Steinberg WaveLab Pro 11 is a professional all-in-one solution for mastering, restoring, and prepping audio for distribution to the world, as well as forensic extraction, sound design, and recording for podcasts, audiobooks, interviews, and more. New additions to version 11 include multichannel interleaved file support up to 22.2 surround, groups and lanes for multitrack/stem workflows, fast and effective one-knob functions for cleaning and enhancing audio, fresh plug-ins, and bountiful podcast features from WaveLab Cast.
A new analyzer sporting a comprehensive range of meters, and loaded with 27 modules, the ability to replace audio in video, and a built-in audio restoration suite make WaveLab Pro 11 equally effective for mastering engineers, audio archivists, and pro-level content creators. Its advanced and precise editing, easy-to-use modules, and fast workflow make WaveLab Pro 11 the perfect final step for polishing audio before its release. It is compatible with macOS and Windows systems, and it provides improved utilization of multicore CPUs for more efficient processing of audio montages.
Note:
WaveLab Pro requires a Steinberg USB e-Licenser (included) for authorization and operation of the software.
New to Pro 11
Extended Multichannel Interleaved Support
WaveLab Pro 11 introduces extended support for multichannel interleaved files and for the first time, multichannel interleaved editing in the Audio Editor. Supporting up to 22.2 surround layouts of WAV files (including Ambisonics files for pre-authoring purposes), you can open, edit, and save multichannel files like any other set of mono/stereo files. With comprehensive controls to make precise editing easier, you can work on selected channels with external editors. The detailed new selection options include highly flexible frequency-domain selection in the Spectrum Editor. In the Audio Montage, you can automatically split multichannel audio files into mono or stereo clusters for faster file import, allowing you to use plug-ins to process channel clusters independently of one another.
Track Groups for Multitrack and Stem Workflows
Track Groups comprise audio tracks, which are routed to a group bus before the signal continues through the Montage output and Master sections. This provides an additional summing stage with effect plug-ins, gain, and pan controls. Track Groups are especially useful for stem mastering and alongside Track Lanes, they are another way to apply a common track group effect chain to stem mastering projects.
Track Groups can be created by selecting tracks from a corresponding Group Channel. Using the Track Group Editor, tracks and track groups can be named/renamed, have colors assigned, and moved by drag and drop.
Track Lanes for Multitrack and Stem Workflows
The Track Lanes feature can divide an audio track into eight sub lanes, each lane hosting audio clips, a facility especially useful when working with mix stems inside the Montage. As well as clip effects, track effects can be applied to all clips, providing a final processing chain for all stems on the track. Track Lanes can also be used for sound design tasks like assembling, editing, and processing sound effects from layered clips. Each Track Lane features comprehensive controls for selection, solo/mute, fold/unfold, converting lanes to tracks, merging tracks into lanes, and more.
Parameter Automation with Clip Envelopes
You can now use clip envelopes to automate the parameters of VST3 plug-ins. Along with the volume, pan, and effect wet/dry parameters, clip envelopes are managed from the new Automation Envelope panel in the Inspector window. Envelopes can be assigned to parameters by right-clicking on the parameter, single envelope points can be text edited, envelopes can be turned on/off, and their visibility can be easily managed individually or globally.
SuperVision Analyzer
As well as the WaveLab analysis meter, WaveLab Pro 11 features a new professional analysis tool, SuperVision. SuperVision is a fully customizable, multi-meter audio analyzer, with 27 different modules that can be applied in up to nine module slots for level, spectral, phase, and waveform analysis. It allows the creation of a fully customized layout for a supremely accurate visual picture of any audio project. Multiple instances can be opened to monitor the audio signal at different stages.
Advanced Sound Manipulation
A comprehensive array of eight new VST3 plug-ins have been added to WaveLab Pro 11, delivering even greater possibilities for the most surgically precise sound shaping. The tools include a professional DeReverb, LIN Pro dithering, Frequency 2 8-band EQ, Squasher 3-band compressor, Imager, Quadrafuzz v2 multiband distortion, MixConvert V6 surround-to-stereo monitoring module, and VST AmbiDecoder.
Replacing Audio in Video
In WaveLab Pro 11, part or all the audio of a video file can be replaced with the audio from another track. The original audio can also be refined and replaced with an edited version without changing the video quality. Importing, editing, and rendering are straightforward to use.
Podcast Host Service Support
If you create podcasts or content for social media, WaveLab Pro is an ideal solution to ensure your video has the best sound. WaveLab Pro 11 comes with the same podcast features as the dedicated WaveLab Cast. Features include the direct upload of podcasts to five popular podcast hosts: Buzzsprout, Castro, PodBean, SoundCloud, and Spreaker.
Audio Ducking
WaveLab 11 includes simplified ducking, allowing one audio track to control the volume of a different one. The ducking controls on an Audio Montage track allow one or more modulator tracks to control the ducked track. Straightforward parameters include Voice Threshold (triggers the Ducker), Music Attenuation (the level reduction on the ducked track), fade out/in times/profiles, and a time setting for how long the volume is reduced on the ducked track.
Clean and Enhance Sections
The Track Inspector adds two new sections with specialized channel strips for real-time audio processing, radically simplifying the enhancement of audio tracks with straightforward one-knob controls. Alongside the familiar Insert Effects, Gain, and Pan sections, the new Clean and Enhance sections provide quick and easy ways of cleaning up and improving the quality of audio recordings.
Audio Montage Performance Boost
WaveLab Pro now supports multicore processing for audio montages, increasing the processing performance of montages with multiple tracks, clips, and effects. This is especially noticeable when working with multiple tracks and/or overlapping clips—for instance when mastering stems. It is now also possible to suspend the processing of track plug-ins if their input signal is detected as silent, conserving CPU resources.
Workflow, Performance, and Editing Improvements
WaveLab Pro 11 comes with a new start-up assistant, a revised external FX plug-in window, VST3 plug-in improvements, batch processor enhancements, custom names for audio ports, multichannel file playback on stereo speakers, and much more.
A World of Applications
Premium Audio Editor
WaveLab Pro offers a wide variety of specialized editing functions. Both destructive and nondestructive editing are available, allowing you to choose which is more appropriate for your project. High-resolution spectral editing allows you to precisely target certain frequencies and see unwanted noises, so you can neatly remove them.
Mid-side processing allows you to make creative and effective enhancements to stereo tracks. You can edit the just the left, just the right, or both channels of a stereo track at once.
Error detection and correction can be carried out within WaveLab, and all editing functions are carried out via a highly intuitive user interface with tools arranged in a very clear and meaningful way.
Restore Recordings
WaveLab's high-end audio restoration tools are well-known for their ability to improve old and imperfect recordings. Tools include the RestoRig restoration plug-in suite featuring DeClicker, DeNoiser, DeBuzzer, DePopper, and DeCrackler to remove a wide array of unwanted noise and artifacts. Comprehensive spectral editing capabilities let you precisely target and work on very specific parts of the audio spectrum, while WaveLab's huge array of plug-ins, ability to host third-party plug-ins, and improved integration of external effects devices help make improving audio quality fast and intuitive.
Sound Design
WaveLab is a fantastic tool for sound designers not only because of its industry-leading audio analysis, editing, and restoration functions, but because its advanced processing tools make it great for capturing samples and creating loops. These tools ensure that the audio files are in peak condition before importing them into a sampler or soft synth. Sounds can either be recorded manually or automatically, by enabling WaveLab's sound/silence detection parameters. WaveLab can also automatically split a number of multisamples recorded in one go, to create individual files. There are many parameters available for splitting, editing, naming, looping, and much more, letting you create samples quickly and easily, without the mechanics of sample creation getting in the way of your creativity.
Recording
WaveLab supports both stereo and multitrack recording, making it the ideal tool for a wide range of recording situations, including the studio and on location.
- Perfect for Podcasts: Nowadays a major part of audio broadcasting, WaveLab has a dedicated podcast workspace for recording, organizing episodes, and preparing them for publishing.
- Archiving Analog Recordings: Many institutions use WaveLab to digitize historic recordings for future generations to enjoy. A high-profile example is the British Library.
- Reading Aloud: Publishers and organizations use WaveLab to produce audio versions of many popular books, as well as talking newspapers for the sight impaired.
- Location Recording: WaveLab’s advanced tools mean that audio recorded on location can quickly and easily be made ready for any use within one software package.
- Interviews: WaveLab allows interviews to be recorded and then prepared for broadcast or online publishing immediately, without having to use a different system or software.
Processing and Metering
Advanced Audio Analysis
A comprehensive range of meters—peak level, loudness errors, phase, spectrum, and bits—ensure that you always get an incredibly accurate view of the sound on which you are working. But WaveLab Pro goes much further than showing you what's happening. It features an exceptionally accurate spectrogram view, Wavelet display, and 3D frequency analysis including global analysis tools to see deeply into sound features, helping you to extract and process important information. Law enforcement agencies and accident investigators use WaveLab to forensically analyze audio recordings, highlighting how it benefits a remarkably wide range of users.
Industry-Leading Batch Processing
WaveLab Pro has an entire workspace dedicated to batch processing, which can be a huge time-saver for audio professionals. With a vast array of plug-in effect and high-quality processors to select from, you can create many different plug-in collections and render many files in different formats in one go.
You can also create watch folders with predefined processes, formats, plug-ins, or any other kind of audio file handling. And without even having to open WaveLab, you can drag files into a watch folder on your desktop to process them automatically in one go.
WaveLab's advanced batch processing is the best way to create professional sound libraries, knowing that all files will have the same characteristics like level, format, pitch, length, and much more.
Metadata Editing
WaveLab Pro features very comprehensive and flexible metadata editing capabilities, which can be utilized regardless of use case, source material, or end result. A full range of metadata codes including ID3 v1 (for MP3 files) and v2 conform with iTunes standards, lyrics, and pictures, and can be added to the metadata of each file. WaveLab comes with metadata presets that can be edited and used to create your own presets. These can then be saved and applied to audio files using batch processing to save time.