Steinberg's popular mastering program Wavelab Pro is now entering its 11th round and enables every user to achieve their goals even faster, more intuitively and professionally. Even in 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. No matter whether you want to master 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
But what can users look forward to in addition to the already large feature list in the current version?
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. In addition, there are highly flexible new selection tools, such as a frequency-based selection in the Spectrum Editor. To speed up file import, you can automatically split multichannel audio files into mono or stereo clusters in the Audio Montage 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 the Audio Montage output and the Master Channel. This allows for additional sum processing with effect plug-ins, gain and pan controls. Track groups are especially useful for stem mastering and, besides subtracks, are another way to 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 via drag & drop.
This new feature lets you divide an audio track into eight subtracks, each containing different audio clips. 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. You can layer clips and apply different effects to them. Each sub-track is equipped with various controls (e.g. solo/mute or collapse/expand), 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, switch envelopes on and off, and easily set them to be visible
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 of 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, giving you even more options for editing audio files with surgical precision. Here is a short overview:
To help you achieve your goals even faster, Steinberg has equipped Wavelab Pro 11 with a host of efficient new features and workflow enhancements.
In WaveLab 11, you can replace the entire audio of a video file or individual parts of it with audio from another track. Optimize the original audio track with WaveLab's tools and replace it with a new version without affecting the video quality. Importing, editing and rendering is all very straightforward. (We recommend that you complete the 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 modulator track to trigger the ducking. Parameters include Voice
There are now two new sections in the Track Inspector with specialized Channel Strip for real-time audio processing. Use a single control 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 provide an easy way to remove noise and improve the quality of your audio recordings.
Several new features in WaveLab 11 improve the handling of VST 2 and VST 3 plug-ins. Each instance now has its own independent undo/redo history. In addition, you can quickly switch between two parameter sets to conveniently compare different settings. Parameter settings can be saved as a user-defined default preset, and in the plug-in header of the master section you can now set the effect signal to bypass or solo.
WaveLab Pro now supports multicore processing for audio assembly, which significantly improves performance. You will notice this especially when working with multiple tracks and/or overlapping clips, for example when stemming 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.