Steinberg Wavelab Le 8 Manual

							Recording
Recording Dialog
141
• In an existing audio file is inserted at the edit cursor position (if 
none exists, a new one is created).
• In an existing audio montage is inserted at the edit cursor position 
(if none exists, a new one is created).
Meter Display
Level/Spectrum
Specifies which meter to display.
Settings
Opens the LeveL/Pan Meter Settings dialog, where you can 
customize the meter settings.
Reset
Resets the peak values.
Monitor
If this option is activated, the audio input is also sent to the output 
ports (not available if Windows MME drivers is used).
Mix with playback
If this option is activated and the same audio ports are selected for 
monitoring and for playback (in the VST Audio Connections 
dialog), the signals are mixed. If this is not activated, the monitoring 
signal has priority.
This allows you to toggle between the auditioning of the recorded 
signal and the playback signal, and to have full control over the 
monitor outputs.
Next marker name
Select a marker name from the list of recently used marker names. 
						

							Recording
Recording Dialog
142
Meter Display
In the lower part of the Recording dialog, you find a meter display. This 
is useful for checking the input level and the frequency spectrum of the 
input signal.
The meters in the Recording dialog are miniature versions of the Level, 
Spectrum in the meter windows. Activate the meters, by activating the 
Monitor checkbox.
To reset the meters, click the Reset button.
Level Meter
In the Level meter, horizontal bars show the peak level (outer bars) and 
average loudness (VU, inner bars) of each channel. Values are also 
shown numerically. When clicking the Settings button, the Level/Pan 
Meter Settings dialog opens.
Spectrum Meter
The Spectrum Meter shows a bar diagram, providing a continuous 
graphical representation of the frequency spectrum. From the Settings 
pop-up menu you can choose whether to restrict to high audio levels, or 
to include medium or low audio levels.
Disk Capacity Indicator
This indicator at the bottom of the Recording dialog indicates the 
approximate amount of available disk space on the hard disk specified 
in the File to create section, or the hard disk that you have selected for 
temporary files.
NOTE
When there is less than 30 seconds of available hard disk space left, the 
disk capacity indication is displayed in red. 
						

							 143
Master Section
The Master Section is the final block in the signal path before the audio 
is sent to the audio hardware, to an audio file, or to the audio meters. 
This is where you adjust master levels, and add effects.
The settings and effects in the Master Section are taken into account 
in the following cases:
• When playing back an audio file in the wave window.
• When playing back an audio montage. 
• When using the Render function.
By default, the Master Section is active. You can turn it off for each file 
individually by deactivating the Play through Master Section button at 
the bottom of the wave/montage window.
To turn the Master Section off globally, deactivate the Playback goes 
through Master Section button at the bottom right of the Master 
Section. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
144
Master Section Window
In this window you can apply effect plug-ins, adjust the master level, and 
render the audio file or audio montage.
To open the Master Section window, in any workspace, select Global 
> Master Section.
The Master Section consists of the Effects pane, and the Master Level 
pane. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
145
Signal Path
The two panes in the Master Section window correspond to the Master 
Section’s processing blocks: Effects and Master Level.
The signal passes through these blocks from top to bottom, as shown 
in the following figure:
In the Master Section, the signal goes through all plug-ins, even when 
some plug-ins are soloed. However, the sound is not affected by this 
because the muted plug-ins are bypassed from the playback process 
stream.
When removing the bypass, the process signal is immediately available 
without latency. This allows you to quickly switch between different 
solo/mute settings.
Effects Pane
This pane in the Master Section allows you to add up to 3 effect 
plug-ins in series, and manage them.
In the Audio Files workspace or the Audio Montage workspace, select 
Workspace > Shared tool windows > Master Section.
Rearrange
Rearranges the Master Section according to the sample rate and 
channel configuration of the active audio file. The internal bus of 
the Master Section and any active plug-ins are configured 
accordingly. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
146
This operation is performed automatically before playback or 
rendering. It is sometimes helpful to manually rearrange the Master 
Section, because some plug-ins do not accept a mono or stereo 
signal as input, or a given sample rate. In that case, clicking the 
button informs you about any problems, before playback or 
rendering.
This operation has no effect if playback is already in progress or if 
there is no active audio file.
Show one more slot
Makes one more slot visible.
Hide bottom slot
Hides the bottom slot.
Fold/unfold section
Expands or collapses the Effects pane.
Bypass during playback
Bypasses the plug-in during playback and optionally for a 
rendering operation. The signal is still processed by the plug-in, 
but is not injected in the audible stream.
Solo (bypass)
Bypasses all plug-ins except this one during playback.
Effect plug-in slot
Slot where you can insert an effect plug-in.
Presets menu
Lets you store and restore preset settings. The Presets menu 
offers additional options to save and load default banks and 
effects.
Plug-in visibility
Activates/deactivates the plug-in window.
Switch effect on/off
Excludes the plug-in from both playback and rendering, and 
rearranges the bus without this effect. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
147
Supported Effect Plug-in Formats
WaveLab LE supports different plug-in standards. WaveLab 
LE-specific plug-ins, VST
 2 plug-ins and VST 3 plug-ins.
WaveLab LE-specific Plug-ins
Some specific plug-ins are included in WaveLab LE, for example, the 
Crystal Resampler plug-in.
VST Plug-ins
Steinberg’s VST plug-in format is supported by a lot of programs and 
plug-in manufacturers. You find a number of VST plug-ins included with 
WaveLab LE. Other plug-ins can be purchased separately from 
Steinberg or other manufacturers, or in some cases downloaded from 
the internet.
NOTE
If you have Cubase installed on your computer, you can use the effects 
that are included with Cubase in WaveLab LE. See the Cubase 
documentation for details.
Setting Up Effects
The number of effects available depends on which plug-ins you have 
installed.
•To select an effect plug-in for a slot, click the slot, and select an 
effect from the pop-up menu. When you have selected an effect, it 
is automatically activated, and its control panel opens.
• To turn off an effect, click its Switch effect on/off button. To 
activate the effect, click again.
• To remove an effect plug-in, click the slot, and select None.
• To hide the control panel of an effect, click its Plug-in visibility 
button.
• To solo an effect, click the Solo button to the left of the effect slot. 
This allows you to check the sound of that effect only. You can also 
bypass effects in their control panels.
• To change the order of the slots, and thus the order in which the 
signal passes through the effects, click a slot, and drag it to a new 
position. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
148
Master Section Plug-in Window
In the plug-in windows of the Master Section, you can make settings for 
a Master Section effect plug-in.
In the Master Section’s Effects pane, click an effect’s Plug-in visibility 
button to open the corresponding plug-in window for the effect.
Effect Plug-in Presets
With WaveLab LE comes a number of factory presets for the included 
effect plug-ins that you can select and use as is, or use as a starting 
point for your own settings.
Third-party plug-ins can provide their own factory presets. To access 
the presets for an effect, click the Preset button in its control panel 
window. The available functions depend on the type of plug-in.
Presets for VST 3 Plug-ins
Applying and saving presets for WaveLab LE specific plug-ins works 
exactly as with any other preset, apart from the fact that there are no 
preset tabs or menu items as in dialogs. Instead, clicking the Preset 
button opens a separate Preset dialog.
The options in this dialog are the same as for dialogs with Preset tabs.
The file format is compatible with Cubase.
Presets for VST 2 Plug-ins
VST 2 plug-ins have their own preset handling. When you click the 
Preset button for this type of effect, a pop-up menu with the following 
options opens:
Load/Save Bank
Loads and saves complete sets of presets. The file format is 
compatible with Cubase.
Load/Save Default Bank
Load the default set of presets or saves the current set of presets 
as the default bank. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
149
Load/Save Effect
Loads or saves a preset. This is also compatible with Cubase.
Edit name of current program
Allows you to define a name for the preset.
Preset List
Allows you to select one of the currently loaded presets.
Master Level Pane
This pane in the Master Section allows you to control the master level of 
the active audio file.
Faders
The faders in the Master Level pane govern the final output level. Use 
the faders to optimize the level of the signal that is sent to the audio 
hardware.
NOTE
It is important to avoid clipping, especially when mastering. Clipping is 
indicated by the clip indicators of the Master Section.
Meters
The Master Section meters show the signal level of the signal.
Use these to get an overview of the signal levels. The numeric fields above 
the faders show the peak levels for each channel. The peak indicators turn 
red whenever the signal clips. If this happens, you should lower the faders, 
reset the clip indicators by clicking the Reset peaks button, or clicking the 
values, and play back the section again until no clipping occurs. 
						

							Master Section
Master Section Window
150
Mono Button
The Mono button sums two channels to mono. The output level is 
automatically reduced by -6
 dB, to avoid clipping. The Mono button is 
useful for checking mono compatibility of stereo mixes, etc.
If the Mono button is activated, the red indicator for the Master Level 
pane is lit, even if the master level is not adjusted. This helps you avoid 
accidentally leaving the Mono button activated.
Unlink Button
Determines whether the faders should be individually adjustable or 
ganged.
If Unlink is deactivated, moving one fader also moves the other by the 
same amount. Activating Unlink allows you to correct improper stereo 
balancing by adjusting the channels’ levels individually.
• If you offset the faders with Unlink activated and then deactivate 
Unlink again, you can adjust the overall level without changing the 
level offset between the channels.
• Fader offsets are not preserved at the end of the range of 
movement or once the mouse button is released.
Master Section Tools
The tools and options at the bottom pane of the Master Section window 
allow you to make various settings before rendering the file, make 
bypass settings, and decide whether the playback goes through the 
Master Section or not.
Bypass all effects
Bypasses any kind of processing in the effect panel during 
playback, and optionally when rendering.
Reset all
Removes all the active effects from the effects slots and sets the 
master output to 0
 dB.
Setting menu
Opens the Master Section settings menu.