Steinberg's popular mastering program Wavelab Pro is now entering its 11th round, enabling every user to get where they want to go even faster, more intuitively and professionally. Even in the previous versions, high-end plug-ins/effects, tools and workflows could be relied upon, which is why the software is used all over the world. Whether you want to master for digital media formats, CDs, vinyl etc. or edit audio files, combine different tracks into albums, use real-time effects and offline processors or integrate various hardware - Wavelab Pro simply does it all.
But what can users look forward to in the current version besides the already large feature list?
For the first time, WaveLab 11 Pro offers the possibility to edit interleaved multichannel files in the Audio Editor. WAV files in up to 22.2 surround - including ambisonics files for pre-authoring - as well as mono or stereo files can be opened, edited and saved. Various controls make editing files even easier and more precise, while alternatively a selected channel can be edited with an external editor. Add highly flexible new selection tools, such as frequency-based selection in the Spectrum Editor. And to speed up file import, Audio Montage lets you automatically split multichannel audio files into mono or stereo clusters for faster file import. You can also use plug-ins and edit channel clusters independently.
Audio tracks are combined into track groups that are routed to a group bus before the signal is output via audio assembly output and the master channel. This provides the option of additional sum processing with effect plug-ins, gain and pan controls. Track groups are particularly useful for stem mastering and, along with subtracks, are another way to and apply an effects chain to groups in stem mastering projects.
These groups can also be created by selecting tracks from a corresponding Groupchannel. With the corresponding editor, you can name/rename tracks as well as track groups, assign colors to them or move them via drag & drop.
This new feature lets you divide an audio track into eight subtracks, each containing different audio clips. This is especially useful when working with mix stems within an audio montage. In addition to clip effects, you can also apply track effects and set up an effects chain that is applied to all stems on that track. Sub-tracks are also great for sound design by layering eg. Clips can be layered and processed with different effects. Each sub-track is equipped with a wide variety of controls (e.g. solo/mute or fold/unfold), while you can also convert it into a regular track or merge selected tracks into sub-tracks.
In WaveLab Pro 11, clip envelopes can now be used to automate parameters of VST 3 plug-ins. They can be managed together with volume, pan and effect wet/dry parameters via the new Automation Envelope panel in the Insprector window. Assigning parameters to an envelope is as simple as right-clicking. You can add text to individual envelope points, turn envelopes on and off, and easily set whether they should be visible or hidden - individually or globally.
Also new is the professional analysis tool SuperVision. It is a customizable audio analyzer with multiple displays and 27 different modules. Up to 9 module slots are available for level, spectrum, phase and waveform analysis, so you can create your very own layout with measurement instruments. This gives you an extremely accurate visual picture of your audio files. You can even open multiple instances and monitor the audio signal in different phases.
Various new VST 3 effect plug-ins are also on board, providing you with even more options for editing audio files with surgical precision. Here is a brief overview:
To help you get there even faster, Steinberg has packed Wavelab Pro 11 with a host of efficient new features and workflow enhancements.
In WaveLab 11, you can replace all or part of the audio in a video file with audio from another track. Or optimize the original audio track with WaveLab's tools and replace it with a new version without compromising video quality. Importing, editing and rendering is all straightforward. (We recommend that you complete video editing in a dedicated video application before editing the audio in WaveLab).
WaveLab 11 includes the same podcast features as WaveLab Cast. You can upload your podcast directly to all popular podcast hosts: Buzzsprout, Castro, PodBean, SoundCloud and Spreaker. More information about this feature can be found on the WaveLab Cast product page.
WaveLab 11 includes a user-friendly audio ducking feature. This allows you to control the volume of one audio track with another track. In the ducking settings of an audio montage track, you can set up one or more modulator tracks to trigger ducking. Parameters include Voice
There are now two new sections in the Track Inspector with specialized Channel Strip for real-time audio editing. Use a single slider to tweak your audio tracks at lightning speed. In addition to the Insepctor tools for insert effects, gain, and pan, the new Clean Up and Refine sections give you an easy way to remove noise from your audio and improve quality.
Several new features in WaveLab 11 improve the handling of VST 2 and VST 3 plug-ins. For example, each instance now has its own independent undo/redo history. You can also quickly switch between two parameter sets to conveniently compare different settings. Parameter settings can be saved as a user-defined default preset, and you can now set the effect signal to bypass or solo in the plug-in header of the master section.
WaveLab Pro now supports multicore processing for audio assembly, which significantly improves performance. You'll notice this especially when working with multiple tracks and/or overlapping clips, such as in stem mastering.
Additionally, you can now interrupt the processing of track plug-ins when their input signal is muted. This saves CPU resources.
We've redesigned the Startup Assistant and divided it into two sections for recently used files and templates. You can filter them by file type and enter a name in an additional search field to find the project you're looking for even faster.
We've added level meters for input and output gain to the external effects plug-in window, making it even easier to avoid clipping. You can also add an image of your external effects device. This gives you an even better overview of your setup.