Export FFT data as ASCII" from the Options pop-up menu. The resulting text file can then be imported into applications that allow graph plotting from text files (Microsoft Excel, for example). The Spectrometer can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering Spectroscope 6.5.
6.5 Shared tool windows 179 You can access this window by choosing Workspace > Shared tool windows > Timecode. It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Time Format dialog CD Frame SMPTE timecode Authoring CDs and DVDs 6.5.
180 Audio Montages Note: When using the logWindow( ) method you need to have the "Show informal notes" button selected for the messages to be visible. If no log messages are displayed, make sure all the toggle buttons are selected . You can access this window via Workspace > Shared tool windows > Log. It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. You can also access this window in the Control Window via Utilities > Log.
6.7 Audio Montage contextual information 181 The object you are directly over is indicated, along with any possible actions you can perform and any modifier keys that will enable further functions. These hints are displayed using icons and text descriptions from left to right. This option is enabled/disabled in the Audio Montage Workspace via Options > Audio Montage preferences > All Audio Montages > Display indications of possible actions.
182 Audio Montages clicking and dragging will move the click in any direction There are a number of modifier keys available also including (from left to right): the [Alt]/[Option] key the [Ctrl]/[Command] key the [Shift] key Various combinations also exist: the [Alt]/[Option] key + the [Ctrl]/[Command] key the [Alt]/[Option] key + the [Shift] key the [Ctrl]/[Command] key + the [Shift] key Related topics WaveLab 7
Chapter 7 Batch Processing This special Workspace allows you to process any number of audio or audio montage files with Master Section plug-ins and presets, offline effects, and other plug-ins that are unique to Batch Processing. Each file is processed and then saved to a folder of your choice. You can choose a different file format, rename the file according to a set of rules, and run an external application when the batch is finished.
184 Batch Processing Run an external task - you can choose to run an external application after batch processing has completed using the "External Tool" tab. The external tool must be set up first via the Configure external tools dialog. You can access this from Tools > Configure external tools. Define any options - choose any options using the "Options" tab and/or annotate your batch using the "Comments" tab.
7.1 Specific tool windows 185 Understanding the signal path To understand how the signal flow of your plug-in chain is processed you can look closely at the audio signal path display, which consists of a number of colored arrows in columns and rows. Each arrow represents how each plug-in processes any audio passed into it. Each vertical column represents a processing pass. Use the "What's this?" arrow on that column for more information.
186 Batch Processing It provides you with all the standard browsing functions (such as List and Icon views)as well as additional controls to audition Audio Files and any marker defined regions.You can use it to open or insert an entire file or a specific region of a file by dragging and releasing the file in the location you wish to insert the file. In the Audio Montage Workspace you can also choose to only view certain types of WaveLab specific files.
7.1 Specific tool windows 187 To remove a plug-in: Right-click on the plug-in to use the pop-up menu "Remove" option, or drag it back onto the plugin window. Master Section presets These are Master Section presets (not to be confused with individual plugin presets, so it's always a chain, even if it's a chain with one member). As these presets can contain multiple effects, they can be put to powerful use in batch processing.
188 Batch Processing Metapass Plug-ins Metapass plug-ins are unique to the Batch Processor and require several passes before processing the audio. After analyzing the audio, a metapass plug-in takes into account all other plug-ins in the effects chain before processing the audio. The following Metapass plug-ins are available in the Batch Processor Workspace: Meta-Normalizer Meta-Leveler Related topics Audio Plug-ins Offline processing 7.1.2.
7.1 Specific tool windows 7.1.2.3 189 Resizer This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and allows you to adjust the duration of an Audio File. You can set a desired length of file and choose whether to insert silence after the end of the chosen duration. You can access this dialog from the Batch Processor Workspace via Plug-ins window > Monopass Plug-ins > Resizer. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
190 Batch Processing 2. The second instance of the plug-in comes after the plugin being "instructed". It simply cuts out the extra audio injected by the first instance of the Instructor plug-in. This means, for example, that the Denoiser plug-in has time to sufficiently analyze the audio stream before the second stream start is injected. The "badly" processed first part of the stream is skipped by the second instance of the Instructor plug-in.
7.1 Specific tool windows 191 Pitch correction Batch Processing Plug-ins 7.1.2.8 Normalize Level This dialog allows you to change the peak level of your Audio File. Enter the desired peak level (in dB) that you wish the audio selection to have. You can also use "Find current peak level" to obtain a report on the peak level of the current audio selection (or the peak level in the whole file, if "Process whole file if there is no selection" is selected in the preferences).
192 Batch Processing this is a powerful tool to get the best possible stereo balance. This process uses two passes to first analyze the audio and then render any level changes required. You must have a stereo selection in a stereo file to apply this process. You can access this dialog from the Audio File Workspace via Process > Pan Normalizer.... This function is also available as a batch processing plug-in.
7.1 Specific tool windows 193 It can be useful to apply this plug-in first in a batch before other plug-ins to avoid further processing a file containing any DC Offset. For example, an Audio File that has a DC offset will not be at its loudest possible volume when normalized, because the offset consumes headroom. You can access this dialog from the Batch Processor Workspace via Plug-ins window > Multipass Plug-ins > DC Remover.
194 Batch Processing You can choose between peak level or loudness (RMS) as a method of determing the "equal" level between all files in the batch. This "equal" level is then used to apply a gain to each file in the batch. You can access this dialog from the Batch Processor Workspace via Plug-ins window > Metapass Plug-ins > Meta-Normalizer. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
7.2 Shared tool windows 195 Docking windows 7.2.1 Background task monitor This specific tool window allows you to view all background rendering processes that are in progress. You can adjust the priority with which they are processed, pause or cancel them. It is useful if you have a number of lengthy processes underway and want to free up some processing power to focus on editing.
196 Batch Processing Control Window Specific tool windows Scripting 7.3 Batch Processing Plug-ins The Batch Processor Workspace allows you to add a sequence of plug-ins that can be used to process a batch of Audio Files. Some of these plug-ins are standard plug-ins available from the Master Section; others are offline processes available in the Audio File Workspace, and there are others that are only available within batch processing.
7.3 Batch Processing Plug-ins 197 Multipass Plug-ins Multipass plug-ins require two or more passes (an analysis pass followed by a process pass) before processing the audio. Some are unique to the Batch Processor while others are also found as Offline Processors in the Audio File Workspace.
198 7.3.0.2 Batch Processing Trimmer This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and allows you to remove a specified duration (from 0ms to 60s) of audio from the head and/or tail of an Audio File. You can access this dialog from the Batch Processor Workspace via Plug-ins window > Monopass Plug-ins > Trimmer. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
7.3 Batch Processing Plug-ins 7.3.0.5 199 Instructor This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and is a special utility plug-in that allows you to "instruct" the next plug-in in the batch with information about the audio it needs to process. This is useful for situations where you want to use plug-ins that require an analysis stage. In effect, the Instructor plug-in turns a monopass plug-in into a dual pass one.
200 7.3.0.7 Batch Processing Pitch Correction This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and allows you to detect and change the pitch of a sound without affecting its length. For more information on the Pitch Correction dialog parameters see Pitch correction. You can access this dialog from Batch Processing Workspace > Plug-ins window > MonoPass Plug-ins > Pitch Correction. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
7.3 Batch Processing Plug-ins 201 For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Batch Processing Plug-ins 7.3.0.10 Pan Normalizer This dialog allows you to ensure that both channels of a stereo file have the same level or loudness. Since loudnesss is more important than peak volume in the perception of sound, this is a powerful tool to get the best possible stereo balance.
202 Batch Processing Related topics Loudness DC Offset Loudness distribution 7.3.0.12 DC Remover This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and allows you to eliminate any DC Offset from an Audio File. It can be useful to apply this plug-in first in a batch before other plug-ins to avoid further processing a file containing any DC Offset. For example, an Audio File that has a DC offset will not be at its loudest possible volume when normalized, because the offset consumes headroom.
7.3 Batch Processing Plug-ins 203 7.3.0.14 Meta-Normalizer This dialog is exclusive to the Batch Processor Workspace and allows you to normalize a batch of files all to the same level. The core purpose of this plug-in is to achieve the same loudness in all files (the highest loudness found, if possible), while being certain that no file will clip. For each file, a specific gain is computed by the plug-in once all files have been analyzed and prior to actually applying any gain to achieve the common loudness.
204 Batch Processing WaveLab 7
Chapter 8 Podcasts About Podcasts Once set up, you can produce high quality audio podcast episodes directly from WaveLab. Audio podcasts are ordered and commented sets of digital Audio Files, generally in the form of 'episodes' with a consistent theme or presenter. Episodes may be downloaded from the Internet, usually via an automated feed. Compression is an important consideration in exporting an audio podcast file, since the listener is likely to encounter bandwidth bottlenecks, so the file formats .
206 Podcasts Adding information to the Podcast The upper pane of the Podcast window shows various fields and settings that are related to the basic Feed or Episode, depending on what you have selected in the lower pane's item list (the fields are slightly different for the Feed and Episodes). Field labels in bold letters point at a field that is mandatory to fill. For quick publishing of your Podcast it is sufficient to fill these fields only.
8.1 FTP site 8.1 207 FTP site This dialog allows you to enter information for uploading your Podcast and all related files to an online FTP server. You must specify all log-in details for your FTP site, the relative path to your podcast XML file and the web site address where the link to your Podcast is found, including the path to the feed. If in doubt about your FTP settings they can normally be supplied by your ISP. You can access this dialog via Publish > FTP Site... in the Podcast Workspace.
208 Podcasts Uploading the Podcast Once you have specified the FTP site settings, uploading the Podcast is rather simple by using the functions in the Podcast window's Publish menu. Update all items on FTP This uploads/updates the XML Podcast file on the FTP; it also uploads all items' media files, but only if they are not already present on the FTP. This is the most common function to upload and update your Podcast.
8.4 Specific tool windows 209 Podcast Workspace specific tool windows The following specific tool windows are available within the Podcast Workspace: Master Project File Browser 8.4.1 File Browser This dialog allows you to browse files directly from within WaveLab rather than using your operating system's file browser. It provides you with all the standard browsing functions (such as List and Icon views)as well as additional controls to audition Audio Files and any marker defined regions.
210 Podcasts WaveLab 7
Chapter 9 Control Window This is a special Workspace that allows you to create your own control window layout. This window does not edit any files, but is used as a placeholder to organize certain tool windows (for example a selection of meters). This is especially useful if you have multiple monitors: you can place the Control Window on your secondary display and use it to manage all the tool windows you commonly refer to.
212 Control Window Docking/Undocking windows The process for docking/undocking windows in the Control Window is slightly different to that in other Workspaces. To dock a window in the Control Window: 1. Undock the window so it is floating as an independent window. 2. Choose a pane in which you want to place the window. This is done by clicking on an empty pane; an arrow icon will appear to indicate it is selected. 3.
9.2 Shared tool windows 213 Related topics About Tool Windows Docking windows 9.2 Shared tool windows Shared tool windows are windows that can only exist in one place at a time and are shared between Workspaces. They perform useful tasks in relationship to the active Workspace. They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts.
214 Control Window A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as the right, but with an inverse phase. A random but roughly elliptical shape indicates a well balanced stereo signal. If the shape "leans" to the left, there is more energy in the left channel and vice versa (the extreme case of this is if one side is muted, in which case the Phasescope will show a straight line, angled 45 degrees to the other side).
9.2 Shared tool windows 9.2.2 215 VU Meter The vu-meter is used to display the peak and average loudness/decibel level of your Audio File. It also displays the pan, or the balance between the left and right channels in a stereo file. The upper part of the level/pan meter window shows the peak level and average loudness, in the following way: The Peak Level meters display the peak levels of each channel, graphically and numeri- cally.
216 Control Window Related topics Metering 9.2.3 Oscilloscope The Oscilloscope offers a highly magnified view of the waveform around the playback cursor position. If you are analyzing a stereo file, the Oscilloscope normally shows the separate levels of the two channels. However, if you activate the option "Show Sum and Subtraction" on the Functions menu (or click the +/- icon), the upper half of the Oscilloscope shows the sum of the two channels and the lower half shows the subtraction.
9.2 Shared tool windows 217 The outer meters are "history" meters, showing how many bits were recently in use. You can adjust the hold time in the Settings dialog. The "over" segment indicates clipping, similar to a clip indicator. If the "below" segment is lit, there are more than 24 bits. The bit meter will show the 24 higher bits, and the "below" segment indicates the existence of extra, lower bits. Note that audio is always processed with more than 24 bits internally.
218 Control Window Related topics Metering Spectrometer 9.2.6 Spectrometer The Spectrometer uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) techniques to display a continuous frequency graph, providing a very precise and detailed real-time frequency analysis. The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph. Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi- mum values.
9.2 Shared tool windows 219 Selecting Spectrometer presets If you have assigned your settings to the Preset buttons in the Settings dialog, you can quickly switch between different level scales and display modes, by clicking one of the Preset icons [1]-[5], or selecting the desired preset from the Options pop-up menu.
220 9.2.8 Control Window Timecode This shared tool window displays the current time of the playback head (or the cursor position if not playing back), in the timecode format currently selected in the Time Format dialog. The current time can be in a range of standard SMPTE formats, CD or DVD specific formats, or a custom one - see Time Format dialog. The most common use for this window is for working with video or film.
9.3 Metering 221 Control Window Rendering 9.2.10 Log window This shared tool window allows you to view log messages that have been issued by WaveLab. When using WaveLab's scripting language for example, the logWindow( ) function outputs messages to this window. There are a number of toggle buttons and these allow you to filter the types of messages displayed. Note: When using the logWindow( ) method you need to have the "Show informal notes" button selected for the messages to be visible.
222 Control Window Monitor File Rendering - the meters display what is being written to disk during file rendering, taking into account Master Section settings, with average, minimum and maximum peak values computed. After rendering, the meter(s) freeze, and remain frozen until you refresh or change the monitor mode. Monitor Edit cursor position - the meters display static information about the audio beneath the edit cursor.
9.3 Metering 9.3.1 223 VU Meter The vu-meter is used to display the peak and average loudness/decibel level of your Audio File. It also displays the pan, or the balance between the left and right channels in a stereo file. The upper part of the level/pan meter window shows the peak level and average loudness, in the following way: The Peak Level meters display the peak levels of each channel, graphically and numeri- cally.
224 Control Window Related topics Metering 9.3.2 Spectroscope The Spectroscope shows a continuous graphical representation of the frequency spectrum, analyzed into 60 separate frequency bands, represented as vertical bars. Peak levels are shown as a short horizontal lines above the corresponding band, indicating recent peak/maximum values. The Spectroscope offers a quick spectrum overview. For a more detailed analysis of the audio spectrum, use the Spectrometer.
9.3 Metering 9.3.4 225 Bit Meter The Bit Meter shows the resolution or the number of bits used in the digital audio being monitored. Normally the maximum number of bits in an Audio File is the same as the resolution of the Audio File (e.g. a 16 bit Audio File shows that up to 16 bits are used), but sometimes this is not the case.
226 Control Window To adjust the Bit Meter settings, select "Settings..." from the Options pop-up menu or by using the icon. The Bit meter can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering Dithering 9.3.5 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels.
9.3 Metering 227 Similarly, -1 indicates that the two channels are the same, but one is inverted. Generally, for a "good" mix, the meter should show a value between 0 and +1. Unlike the main Phasescope, the Phase Correlation meter is also available in "Analyze audio selection" mode, showing an average value for the selected range. Changing settings You can define display colors, peak hold time, and the resolution or number of samples to display from the Functions > Settings... menu.
228 Control Window Making settings You can adjust the behavior and display of the meters as desired, and assign up to five sets of Spectrometer settings to the Preset buttons, for instant access. Open the Settings dialog by selecting "Settings" from the Functions menu or clicking the "tool" icon. Note that you can apply your settings without closing the dialog, by clicking the Apply button. If you want to store your settings for later use (or assign them to a Preset button), select "Save as...
9.3 Metering 229 various color options for the background, grid and waveform display, as well as setting the waveform rendering speed and vertical zoom. If "Clear waveform when reaching right of pane" is checked the waveform display is cleared each time the cursor reaches the right end of the display. If unchecked, the previous waveform is overwritten. Tip: Wavescope is a useful meter for visualizing audio during recording.
230 Control Window WaveLab 7
Chapter 10 Master Section The Master section contains WaveLab's "Real Time Engine" and is the final element in the signal path, before your audio material is passed on to the audio hardware, or before it is rendered to disk as an Audio File. The Master section is where you can set the master volume level and add effects processors. The Master Section is a "shared tool window". This means there is a unique instance of it: it can only show up at one place at a time.
232 Master Section Reset all - removes all the active effects from the Effects slots and sets the master output to 0dB. Settings menu - provides access to various options. Rendering functions - brings up the Render Wave window. This allows you to process the Audio File or Audio Montage with the effects you have selected and create a temporary or final Audio File.
10.2 Render Montage window 233 It applies all active plug-ins to the selected audio region or the whole file, and you can optionally change the format of the rendered file. This process is sometimes also referred to as "mixing" or "bouncing down". You can select options for which regions of the session are rendered, whether to create a new file or process in place, and whether to mute the effects chain when finished. You can also choose to copy marker locations to the new file.
234 Master Section You can specify where WaveLab should search for your VST plug-ins and which ones it should ignore. It also allows you to choose how your VST plug-in knobs respond to mouse interactions and how frequently they are updated visually. If you use your own file structure to organize and store VST Plug-ins, this dialog allows you to have full control over which ones are loaded or not.
Chapter 11 Interface Elements This section contains links to all of the various types of windows and dialogs within WaveLab. Related topics Dialogs Shared tool windows Specific tool windows 11.1 Dialogs There are many dialog windows within WaveLab that allow you to access all its features and processing power. You can get help on a particular dialog by using the Help button "What's this?" tool will help you to access detailed from within the dialog. Using the information on a dialog's parameters.
236 Interface Elements Batch Conversion Basic Audio CD Settings Batch Renaming CD Text Editor CD-Text Browser CD Wizard Copy audio information Customize Commands Data CD/DVD DVD-Audio options DVD-Audio Creation Document list dialog Ducking options Effect morphing Edit playback times Error detection and correction Configure external tools Folder Preferences dialog Frequency range FTP site Change Level File attributes (OGG/WMA) Global analysis Import Audio CD Insert Audio Files Level envelope Loop Tone Unifo
11.
238 Interface Elements Silence Generator Smart bypass Special File Format Spectrogram options Surround Panner Create Document Template Template List Dialog Time Format dialog Time stretching Track dispatching Value Format File attributes Audio File editing preferences Write Audio CD WMA encoding Workspace layout Write Data CD/DVD Loop Tweaker Zoom factor 11.1.1 Insert link This dialog allows you to insert a hyperlink to a web page in your podcast episode description.
11.1 Dialogs 239 11.1.2 Align Clips This dialog allows you to align Clips along the focused track at specific intervals, with or without a space between them. You must select at least two Clips to use this function. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace's Clip window via Functions > Align selected clips of focused track... or via its icon. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
240 Interface Elements 11.1.5 Audio file comparer This analysis tool allows you to compare two Audio Files for differences between them. It can create a "delta file" that contains these differences. It can also drop markers at positions where differences are found. This can be useful for: Judging the effect of using an equalizer by comparing the file before and after. The delta file will show what was added or removed. Check the noise added by a processor.
11.1 Dialogs 241 Changing the values in this dialog will not process the audio in your montage in any way. However if you change the sample rate, the file will play back at the wrong pitch. You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Edit > Audio Montage properties.... It is also displayed when you create a new audio montage by clicking on the "Create an empty document" icon or via File > New....
242 Interface Elements For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics 11.1.10 Audio Range This dialog allows you to define accurately a specific audio range. This audio range is then used to create a selection. There are many options you can choose to easily select a specific part of your Audio File. You can also audition your selection using the various playback buttons provided.
11.1 Dialogs 243 Windows MME/Built-In Audio If you do not have a third-party audio card you can select the Windows MME or Built-in Audio (Mac) options. You can also use MME with most third party audio cards, with the advantage that you can record and play at different sample rates. However, Windows MME drivers don't allow Audio Monitoring in the record dialog, and other drivers generally offer better sound quality and performance.
244 Interface Elements Related topics Split Clip at silences 11.1.13 Batch Conversion This dialog allows you to convert the file format of a group of Audio Files. This could be useful for example, if you have a large number of Audio Files that you wish to encode as MP3 files, or a group of stereo files that you need to downsample and convert to mono. You can also take maximum advantage of your computer's architecture if you have a multiple processor cores, by spreading the processing load across them.
11.1 Dialogs 11.1.15 245 Batch Renaming This dialog appears in various locations in WaveLab and allows you to rename a batch of files, Clips or markers. The Batch Renaming dialog offers a powerful set of facilities to convert, remove, format, replace and insert text into existing names. You can use simple options to match text, or you can build your own regular expressions, as required.
246 Interface Elements In WaveLab you can add information about the disk itself and each individual track. This information is entered in a series of text fields that scroll together horizontally. There is one pane of fields for the disk itself and a pane for each track. You can scroll between these with a slider bar. Buttons allow you to copy between fields to make entering information easier.
11.1 Dialogs 247 CD Authoring CDs and DVDs Write Audio CD ISRC 11.1.19 Copy audio information This dialog allows you to copy information about the name and location of the selected Audio File, including any selection information and cursor position. The information is copied to the clipboard and can be pasted into an external text application. This can be a useful feature to use when making notes on a particular session or when you need accurate file path/selection information when writing a script.
248 Interface Elements the Macintosh only, if a shortcut is made up of two or more keystrokes, the main menu only displays the first keystroke (this is a Mac OS X limitation). To reset some or all types of shortcuts to their factory defaults use the "Reset" button. To generate a reference of your customized shortcuts, use the "Summary" button to either view a webpage summary or to print out a list of all your command shortcuts.
11.1 Dialogs 249 Removing files To remove files from the file structure: select the files/folders you wish to remove and click on the red cross icon. To remove a group of files, hold down [Shift] while selecting the files/folders to remove. Please note that this does not delete the files from the computer, only a reference to them. to remove all files/folders from the layout choose Reset.
250 11.1.22 Interface Elements DVD-Audio options This dialog allows you to choose settings for creating a DVD-Audio disk. You can enter disk identification and volume information, choose the TV format (PAL or NTSC), provide still picture tracks and adjust various options. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > DVD-Audio > Options.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
11.1 Dialogs 251 Podcasts 11.1.25 Ducking options This dialog allows you to choose options when using WaveLab's ducking feature. The ducking function allows you to use a Clip's volume envelope to modulate the volume envelope of an adjacent channel's Clip. The most obvious application of this feature is when mixing background music with a voice-over.
252 Interface Elements 5. Choose "Unprocessed selection" for this example. As mentioned previously you can also use any audio of the same duration from the clipboard. 6. Click Apply to apply the Effect morphing. You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via Edit > Effect morphing.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help 11.1.
11.1 Dialogs 253 Strategies to detect and correct errors There are several strategies that you can employ when detecting and correcting errors: Define an audio selection where you have identified an error, then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction". Use the function "Detect next error" to let WaveLab automatically find the next error, and then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction".
254 11.1.30 Interface Elements Folder Preferences dialog This dialog allows you to set the folders where you prefer to save and open files, as well as options about how to automatically update them, or not, while using WaveLab. Select a folder category from the list and then either type in the path to the directory or browse to select the folder via a standard file dialog. Each Workspace has its own set of preferred folders, which are set from the Folder Preferences dialog from that Workspace.
11.1 Dialogs 255 You can access this dialog via Publish > FTP Site... in the Podcast Workspace. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Podcasts 11.1.33 Change Level This dialog allows you to apply a gain to change the level of an Audio File.
256 Interface Elements Ogg Vorbis files 11.1.35 Global analysis This dialog allows you to perform advanced analysis on your audio to identify areas with specified properties. It can be used to find problem areas such as glitches or clipped samples, or just to check general information such as the pitch of a sound. How it works When you analyze a section of an Audio File, WaveLab scans it and extracts information which it displays in the dialog.
11.1 Dialogs 11.1.36 257 Import Audio CD This dialog allows you to import one or more tracks from an audio CD. Once you have identified the source CD, you can select the track or tracks to import. You must specify a folder location and file format before the file or files can be saved to disk. Actions tab Specify the optical disk drive from the drop-down list, and the disk reading speed. The title and track details are automatically completed. If no track names appear, to refresh CD reading.
258 Interface Elements 11.1.38 Level envelope This dialog allows you to create a volume envelope which can be applied to a selected range or a whole Audio File. This could be useful if you need to even-out loud and quiet parts, for example. You can edit the envelope by: Double clicking on the line to add a point: double click on a point to remove it. Selecting multiple points (using [Shift] click) allows you to move the selection as a group.
11.1 Dialogs 259 If you have used the Loop Tone Uniformizer within a region of an Audio File, the transition from the end of the loop into the original file in many cases won't be very natural. This can be fixed as follows: 1. Close the Loop Tone Uniformizer and open the Loop Tweaker. 2. Click on the Cross fade tab and deactivate the Cross fade option (the check box). 3. Click on the Post Cross fade tab and make sure Cross fade is activated. 4. Set up the post cross fade parameters and click Apply.
260 Interface Elements Related topics Loudness 11.1.41 Loudness normalizer This dialog allows you to adjust the loudness of a file. Because it relates to loudness as opposed to maximum peak level, this tool works quite differently from the Level Normalizer. A typical application is to specify a loudness, for example -12dB, and the Loudness Normalizer processes the audio to match this level of loudness. Like Gain Change, increasing the loudness to a certain value can introduce clipping.
11.1 Dialogs 261 Formats - this tab allows you to adjust settings for some of the audio formats and units that WaveLab uses. CD Burning - this tab allows you to set a number of parameters for CD burning. Options - this tab allows you to control application-wide start-up options and transport settings. You can also reset default answers. This can be useful for example, if you deactivated any "Don't show this message again" warning messages that you now wish to restore.
262 Interface Elements This can be useful if you wish to keep some/all of the current plug-ins and level settings you have in the Master Section when you load another preset. For example, you may wish to maintain the current master level and dithering settings but replace the effects chain that you have set up with one you commonly use from another preset. You can use the checkboxes provided to adjust which settings from the new Master Section preset are used or ignored.
11.1 Dialogs 263 Related topics 11.1.47 Write Audio CD This dialog allows you to define some options when creating a new audio montage from an Audio File that is open in the Audio File Workspace. You can choose whether to use a selection or the whole Audio File to create a new Montage file, and how to interpret any markers that are present. You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via Edit > Create Montage from Audio File....
264 Interface Elements Using the two tabs you can define settings for both the active audio montage and for all audio montages. You can adjust default settings for how WaveLab works with audio Clips and effects plug-ins in an audio montage, as well as to define backup and display options. You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage Workspace via Options > Audio Montage preferences.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
11.1 Dialogs 265 You can access this dialog by choosing Save as... > Output Format (select type MPEG1 Layer 3) > Encoding > Edit..., and from most places where you can select an output file format, such as the Render dialog. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics MP3 files 11.1.53 Normalize Level This dialog allows you to change the peak level of your Audio File.
266 Interface Elements Related topics Ogg Vorbis files 11.1.55 Open files list This dialog allows you to view a list of all currently open files and documents in WaveLab. Documents from all the different Workspaces are displayed and can be open, closed, renamed, saved and in the case of Audio Files, auditioned. The list can also be filtered to only display the files you are interested in.
11.1 Dialogs 267 You can access this dialog from the Audio File Workspace via Edit > Paste special > Mix.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics 11.1.58 Pitch bend This dialog allows you to change the pitch of a sound over time. Note that changing the pitch using Pitch bend will affect its duration unless length preservation is activated.
268 Interface Elements Pitch correction is also available as a batch processing plug-in in the Batch Processor Workspace. In addition, Pitch correction for a Clip is available from the Focused Clip window (via Edit > Pitch shift...). Note that for Batch processing and Clip processes, the envelope option is not available. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
11.1 Dialogs 269 A common application is to speed up the listening time of an interview or conference speech. You can increase playback speed to quickly locate specific positions in the audio You can decrease the playback speed in order to practice a tricky recording take. By optionally defining presets you can easily switch between your favorite playback speeds. Once defined, you can quickly jump between them using the Speed context menu in the transport's command bar.
270 Interface Elements Related topics 11.1.64 Repeat Clip This dialog allows you to make a number of copies of a Clip and lay them out at various intervals on the current track of your audio montage. You can specify the number of clones to produce, and control their placement, alignment and spacing. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace by right-clicking on the track's waveform and choosing Repeat clip... from the Clip context menu.
11.1 Dialogs 271 Click the down arrow to select a preset audio format, or click the audio format text to display the Audio File Format dialog, and set up the format for your recorded audio. Here, you can create new Audio File Format presets, if required, for later use. Choose from Level or Spectrum display. If you choose Level, click the Settings button to bring up the Level/Pan Meter Settings dialog. Click Record.
272 Interface Elements Related topics Recording Dialog 11.1.68 Rename File dialog This dialog allows you to rename a file, and/or optionally change the folder where it is stored. The file suffix may be selected from the drop-down list. All open documents that have a reference to the file are updated. Associated peak and marker files are also updated. This function is particularly useful when renaming Audio Files.
11.1 Dialogs 11.1.70 273 Render Montage window This dialog allows you to process the montage session you are working on, mixing down multiple tracks into a mono or stereo file and applying any active plug-in effects you have active. This process is sometimes also referred to as mixing or bouncing down. You can select options for which regions of the session are rendered, whether to create a named file or a temporary, untitled file, and whether to mute the effects chain when finished.
274 11.1.72 Interface Elements Loudness envelope options This dialog allows you to adjust how the Loudness envelope waveform is displayed. You can adjust the granularity of the analysis, or if the loudness analysis is based on small or longer segment. You can also see the loudness of specified frequency regions (by using the low/band/high pass filters to define which frequencies are displayed).
11.1 Dialogs 275 In WaveLab you can also access this dialog from the Control Window via File > Save all documents in all windows For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics 11.1.75 Save Audio File dialog This dialog allows you to choose the name, file format and the location where you wish to save an Audio File.
276 11.1.77 Interface Elements Save Batch Processor This dialog allows you to save a copy of the batch processor file that you currently have open. You can specify a new file name and location. Optionally you can choose to save the list of files in the batch process, along with status of each file. The default location depends on what path you have specified for the 'Batch Processor Save folder' in Folder preferences.
11.1 Dialogs 11.1.80 277 Save picture of active window This dialog allows you to save a picture of the active WaveLab window. You can save the picture with or without the enclosing window frame and the resulting picture can be copied to the clipboard or saved to a file. If the second option is selected, you can specify where the picture is saved and the format: BMP, JPG/JPEG and PNG formats are offered. You can access this dialog from most Workspaces in WaveLab via View > Save picture of active window...
278 Interface Elements For a general description of scripting, see Scripting. For an overview of the scripting language, see ECMAScript Reference. You can access this dialog from the Audio File Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Script. Note: To view trace or log messages when executing scripts that contain the logWindow() function, ensure that the Log window is visible and that it's warning filter buttons are selected.
11.1 Dialogs 279 almost any function within WaveLab. Select a MIDI device via Preferences... > Options tab, activate "Use MIDI shortcuts" and specify a MIDI input port so that MIDI events are sent rather than keyboard events. You can access this dialog from the Customize commands window by selecting a command and choosing Edit shortcut.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
280 11.1.85 Interface Elements Silence Generator This dialog allows you to generate "silence", either by replacing an audio selection, or by specifying a duration. You can also specify a cross fade at each end of the silent region, for a smoother transition. Radio buttons determine where the silent period is placed in the audio. In WaveLab you can also specify a file to be inserted instead of "true" silence.
11.1 Dialogs 281 format, byte order, sample rate, file extension and whether or not the file contains mono or stereo channels. You can also choose to ignore the file's header (start) or end of file data. Once you have specified a format for a particular type of file, WaveLab remembers the new format for the next time. This function can be useful for example, if you are working with a rarely used Audio File format like those used by some game platforms or mobile phone ring tones.
282 Interface Elements Each track can have its own Surround Pan window and you can have several of these open at the same time if you need to. To pan the sound, click the blue square and drag it to the desired position. This pans the audio of the left/top channel – the other channel is automatically mirrored horizontally. If you right-click in the graphical display, a pop-up menu appears allowing you to choose from a number of positioning "presets".
11.1 Dialogs 283 You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage, Podcast or Batch processor Workspace via File > Save special > Save as template.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Template List Dialog 11.1.91 Template List Dialog This dialog allows you to choose a previously saved template from an active Audio Montage, Podcast or Batch processor file.
284 Interface Elements You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via View > Main view display > Time Ruler > Time format.... Alternatively, you can access it by right clicking anywhere on the time ruler in either waveform window to produce the Time Ruler context menu, and choosing Time format.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Timecode Audio File editing 11.
11.1 Dialogs 285 For instance, in the case of surround output, there can be six destinations for a track channel. Track allocation is dependent on the mode and how many channels you have selected when defining your Audio Montage settings. This in turn defines how many outputs are available from this dialog. For playback, your soundcard must also have the available number of corresponding channels. These are set up in the Audio Streaming Settings.
286 Interface Elements - Uses the current date and time to fill in the Origination Date/Time field. - Uses WaveLab as the name of the originator software. You can access this dialog in the Audio File Workspace via Edit > File Attributes.... For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics WAV files 11.1.
11.1 Dialogs 287 For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics DDP files Authoring CDs and DVDs 11.1.99 WMA encoding This dialog allows you to specify the encoding options when you save a WMA Audio File. You can select which encoder to use and adjust the output sample rate and bit resolution.
288 Interface Elements If you choose to burn an ISO disk image the dialog allows you to select a filename for the resultant ISO file. Choosing a CD-R or DVD-R drive displays choices for setting the speed or to try a test burn. Important note for Mac OSX users When using CD-R/DVD-R drive on Apple OSX computers for importing or burning it is important to note the following.
11.2 Shared tool windows 289 drag points or value sliders to adjust the cross fade envelope. Click Apply to process the cross fade. Post cross fade This tab allows you to cross fade the loop back into the audio after the end of the loop. This is done by mixing a copy of the loop back into the audio. Use the envelope drag points or value sliders to adjust the cross fade envelope. Click Apply to process the post cross fade.
290 Interface Elements They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts. Shared tool windows: Phasescope VU Meter Oscilloscope Bit Meter Spectroscope Spectrometer Wavescope Timecode Background task monitor Log window Master Section Related topics About Tool Windows Metering Docking windows 11.2.1 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo channels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material.
11.2 Shared tool windows 291 Generally, the more you can see a "thread" shape, the more bass there is in the signal; the more "spray-like" the display, the more high frequencies are in the signal.
292 Interface Elements The VU (Volume Unit) meters measure the average loudness (RMS) of each channel. These meters have a built-in inertia, evening out loudness variations over a user-defined time span. If you are monitoring playback or audio input, you will also note two vertical lines following each VU meter bar, seemingly "trying to reach" the current RMS value.
11.2 Shared tool windows 293 Making settings By opening the Settings dialog you can adjust the display colors, and choose to activate Auto-zoom or not. With Auto-zoom activated, the display is optimized so that the highest level reaches the top of the display at all times. The Settings dialog can be accessed through the Functions > Settings... menu, or by using the icon. The Oscilloscope can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces.
294 Interface Elements When to use the Bit Meter To check whether dithering is necessary or not. As a rule, if you're playing back or mixing down to 16 bits, and the Bit Meter shows that more than 16 bits are used, you should apply dithering. To see the "actual" resolution of an Audio File. For example, even though a file is in 24 bit format, only 16 bits may be used. Or, a 32 bit file may only use 24 bits (in this case, the "below" segment would not be lit).
11.2 Shared tool windows 295 The current frequency spectrum is shown as a linear graph. Spectrum "peaks" are shown as a short horizontal lines, indicating recent peak/maxi- mum values. Snapshots By using the "Add snapshot" and "Erase last snapshot" buttons, you can take and erase snapshots of the current spectrum. These will be superimposed over the current peak spectrum graph, in a color you can customize, until you click the icon again to take a new snapshot.
296 Interface Elements "Export FFT data as ASCII" from the Options pop-up menu. The resulting text file can then be imported into applications that allow graph plotting from text files (Microsoft Excel, for example). The Spectrometer can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window. Related topics Metering Spectroscope 11.2.
11.2 Shared tool windows 297 You can access this window by choosing Workspace > Shared tool windows > Timecode. It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Time Format dialog CD Frame SMPTE timecode Authoring CDs and DVDs 11.2.
298 Interface Elements Note: When using the logWindow( ) method you need to have the "Show informal notes" button selected for the messages to be visible. If no log messages are displayed, make sure all the toggle buttons are selected . You can access this window via Workspace > Shared tool windows > Log. It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. You can also access this window in the Control Window via Utilities > Log.
11.3 Specific tool windows 299 Zoom CD Clips Notes Effects DVD-Audio Scripting window (Audio Montage Workspace) History Navigator Groups Master Project Podcast Workspace tool windows: Master Project File Browser Batch Processor Workspace tool windows: Master Project File Browser Batch Processing Plug-ins Control Window tool windows: Master Project Related topics About Tool Windows 11.3.
300 Interface Elements The playback functions Play file Once you have selected a file in the File Browser list, you can audition it by clicking Play in the File Browser's toolbar. Click again to stop. You can also have files play back automatically as soon as they are selected. Auto-play To do this, activate Auto-Play mode. Tip: To audition a long list of Audio Files, enable Auto-play and use the UP and DOWN cursor keys to step through each Audio File in quick succession.
11.3 Specific tool windows 301 domain and in a specific frequency domain, as opposed to standard wave editing which always operates in the full frequency domain. Notes on spectrum selections: When defining a region in a stereo file, a "mirrored" region is automatically created in the other channel. To define a region in only one channel, press [Shift] while drawing the region.
302 Interface Elements Using the Spectrum editor You can use the Spectrum editor in two main operational modes: Region copying and filtering (Operations tab) This is mainly intended for audio restoration applied over brief time ranges. Selections can be copied, pasted, and filtered. This type of processing is mainly used to reduce, remove or replace unwanted sound artifacts in the audio material, and can be carried out with great precision.
11.3 Specific tool windows 303 This is used to attenuate the level of a region. The Gain parameter specifies the level of the attenuation (it is also possible to set positive gain values, i.e. to boost the frequencies in the region). Three filter types are available to perform the damping: Bandpass filter: All frequencies in the region are equally attenuated. Low-pass filter: Higher frequencies in the region will be more attenuated.
304 Interface Elements The Spectrum display Spectrogram options Spectrum editor 11.3.3 Basic Audio CD This specific tool window allows you to burn basic "Red Book compatible" audio CDs. You create your audio CD by adding Audio Files to create a list of tracks. Each track contains a reference to the external Audio File. This means that you can save your Basic Audio CD layout as its own session and continue editing individual tracks, for example.
11.3 Specific tool windows 305 Edit a track's start pause time - for all tracks except the first one you can adjust the pause duration before the track begins playing. If the pause checkbox is not visible click on the track expand arrow to reveal the track's markers and pause time setting. Double click in the cell to edit the value. Add ISRC code - add an ISRC code for a track by Select-clicking on the field under the ISRC column. Edit a track name - by Select-clicking on the name in the list.
306 Interface Elements 11.3.4 Scripting window (Audio File Workspace) This window allows you to write and execute scripts in the Audio File Workspace. The inbuilt text editor helps you when writing scripts by highlighting the different parts of the script with colors, making it more readable. A script can also be written in another text editor, and loaded via the File menu. To run a script, from within the script window choose Functions > Execute script.
11.3 Specific tool windows 307 From the Functions menu you can also access useful functions to convert marker types, rename multiple markers and export the marker list as text. The Marker list The marker window contains a list of any markers placed in the currently active file along with their corresponding details. Click on a column header to sort the list in ascending or descending order based on the values in that column.
308 Interface Elements Marker types Convert marker type Text format 11.3.7 Sample attributes This dialog allows you to define settings for an audio sample before loading it into a hardware or software sampler. The settings do not process the sample in any way, they just give the file properties that the receiving sampler can use.
11.3 Specific tool windows 309 selection. You can also automatically detect and correct all marked errors in the search region. Strategies to detect and correct errors There are several strategies that you can employ when detecting and correcting errors: Define an audio selection where you have identified an error, then click "Correct", or "Mark for subsequent correction".
310 Interface Elements You can access this Specific tool window from any Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Master Project. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Dragging operations Recently used files 11.3.10 Focused Clip window The Focused Clip window is an accordion control that contains some sophisticated editing commands.
11.3 Specific tool windows 311 The Focused Clip window can be docked or floated. You can reveal or hide the focused Clip window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Focused clip. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Clip Audio Streaming Settings Customize Commands Audio Montage Colors 11.3.
312 Interface Elements select Clips that are referenced by a specific file open a file in the Audio File Workspace, and view the file in your computer's file browser. This window is a useful tool to use when constructing and editing your montage. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Workspace > Specific tool windows > Files. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
11.3 Specific tool windows 313 Adding tracks To create an audio CD in WaveLab you must at least have a CD start and end marker pair. You can generate these automatically from audio Clips in the montage using the CD Wizard or by adding track markers manually.For more information on creating a CD or DVD-A see Authoring CDs and DVDs. The Track list Once you have created one or more tracks, the CD window displays a list of all tracks in the currently active montage along with their corresponding properties.
314 Interface Elements Note that CD tracks can be reorderd by dragging them into new positons: this means Clips and markers are moved accordingly. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Specific tool windows Authoring CDs and DVDs Write Audio CD CD Wizard CD Text Editor Audio CD Report CD Pre-emphasis Red Book CD-DA CD Text ISRC UPC/EAN 11.3.
11.3 Specific tool windows 315 A wide range of Clip selection features, Clip functions, and Clip display options are available from the Clips menu. Use "What's This?" help for information on individual menu entries. You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Clips. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
316 Interface Elements You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Effects. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages 11.3.18 DVD-Audio This specific tool window allows you to author a DVD-Audio disk from a collection of audio montages.
11.3 Specific tool windows 317 Note that WaveLab automatically creates some basic DVD menus to access the audio tracks from the DVD-Player. For more information on authoring DVD-Audio disk see Authoring CDs and DVDs. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > DVD-Audio. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
318 Interface Elements return to any state. Use the history menu options (Edit > History >) to undo all operations, redo all operations, or clear the history. There are a couple of history options available in the Audio Montage preferences window. You can choose to empty the history each time you save a montage file and also to group similar types of sequential operations into a single operation. Both of these options enable you to use less memory when storing the operation history.
11.3 Specific tool windows 319 a number of Clips and nest Groups inside each other. It is also possible to disable individual Groups and color Groups so you can identify them easily. Grouping Clips To create a Group from a number of Clips: 1. Select the Clips you want to group. 2. Make sure you have the Groups window displayed. 3. Select "Group selected clips" from the drop down menu or click the Group icon. 4. Enter a name for the Group in the dialog that appears and click OK.
320 Interface Elements Double-click to rename a Group You can nest a Group inside another Group by dragging it The Render option is available to render all Groups as individual files (Render dialog) You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace > Specific tool windows > Groups. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
Chapter 12 Audio Plug-ins Steinberg created Virtual Studio Technology (VST) to allow effect plug-ins to be integrated with audio editors (such as WaveLab). VST uses Digital Signal Processing (DSP) to closely simulate in software the effects of familiar recording studio hardware. A vast number of plugins are available - from freeware to high-end commercial products - and can greatly extend the functionality of programs such as WaveLab. The order of processing is significant.
322 Audio Plug-ins Sonnox DeBuzzer Steinberg VST-3 plug-ins Steinberg Autopan Steinberg Chorus Steinberg Compressor Steinberg DeEsser Steinberg Mono Delay Steinberg Distortion Steinberg Dual Filter Steinberg Envelope Shaper Steinberg Expander Steinberg Gate Steinberg GEQ-10/GEQ-30 Steinberg Limiter Steinberg Maximizer Steinberg Mix 6 to 2 Steinberg Mix 8 to 2 Steinberg Mono to Stereo Steinberg Multiband Compressor Steinberg Octaver Steinberg Pingpong Delay Steinberg PostFilter Steinberg Roomworks Steinber
12.1 Audio Input 323 Leveler Leveler Multi Peak Master Silence Stereo Expander Dithering plug-ins Internal Dithering 12.1 Audio Input The Audio Input is a special Master Section plug-in that allows you to render a signal coming in to a sound card's input(s) together with any Master Section effects. This signal can be anything your sound card accepts, for example a feed from a mixer, a recorder or a microphone. By default, this plug-in is located in the ASIO sub-menu of the Master Section effects.
324 Audio Plug-ins Press Play on the transport. Normal wave playback does not happen (the cursor does not move), but the Play button is lit and you can now monitor the input source. Pressing Stop ends input monitoring. If you change the settings in the control panel, press Stop and restart playback to apply them. Note that if you are using any non-multichannel plug-ins in the Master Section effect chain, these are limited to two channels.
12.2 Using External effects 325 From the External gear plug-in tab, select the channels to be used for device output (to gear) and for device input (from gear). These should normally be different I/O channels than the ones you use for playback/recording. The number of available outputs in this plug-in equals the number of inputs (up to 8). Press "OK" when you are done. 3.
326 Audio Plug-ins 12.3 Sonnox DeClicker Sonnox DeClicker is one of three plug-ins that form the Sonnox Restoration Toolkit. The tools are not just for restoring old material, but also for removing the clicks, pops, buzzes and background noise that can sometimes accidentally occur in new recordings. A note on Touch Pad controls Several controls in these plug-ins are Touch Pads.
12.3 Sonnox DeClicker 327 Input Level Meter The Input Meter is designed to give exactly 1dB per LED for the top 18dB of dynamic range, and 2dB per LED thereafter. This gives a clear and intuitive impression of the working headroom. Input Gain Trim Touch Pad (dB) This allows you to adjust the input signal level by up to ±12dB. Sensitivity Fader and Touch Pad (%) (Pop; Click; Crackle) This controls the sensitivity of the detection circuits.
328 Audio Plug-ins Related topics Sonnox DeBuzzer Sonnox DeNoiser Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.4 Sonnox DeNoiser Sonnox DeNoiser is one of three plug-ins that form the Sonnox Restoration Toolkit. The tools are not just for restoring old material, but also for removing the clicks, pops, buzzes and background noise that can sometimes accidentally occur in new recordings. A note on Touch Pad controls Several controls in these plug-ins are Touch Pads.
12.4 Sonnox DeNoiser 329 the default action is Circular mode, but if the Alt key is held, the action is Linear mode. Additionally, for all controls (including faders and knobs, not just Touch Pads) Control + Left-Click (Windows), Cmd + Click (Mac): Set to default DeNoiser screen controls Sonnox Menu Options Button Clicking this button brings down a menu of options and preferences.
330 Audio Plug-ins Freeze Button This button enables Freeze mode for the noise detection circuit. In this mode the noise fingerprint is calculated once (when the Freeze button is pressed). This mode is useful for material with a constant noise component, and would typically be sampled when the signal is absent and only the noise component is present. In Button This button enables the noise removal processing. It allows glitch-less comparisons with and without the noise reduction.
12.5 Sonnox DeBuzzer 331 4. Adjust the Attenuation to find the most pleasing audio; too much attenuation can impair the audio, either by reducing brightness or by introducing low-level distortion. Tip: You might be working with bandwidth-limited material, possibly as a result of samplerate conversion or lossy compression (for example limited at around 10kHz). If you experience distortion around the limit try reducing the HF Limit control.
332 Audio Plug-ins Right-Click and drag up/down: Fine adjustment of value Double Click: Directly edit value Shift + Left-Click and drag up/down: Fine adjustment of value Control + Left-Click (Windows), Cmd + Click (Mac): Set to default For circular controls: the default action is Circular mode, but if the Alt key is held, the action is Linear mode.
12.5 Sonnox DeBuzzer 333 Tone On Button This button enables an audible tone generator, which can be used to aid location of the buzz fundamental. While the Tone button is on, a touch pad appears above the button and becomes a Tone level control. It defaults to -18dB, and has a range of -6dB to -96dB. Sensitivity Knob and Touch Pad (%) This controls the sensitivity of the buzz detection circuit.
334 Audio Plug-ins Output Level Meter (dB) The output meter is designed to give exactly 1dB per LED for the top 18dB of dynamic range, and 2dB per LED thereafter. There is a peak-hold feature that holds the highest peak, helping to give a better impression of the working dynamic range. Output Gain Trim Touch Pad (dB) This allows you to reduce the output level by up to 12dB.
12.6 Steinberg Autopan 12.6 335 Steinberg Autopan This is a simple autopan effect. It can use different waveforms to modulate the left-right stereo position (pan), using manual modulation speed settings. The parameters are as follows: Rate Sets the auto-pan speed from 0.1 to 10, by rotating the knob by dragging, or using the mouse wheel. Width This sets the depth of the Autopan effect, that is, how far out to the left/right speaker the sound should move, from 0% to 100%.
336 Audio Plug-ins This is a single stage chorus effect. It works by doubling whatever is sent into it with a slightly detuned version. The parameters are as follows: Rate The sweep rate can be set freely with the Rate knob, without sync to tempo. Width Determines the extent of the chorus effect. Higher settings produce a more pronounced effect. Spatial This sets the stereo width of the effect. Turn clockwise for a wider stereo effect.
12.8 Steinberg Compressor 12.8 337 Steinberg Compressor Compressor reduces the dynamic range of the audio, making softer sounds louder or louder sounds softer, or both. Compressor features separate controls for threshold, ratio, attack, hold, release and makeup gain parameters. Compressor features a separate display that graphically illustrates the compressor curve shaped according to the Threshold and Ratio parameter settings.
338 Audio Plug-ins Hold (0 to 5000ms) Sets the time the applied compression will affect the signal after exceeding the threshold. Short hold times are useful for "DJ-style" ducking, while longer hold times are required for music ducking, e.g. when working on a documentary film. Release (10 to 1000ms or Auto mode) Sets the amount of time it takes for the gain to return to its original level when the signal drops below the threshold level.
12.9 Steinberg DeEsser 339 by the "s" sound, hence the name de-esser. Close proximity microphone placement and equalizing can lead to situations where the overall sound is just right, but there is a problem with sibilant (hissing) sounds. The following parameters are available: Reduction Controls the intensity of the de-essing effect.
340 Audio Plug-ins 12.10 Steinberg Mono Delay This is a mono delay effect using freely specified delay time settings. The following parameters are available: Delay Sets the base note value for the delay from 0.1 to 5000 milliseconds. Feedback Sets the number of repeats for the delay. Filter Lo This filter affects the feedback loop of the effect signal and allows you to roll off low frequencies from 10Hz up to 800Hz. The button below the knob activates/deactivates the filter.
12.11 Steinberg Distortion 341 12.11 Steinberg Distortion Distortion will add crunch to your tracks. The following parameters are available: Boost Increases the distortion amount. Feedback Feeds part of the output signal back to the effect input, increasing the distortion effect. Tone Lets you select a frequency range to which to apply the distortion effect. Spatial Changes the distortion characteristics of the left and right channel, thus creating a stereo effect.
342 Audio Plug-ins 12.12 Steinberg Dual Filter The DualFilter effect filters out certain frequencies while allowing others to pass through. The following parameters are available: Position Sets the filter cutoff frequency. If you set this to a negative value, DualFilter will act as a low-pass filter. Positive values cause DualFilter to act as a high-pass filter. Resonance Sets the sound characteristic of the filter. With higher values, a ringing sound is heard.
12.13 Steinberg Envelope Shaper 343 12.13 Steinberg Envelope Shaper EnvelopeShaper can be used to cut or boost the gain of the Attack and Release phase of audio material. You can either use the knobs or drag the breakpoints in the graphical display to change parameter values. Be careful with levels when boosting the gain and if needed reduce the Output level to avoid clipping. The following parameters are available: Attack (-20 to 20dB) Changes the gain of the Attack phase of the signal.
344 Audio Plug-ins 12.14 Steinberg Expander Expander reduces the output level in relation to the input level for signals below the set threshold. This is useful when you want to enhance the dynamic range or reduce the noise in quiet passages. You can either use the knobs or drag the breakpoints in the graphical display to change the Threshold and the Ratio parameter values. The following parameters are available: Threshold (-60 to 0dB) Determines the level where expansion "kicks in".
12.15 Steinberg Gate 345 mode operates more on peak levels. As a general guideline, RMS mode works better on material with few transients such as vocals, and Peak mode better for percussive material, with a lot of transient peaks. Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.15 Steinberg Gate Gating, or noise gating, silences audio signals below a set threshold level. As soon as the signal level exceeds the set threshold, the gate opens to let the signal through.
346 Audio Plug-ins Center (50Hz to 20000Hz) When the Side-Chain button is activated, this sets the center frequency of the filter. Q-Factor (0.01 to 10000) When the Side-Chain button is activated, this sets the resonance of the filter. Monitor button Allows you to monitor the filtered signal. Attack (0.1 to 1000ms) Sets the time it takes for the gate to open after being triggered.
12.16 Steinberg GEQ-10/GEQ-30 347 12.16 Steinberg GEQ-10/GEQ-30 (GEQ-10 pictured) These two graphic equalizers are identical in every respect except for the number of available frequency bands (10 and 30 respectively). Each band can be cut or boosted by up to 12dB, allowing for fine control of the frequency response. In addition there are several preset modes available which can add "color" to the sound of the GEQ-10/GEQ-30.
348 Audio Plug-ins About the filter modes On the pop-up menu in the lower right corner there are several different EQ modes available. These modes can add color or character to the equalized output in various ways. Here follow brief descriptions of the filter modes: True Response – serial filters with accurate frequency response. Digi Standard – resonance of last band depends on sample rate. Variable Q – parallel filters where the resonance depends on the amount of gain. Mu- sical sounding.
12.18 Steinberg Maximizer 349 Input (-24 to +24dB) Allows you to adjust the input gain. Auto (-24 to +6dB) Determines the maximum output level. Release (0.1 to 1000ms or Auto mode) Sets the amount of time it takes for the gain to return to its original level. If the Auto button is activated, Limiter will automatically find an optimal release setting that varies depending on the audio material. Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.
350 Audio Plug-ins Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.19 Steinberg Mix 6 to 2 Mix6To2 lets you quickly mix down your surround mix format to stereo. You can control the levels of up to six surround channels and decide for each channel up to which level it will be included in the resulting mix. Mix6To2 does not simulate a surround mix or add any psycho-acoustical artifacts to the resulting output – it is simply a mixer.
12.20 Steinberg Mix 8 to 2 351 12.20 Steinberg Mix 8 to 2 Mix8To2 lets you quickly mix down your surround mix format to stereo. You can control the levels of up to eight surround channels and decide for each channel up to which level it will be included in the resulting mix. Mix8To2 does not simulate a surround mix or add any psycho-acoustical artifacts to the resulting output – it is simply a mixer. The plug-in should be placed in one of the post-fader insert effect slots for the output bus.
352 Audio Plug-ins 12.21 Steinberg Mono to Stereo This effect will turn a mono signal into a "pseudo-stereo" signal. The plug-in must be inserted on a stereo track playing a mono file. The following parameters are available: Width Controls the width or depth of the stereo enhancement. Turn clockwise to increase the enhancement. Delay Increases the amount of differences between the left and right channels to further increase the stereo effect.
12.22 Steinberg Multiband Compressor 353 12.22 Steinberg Multiband Compressor The MultibandCompressor allows a signal to be split into a maximum of four frequency bands, each with its own freely adjustable compressor characteristic. The signal is processed on the basis of the settings that you have made in the Frequency Band and Compressor sections. You can specify the level, bandwidth and compressor characteristics for each band by using the various controls.
354 Audio Plug-ins Bypassing frequency bands Each frequency band can be by-passed using the "B" button in each compressor section. Soloing frequency bands A frequency band can be soloed using the "S" button in each compressor section. Only one band can be soloed at a time. Using the Compressor section By moving breakpoints or using the corresponding knobs, you can specify the Threshold and Ratio. The first breakpoint from which the line deviates from the straight diagonal will be the threshold point.
12.23 Steinberg Octaver 355 12.23 Steinberg Octaver This plug-in can generate two additional voices that track the pitch of the input signal one octave and two octaves below the original pitch, respectively. Octaver is best used with monophonic signals. The following parameters are available: Direct Adjusts the mix of the original signal and the generated voice(s). A value of 0 means only the generated and transposed signal is heard. By raising this value, more of the original signal is heard.
356 Audio Plug-ins The following parameters are available: Delay Sets the base note value for the delay from 0.1 to 5000 milliseconds. Feedback Sets the number of repeats for the delay. Filter Lo This filter affects the feedback loop and allows you to roll off low frequencies up to 800Hz. The button below the knob activates/deactivates the filter. Filter Hi This filter affects the feedback loop and allows you to roll off high frequencies from 20kHz down to 1.2kHz.
12.25 Steinberg PostFilter 357 12.25 Steinberg PostFilter The PostFilter is the filter plug-in to use if you are working on a post-production mix, but of course you can use it in music production, too, as an alternative to complex EQ configurations. It allows quick and easy filtering of unwanted frequencies, creating room for the important sounds in your mix. The PostFilter plug-in combines a low-cut filter, a notch filter and a high-cut filter.
358 Audio Plug-ins Notch Freq Sets the frequency of the notch filter. Notch Gain Allows you to adjust the gain of the selected frequency. Use positive values to identify the frequencies that you want to filter out. Notch Gain Invert button Inverts the gain value of the notch filter. Use this button to filter out unwanted noise. While looking for the frequency to omit, it sometimes helps to boost it in the first place (set notch filter to positive gain).
12.26 Steinberg Roomworks 359 12.26 Steinberg Roomworks RoomWorks is a highly adjustable reverb plug-in for creating realistic room ambiance and reverb effects in stereo and surround formats. The CPU usage is adjustable to fit the needs of any system. From short room reflections to cavern-sized reverb, this plug-in delivers high quality reverberation. The following parameters are available: Input Filters Lo Freq Determines the frequency at which the low-shelving filter takes effect.
360 Audio Plug-ins Size Alters the delay times of early reflections to simulate larger or smaller spaces. Diffusion Affects the character of the reverb tail. Higher values lead to more diffusion and a smoother sound, while lower values lead to a clearer sound. Width Controls the width of the stereo image. 100% gives you full stereo reverb. At 0%, the reverb is all in mono. Variation button Pressing this button generates a new version of the same reverb program using altered reflection patterns.
12.26 Steinberg Roomworks 361 Attack The envelope settings in RoomWorks control how the reverb will follow the dynamics of the input signal in a fashion similar to a noise gate or downward expander. Attack determines how long it takes for the reverb to reach full volume after a signal peak (in milliseconds). This is similar to a pre-delay but the reverb is ramping up instead of starting all at once.
362 Audio Plug-ins 12.27 Steinberg Roomworks SE RoomWorks SE is a "lite" version of the RoomWorks plug-in. This plug-in delivers high quality reverberation, but has fewer parameters and is less demanding of CPU than the full version. The following parameters are available: Pre-Delay Controls how much time passes before the reverb is applied. This allows you to simulate larger spaces by increasing the time it takes for first reflections to reach the listener.
12.28 Stereo Delay 363 12.28 Stereo Delay StereoDelay has two independent delay lines with freely specified delay time settings. The following parameters are available: Delay 1 & 2 Using these controls you specify the base note value for the delay time in milliseconds. Sync button The buttons below the Delay knobs are used to turn tempo sync on or off for the respective delay. Feedback 1 & 2 The Feedback controls set the number of repeats for each delay.
364 Audio Plug-ins 12.29 Steinberg Stereo Enhancer This plug-in will expand the stereo width of (stereo) audio material. It cannot be used with mono files. The following parameters are available: Width Controls the width of the stereo enhancement (i.e. the apparent stereo separation). Turn clockwise to increase the enhancement. Delay Controls the delay differences between left and right channels to further increase the stereo effect.
12.30 Steinberg Studio Chorus 365 12.30 Steinberg Studio Chorus The StudioChorus plug-in is a two stage chorus effect which adds short delays to the signal and pitch modulates the delayed signals to produce a "doubling" effect. The two separate stages of chorus modulation are completely independent and are processed serially (cascaded). For each stage the following parameters are available: Rate This is where you specify the base note value which may be set freely with the Rate knob.
366 Audio Plug-ins Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.31 Steinberg Studio EQ This is a high-quality 4-band parametric stereo equalizer with two fully parametric mid-range bands. The low and high bands can act as either shelving filters (three types), or Parameter Description as a Peak (band-pass) or Cut (low-pass/high-pass) filter. Making settings 1.
12.31 Steinberg Studio EQ 367 [Alt]/[Option] Keep the [Alt]/[Option] key pressed and drag the mouse to change the frequency of the corresponding EQ band. [Ctrl]/[Command] Keep the [Ctrl]/[Command] key pressed and drag the mouse to change the gain value of the corresponding EQ band. The following parameters are available: Band 1 Gain (-20 to +24dB) Sets the amount of cut/boost for the low band. Band 1 Inv button Inverts the gain value of the filter. Use this button to filter out unwanted noise.
368 Audio Plug-ins Band 4 Gain (-20 to +24dB) Sets the amount of cut/boost for the high band. Band 4 Freq (200 to 20000Hz) Sets the frequency of the high band. Band 4 Q-Factor (0.5 to 10) Controls the width or resonance of the high band. Band 4 Filter mode For the high band, you can select between three types of shelving filters, a Peak, and a Cut filter. When Cut mode is selected, the Gain parameter is fixed. -Shelf I adds resonance in the opposite gain direction slightly below the set frequency.
12.33 UV22HR Dithering 369 For testing signal processing methods. For educational purposes. The TestGenerator is based on a waveform generator which can generate a number of basic waveforms such as sine and saw as well as various types of noise. Furthermore, you can set the frequency and amplitude of the generated signal. As soon as you add the TestGenerator as an effect on an audio track and activate it, a signal is generated.
370 Audio Plug-ins Bit Resolution The UV22HR supports dithering to multiple resolutions: 8, 16, 20 or 24 bits You select the desired resolution by clicking the corresponding button. Hi Try this first, it is the most "all-round" setting. Lo This applies a lower level of dither noise. Auto black When this is activated, the dither noise is gated (muted) during silent passages in the material. Note that dithering should always be applied post-fader on an output bus.
12.35 Steinberg VST Dynamics 371 In combination with the Output setting, this parameter determines the compression amount. The higher the input gain setting and the lower the output gain setting, the more compression is applied. Output (-48 to 24dB) Sets the output gain. Attack (0.1 to 100ms) Determines how fast the compressor responds. If the attack time is long, more of the early part of the signal (attack) passes through unprocessed.
372 Audio Plug-ins The Gate section Gating, or noise gating, is a method of dynamic processing that silences audio signals below a set threshold level. As soon as the signal level exceeds the set threshold, the gate opens to let the signal through. The Gate trigger input can also be filtered using an internal side-chain. The following parameters are available: Threshold (-60 to 0dB) Determines the level where Gate is activated.
12.35 Steinberg VST Dynamics 373 Threshold (-60 to 0dB) Determines the level where the compressor "kicks in". Signal levels above the set threshold are affected, but signal levels below are not processed. Ratio (1:1 to 8:1) Determines the amount of gain reduction applied to signals above the set threshold. A ratio of 3:1 means that for every 3dB the input level increases, the output level increases by only 1dB.
374 Audio Plug-ins The Module Configuration button Using the Module Configuration button in the bottom right corner of the plug-in panel, you can set the signal flow order for the three processors. Changing the order of the processors can produce different results, and the available options allow you to quickly compare what works best for a given situation. Simply click the Module Configuration button to change to a different configuration.
12.37 Leveler 375 Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.37 Leveler Leveler is useful for correcting an imbalance or adjusting levels between stereo channels, or for mixing down to mono. The parameters are as follows: Volume Left, Right (-48dB to +12dB) This governs how much of the signal is included in the left and/or right channel of the output bus. Stereo Link (OFF or LINKED) When set to LINKED, Volume Right delivers the same gain as that set for Volume Left.
376 Audio Plug-ins Leveler Multi takes multi-channel input and applies a fader equally to all channels. The parameter is as follows: Volume (-48dB to 12dB) This governs how much gain is applied to the signal before the output bus. Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.39 Peak Master Peak master is a basic plug-in that minimizes peaks in your Audio File, allowing a louder mix without clipping.
12.40 Silence 377 12.40 Silence The Silence built-in plug-in provides a simple way of injecting a precise period of silence into the start or end of an Audio File. The parameters are as follows: Start Use the slider to add from 0 to 60,000ms of silence to the start of the file End Use the slider to add from 0 to 60,000ms of silence to the end of the file. Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets Silence Generator 12.
378 Audio Plug-ins Related topics Audio Plug-ins Master Section How do I add effects? Presets 12.42 Internal Dithering Internal Dithering is a built-in plug-in that provides a simple way of adding a small amount of noise to the rendered signal to improve the apparent signal-to-noise ratio of the output. For an introduction to the concept of dithering, see Dithering.
Chapter 13 Utilities WaveLab's Utilities menu contains a number of useful tools accessible from all Workspaces. This page contains links to information about them. CD/DVD utilities: Import Audio CD Burn Audio CD from DDP Image Data CD/DVD Batch utilities: Batch Conversion Batch Renaming Utility windows: Log window Background task monitor Timecode 13.1 Import Audio CD This dialog allows you to import one or more tracks from an audio CD.
380 Utilities From this list you can select the tracks (or define the start and end points of a single track). The "Rename tracks" menu option automatically adds the track order number to the name in a range of different styles. You can select a track name for text editing by double-clicking. In "Output", accept the default Folder location or choose another. Clicking Audio File Format dialog for changing details of the Audio File's format.
13.3 Data CD/DVD 381 Blu-ray Disk writer connected, for example, you will not be able to write a Blu-ray Disk you may have prepared. However, you can still save it as an ISO Disk image and transfer it for remote burning. To prepare a data disk, follow these steps: Adding files Add files and folders to the disk by: dragging them directly from your computer's file browser. dragging a file from any Workspace by either dragging it by its title bar tab or using the document button .
382 Utilities enter the name that you want your disk to display when it is mounted as a data volume. to write your disk, click write CD/DVD icon. This opens the write CD/DVD dialog which enables you to burn your data disk to an ISO image or to an optical disk using a connected CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disk writer. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon.
13.6 Log window 383 The Batch Renaming dialog offers a powerful set of facilities to convert, remove, format, replace and insert text into existing names. You can use simple options to match text, or you can build your own regular expressions, as required. Batch renaming can be useful with large projects for example, so you can apply easily identifiable names to all referenced files, markers and Clips belonging to the project.
384 Utilities You can access this window via Workspace > Shared tool windows > Log. It is available in the Control Window, Audio File Workspace and Audio Montage Workspace. You can also access this window in the Control Window via Utilities > Log. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Control Window Specific tool windows Scripting 13.
13.8 Timecode 385 The most common use for this window is for working with video or film. You can use it to display the playback head position of the current Audio File in a SMPTE format to frame level resolution (i.e. hours:minutes:seconds:frames). You can also use it to display CD frames (minutes:seconds:frames) when you are authoring CD or DVDs. You can access this window by choosing Workspace > Shared tool windows > Timecode.
386 Utilities WaveLab 7
Chapter 14 How do I... The following is a list of common tasks and brief instructions on how to achieve them using WaveLab. ... import songs from an audio CD into WaveLab? ... use VST Plug-ins? ... edit an existing Audio File? ... compile and edit several Audio Files on multiple tracks? ... apply processing to an Audio File? ... convert an Audio File into another audio format? ... play back with real-time effects? ... record new Audio File? ... convert the sample rate of an Audio File? ...
388 How do I... The VST plug-ins are described individually in Audio Plug-ins. 14.3 ...
14.6 ... convert an Audio File into another audio format? 389 You can also use the "Process in place" rendering function in the Master Section. This applies effects to a file (or a selection) using the built in and/or third party VST plug-ins. You can use the unlimited "Undo" function to reverse any bad editing decisions. See Render Wave window for more information. Power users may wish to use the facilities available in the Batch Processor Workspace.
390 How do I... From within the Audio File Workspace choose Process > Convert Sample Rate... You can also convert the sample rate in real-time using a resampler plug-in such as Crystal Resampler, which is included in WaveLab. See Crystal Resampler. See Render Wave window for more information on applying VST effects. Power users may wish to use the facilities available in the Batch Processor Workspace. This allows complex processing to be applied to a list of Audio Files.
Chapter 15 Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A ADPCM AES31 AIFF files Apple Lossless files ALAW files Aliasing Amplitude ASIO Attack Audio montage B Bandwidth Bit depth Blu-ray Disk C CD Frame CD Pre-emphasis CD Text Chorus Clip Clipping Compression Cross fade D DAW DC Offset DDP files Decibel (dB) Dithering DVD-A E ECMAScript Ensoniq Paris files Equalization
392 Glossary F FFT Focused Clip Formant FTP Site G No entries available. H Headroom I ISO image ISRC J No entries available. K No entries available.
393 O Ogg Vorbis files OSQ files P PAL/SECAM Pan Peak level Plug-ins Pre-roll and Post-roll Preset system Processor cores Q Quantization R Raw PCM files Red Book CD-DA Regular Expressions RF64 files RMS S Sample rate SMPTE timecode Sound Designer II files Spectrogram Sun/Java files T Tempo Text/Excel files U ULAW files UPC/EAN V No entries available.
394 Glossary X No entries available. Y No entries available. Z Zero crossing 15.1 ADPCM ADPCM – Microsoft/Dialogic is an audio file format commonly used for games and telephony applications that offers a lower bit rate than linear PCM and thus requires less storage space/bandwidth. The file extension is .vox or .adpcm Glossary contents 15.2 AES31 The AES31 Standard is a non-proprietary audio file format developed by the Audio Engineering Society Standards Committee (AESSC).
15.4 Apple Lossless files 395 Typical filename extensions are .aiff, .aif, .aifc, .snd. Glossary contents 15.4 Apple Lossless files ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital audio. Also known as Apple Lossless and Apple Lossless Encoder (ALE), ALAC audio data is stored within the MP4 container and uses the mathematical technique of linear prediction to achieve a file size reduction between 60% to 40%, depending on the audio content.
396 Glossary Glossary contents 15.9 Attack Attack is the initial part of the sound. An attack is said to be fast when the maximum amplitude is reached very quickly (with percussive sounds from drums, guitar or piano, for example). Orchestral strings generally have slow attack, where the volume increases more slowly. Glossary contents 15.10 Audio montage An Audio Montage is a compilation of audio Clips composited together.
15.14 CD Frame 397 The name "Blu-ray" derives from the 405 nanometer blue-violet laser used to read the disk (standard DVDs use a 650nm red laser, CDs use 780nm). The shorter wavelength allows for five or 10 times more data storage than a DVD although a recent development has pushed the storage capacity to 500GB on a single disc by using 20 layers. In addition to optical improvements, Blu-ray Disks feature improvements in data encoding that further increase their capacity.
398 Glossary 15.17 Chorus Chorus is an time-based effect produced by combining the original signal with a number of moving delays and pitch shifted copies, often panned across a stereo field. Steinberg Chorus Glossary contents 15.18 Clip Clip A Clip contains a reference to a source Audio File on your hard disk, as well as start and end positions in the file (allowing Clips to play back smaller sections of their source Audio Files). Any number of Clips can reference the same source file.
15.21 Cross fade 399 Steinberg Compressor Steinberg Multiband Compressor Steinberg Vintage Compressor Glossary contents 15.21 Cross fade Cross fade is mixing two audio signals by fading one out at the same time as fading the other in. Glossary contents 15.22 DAW DAW A Digital Audio Workstation is a software and hardware system dedicated to recording, editing and playing back digital audio tracks on hard disk.
400 Glossary and so protects both the audio data and its associated metadata. The DDP image is a data file, and when burned to optical media, is a data disc. As such, it has the full measure of CIRC error-correction to allow error-free copying of files on your computer and across networks (including the internet). It’s also why you often need a DVD-R to contain a DDP image of a CD, because the data redundancy is more robust in data form than in streaming audio form.
15.28 ECMAScript 401 rate and channel combinations can be used on a single disk. DVD-Audio Glossary contents 15.28 ECMAScript WaveLab's scripting language is based on the ECMAScript scripting language, as defined in "Standard ECMA-262 - ECMAScript Language Specification". Microsoft's JScript, Netscape's JavaScript and Adobe's Actionscript are also based on the freely-available ECMAScript standard. ECMAScript Reference Glossary contents 15.
402 Glossary Glossary contents 15.33 Formant Formants are the distinguishing frequency components of a sound. Glossary contents 15.34 FTP Site File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over a TCP/IP-based network such as the Internet. An FTP site may require user-based password authentication or it may allow anonymous user access. Podcasts are published to FTP sites. Publish menu FTP site Glossary contents 15.
15.38 Loops 403 Country Code (2 ASCII characters) Registrant Code (typically, a record label - 3 ASCII characters or digits) Recording Year (2 digits or ASCII characters) Serial Number (unique number identifying the recording - 5 digits or ASCII characters). The groups of characters are often presented with hyphens to make them easier to read, but hyphens are not part of the code. Authoring CDs and DVDs Burn Audio CD from DDP Image UPC/EAN Import Audio CD Glossary contents 15.
404 Glossary Glossary contents 15.41 Media Catalog Number The MCN (Media Catalog Number) is a 13-digit code for an optical disk intended for commercial distribution - there is one such code per disk. See UPC/EAN. You can read the Media Catalog Number (EAN) from a CD by choosing Utilities > Import Audio CD tracks... > Functions > CD Info.... Import Audio CD Glossary contents 15.
15.46 MP2 files 405 15.46 MP2 files MP2 (MPEG-1, audio layer 2) is an audio encoding format defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3, alongside MPEG-1 and MPEG-3, using lossy audio compression. The three audio "layers" (MP1, MP2 and MP3) are different perceptual encoding techniques. MP2 remains an important format for broadcast audio and is part of DAB digital radio and DVB digital television standards. It is also the audio format used in HDV camcorders. MP2 files are sometimes referred to "Musicam files".
406 Glossary Steinberg Limiter Steinberg Maximizer Glossary contents 15.50 NTSC NTSC (from the US "National Television System Committee") is the analog television system used in North America, parts of South America, Japan and some Pacific territories. NTSC has 29.97 interlaced frames of video per second - a field refresh frequency of 59.94Hz (actually 60Hz/1.001). Each frame consists of a total of 525 scanlines, 486 of which are visible.
15.54 Pan 407 in broadcast television systems in large parts of the world. NTSC is a another analog system used in North America and parts of South America. In digital applications PAL video mode is usually referred to as "576i" (i.e. a vertical resolution of 576 scan lines, interlaced), in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines".
408 Glossary Audio Plug-ins Glossary contents 15.57 Pre-roll and Post-roll Pre-roll is the time elapsed before an event occurs; Post-roll is the time after an event. Pre-roll can give a brief context if you are auditioning a Clip. Glossary contents 15.58 Preset system WaveLab provides a sophisticated Preset system, which allows you to store a range of individual or bulk settings and recall them for later use. Presets Glossary contents 15.
15.61 Raw PCM files 409 15.61 Raw PCM files Raw PCM files is an Audio File format that includes no information about bit resolution or sample rate. If you open a file in this format, WaveLab prompts you to specify the bit resolution and sample rate. If this is not done correctly, the file will not play back as intended. Note that the "$$$" file type is WaveLab’s own temporary file format. If you experience a computer crash you can try opening any stray "$$$" files on your hard disk(s) to restore them.
410 Glossary About Regular Expressions Glossary contents 15.64 RF64 files RF64 is an audio file format. You have an option (set in Options > Audio File editing preferences > Files tab) to support the RF64 file format. If this is activated, the standard Wave file format switches automatically to the RF64 file format as soon as the file size exceeds 2GB, without any performance loss or interruption.
15.68 Sound Designer II files 411 Time Format dialog Glossary contents 15.68 Sound Designer II files Sound Designer II is an audio file format used by Digidesign applications (such as Pro Tools). 8-, 16- or 24-bit resolutions are supported. The filename extension is .sd2 Glossary contents 15.69 Spectrogram A Spectrogram is an image that shows how the spectral density of a signal varies over time. The Spectrum display Glossary contents 15.
412 Glossary Audio File Format Dialog Glossary contents 15.73 ULAW files ULAW is an audio encoding and compression technique supported by Windows and Web phones, using 8-bit resolution. The U.S. telephone system uses U-law encoding for digitization. Typical file extensions are .ulaw, .vox Glossary contents 15.74 UPC/EAN UPC/EAN code - the "Universal Product Code/European Article Number", a catalog number for an item (such as a CD) intended for commercial distribution.
15.76 WAV64 files 413 15.76 WAV64 files Wave 64 is an audio file format developed by Sony that is very similar to the standard Wave format, but with an important difference. Standard Wave files are limited in size to 2GB (stereo), but Wave 64 allows virtually any length (actually the limit is 512GB). The file extension is .w64. WAV files Glossary contents 15.77 Waveform A Waveform is the visual representation of wave-like phenomena (such as sound or light).
414 Glossary If you cut out a portion of a wave and paste it in somewhere else, chances are there will be a discontinuity where the two waves are joined. This discontinuity will result in a transient in the wave when it is played back, which is perceived as a "click" or "bump" in the sound. To avoid this you need to make any editing splices at a zero crossing point.
