Steinberg Wavelab Le 7 Manual

							Getting Started 
						

							Getting Started texts by Martin Ley.
Revision and quality control: Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer, Heike Schilling.
Release date: January 14, 2010
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part 
of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement 
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica-
tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission 
by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. 
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Macintosh, Mac OS and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2010.
All rights reserved. 
						

							Table of contents 
						

							4
5Introduction
6Welcome!
6About the program versions
6Conventions
8About the Help system
8How you can reach us
9Installation and setup
10Minimum requirements
10Copy protection
11Install WaveLab LE
11Register your software
11Set up the application preferences
12Quick tour
13Introduction
13WaveLab LE user interface (GUI)
14Master Section
15Editing
16Audio Montage
17Podcast 
						

							1
Introduction 
						

							6
Introduction
Welcome!
Thank you for your interest in WaveLab LE. 
This OEM version is an entry-level product which includes 
a range of functions that help you to enter the world of 
professional audio editing. WaveLab LE not only allows 
you to edit CD-quality audio material on two tracks, but 
also enhances your recordings with more than ten plug-
ins, including several effects taken from our professional 
music software, Cubase. In addition, there is the inte-
grated Podcast function which allows you to share music 
and voice recordings in the internet. 
Alongside this OEM version, there are also the full ver-
sions WaveLab Essential 7 and WaveLab 7, which pro-
vide further capabilities.
Please visit www.steinberg.net for more information on 
how to work with the WaveLab product family.
Your Steinberg Team.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two different operating sys-
tems (platforms); Windows and Mac OS X.
Where features and settings are specific to only one of 
the platforms, Windows or Mac OS X, this is clearly 
stated. In other words:
Unless specifically stated, all descriptions and proce-
dures in the documentation are valid for both Windows 
and Mac OS X. The screenshots are taken from the Win-
dows version of WaveLab LE.
Conventions
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in WaveLab LE use 
modifier keys, some of which are different depending on 
the operating system. For example, the default key com-
mand for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Com-
mand]-[Z] under Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in 
this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier 
key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]
For example:
•[Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Win-
dows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”. 
•[Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or 
[Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
Please note that this manual often refers to “right-
clicking”, for example to open context menus. If you are 
using a Macintosh computer with a single-button mouse, 
hold down [Ctrl] and click. 
						

							7
Introduction
Selecting menu options
We use the following convention when describing menu 
selections:
•“Select 
Help > Steinberg on the internet > Steinberg 
Home page
” means:
1.Click the Help menu item in the menu bar.
2.Open the “Steinberg on the internet” submenu.
3.Select the “Steinberg Home page” option. 
						

							8
Introduction
About the Help system
The document you are reading now contains everything 
you need to know to get started quickly with WaveLab LE. 
It does not contain any in-depth descriptions of features 
or workflows. These are covered in the comprehensive 
and context-sensitive Help system.
You can find help in the following ways:
•Hover the pointer over an icon or field to see a Tooltip; 
there is often a More link at the bottom of a Tooltip win-
dow, which you can click to get more detailed information.
•To see context-sensitive help on a particular button, 
field or other part of WaveLab LE’s user interface, click 
the What is this? button, press Shift-F1, or select Help > 
What is this?. 
The cursor will change to a question mark. Click on an item in the user in-
terface to display relevant information in WaveLab LE’s Help.
•To see context-sensitive help about the currently active 
window, press F1 or select Help > Help about active 
window.
•To access WaveLab LE’s full online help, select Help > 
Contents, Help > Index or Help > Search.
The help is fully searchable, and you can save (bookmark) help topics 
that you refer to often.
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in WaveLab LE you will find items for 
getting additional information and help:
•Under 
Help > Steinberg on the internet, you can find 
links to various Steinberg web sites. Selecting one will au-
tomatically launch your browser application and open the 
appropriate page.
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently 
asked questions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires 
that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and 
a working Internet connection.
What is this? button 
						

							2
Installation and setup 
						

							10
Installation and setup
Minimum requirements
To use WaveLab LE, your computer must meet the follow-
ing minimum requirements:
Windows
• Windows XP (SP3) Windows Vista (SP1) or Windows 7
•2 GHz CPU 
•1024 MB RAM
• Windows MME- or ASIO-compatible audio hardware
• CD or DVD-ROM drive
• 200 MB of free hard disk space
• Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
Macintosh
• Mac OS X 10.5.5
•Mac Intel CPU
•1024 MB RAM
• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
• CD or DVD-ROM drive
• 200 MB of free hard disk space
• Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
General notes on how to set up your system
•RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of 
available RAM and the number of windows and files that 
you can have open at any one time. 
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as 
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
•Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines 
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. 
Audio files are relatively large. Approximately 10.6 MB of hard disk space 
is used up for every minute of 16-bit stereo/44.1 kHz audio recorded. 
For 24-bit/48 kHz audio or higher, the audio files are of course a lot big-
ger. Therefore we recommend a hard disk with enough space for your re-
cordings.
•Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines how quickly WaveLab LE can perform read/write 
operations (how quickly it can process audio files).
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually ex-
pressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better”.
•Wheel mouse – Although a mouse without a wheel will 
work fine with WaveLab LE, we recommend that you use 
a wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. 
About audio cards
Please note:
•For serious work with WaveLab LE, we recommend that 
you use a card with MME or ASIO drivers (Windows) or 
CoreAudio drivers (Mac).
•If you use WaveLab LE to edit files for use with other 
hardware (such as a hard disk based recording system 
using its own audio converters) any loss in audio quality 
that you experience when listening to 
the files in WaveLab 
LE (due to deficiencies in the audio card) will not 
affect 
the final audio files in any way. 
•For professional use (mastering, etc.) we recommend 
that you use a card capable of playing back files in 24-bit 
resolution.
Copy protection
WaveLab LE uses a software-based copy protection 
scheme. The so-called Soft-eLicenser is installed and ac-
tivated automatically as part of the installation process of 
WaveLab LE. 
After installation, WaveLab LE is ready for use – you do 
not need to do anything else.
!On the Steinberg web site you can find detailed in-
formation on what to consider when setting up a 
computer system dedicated to audio work. From the 
Steinberg Home page, go to the DAW Components 
link on the Support page.