Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

WAVELAB
Metering 8 – 161
• If you are monitoring real-time audio (playback or input), the maximum balance dif-
ference values (peak and loudness) for each channel are displayed numerically to 
the left and right of the meter bars.
Resetting the meters
You can reset the level and pan meters by clicking the Reset icon, or by 
selecting Reset from the Options pop-up menu. This instantly resets all 
meters and numerical indicators, including the Maximum Peak and RMS 
values and the number of signal clips....

WAVELAB
8 – 162 Metering
2.Adjust the settings as desired.
By using the Apply button, you can check the results of your changes without closing the 
dialog. The following settings are available:
Setting Description
Global colors Click these buttons to select colors for the meter background, marks 
(scale units) and grid lines.
Global range This is where you specify the low and high end of the displayed level range. 
Typically, you may want to create a preset showing the full level range, and 
other...

WAVELAB
Metering 8 – 163
3.If you want to store your settings for later use (or assign them to a preset), 
select “Save as…” from the pop-up menu at the bottom of the dialog, and 
specify a name for the preset in the file dialog that appears.
4.To make the settings instantly available for selection in the Meter window, 
use the “Assign to preset button” submenu on the pop-up menu.
5.When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog.
Clicking Cancel closes the dialog and discards any changes you have...

WAVELAB
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Maximizers being one of the main reasons). The trouble with this practice 
is that it renders average loudness levels that are very close to the maxi-
mum peak levels which drastically reduces the available “headroom” or 
dynamic range.
The difference between the average loudness and the peak level is often 
around 11 to 15 dB in a dynamic high quality recording. This means that if 
you strive to squeeze the maximum “loudness” out of such a recording 
when mixing or mastering,...

WAVELAB
Metering 8 – 165
Selecting meter presets
If you have assigned your settings to the Preset buttons in the Settings di-
alog, you can quickly switch between different level scales and display 
modes, by clicking one of the Preset icons [1]-[5], or selecting the desired 
preset from the Options pop-up menu.
Phase Scope
The Phase Scope is only relevant when monitoring  stereo audio material.
The Phase Scope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship be-
tween the two channels, in the following...

WAVELAB
8 – 166 Metering
• With a mono signal, the meter would show +1, indicating that both channels are 
perfectly in phase.
• Similarly, –1 indicates that the two channels are the same, but one is inverted.
• Generally, for a “good” mix, the meter should show a value between 0 and +1.
Unlike the main Phase “coil” meter, the Phase Correlation meter is also 
available in “Analyse Selection” mode, showing an average value for the 
selected range.
Making settings
To make settings for the Phase Scope,...

WAVELAB
Metering 8 – 167
Spectrum analyser (FFT)
The Spectrum Analyser uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) to display a 
continuous frequency graph, allowing for very precise and detailed real-
time frequency analysis.
• The current frequency spectrum will be shown as a red graph (by default).
• Spectrum “peaks” (recent maximum values) will be shown as a purple graph. All 
colors can be adjusted in the Settings dialog as described below.
• By clicking the camera icon, you can take a snapshot of the current...

WAVELAB
8 – 168 Metering
Making settings
You can adjust the behavior and display of the meters as desired, and as-
sign up to five sets of Spectrum Analysis settings to the Preset buttons, 
for instant access. Open the Settings dialog by selecting “Settings” from 
the Options pop-up menu or clicking the “tool” icon.
The dialog has two tabs (see below).
•The Process tab contains parameters for the actual analysis:
Setting Description
Analysis
block sizeThe higher this value, the higher the accuracy in the...

WAVELAB
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•The Display tab contains settings for how the spectrum graph should be 
shown:
Note that you can apply your settings without closing the dialog, by click-
ing the Apply button.
If you want to store your settings for later use (or assign them to a Preset 
button), select “Save as…” from the pop-up menu in the lower part of the 
dialog, and specify a name for the preset in the file dialog that appears. 
Now, you can choose to make the settings instantly available for selection 
in...

WAVELAB
8 – 170 Metering
Selecting Spectrum Analyser presets
If you have assigned your settings to the Preset buttons in the Settings di-
alog, you can quickly switch between different level scales and display 
modes, by clicking one of the Preset icons [1]-[5], or selecting the desired 
preset from the Options pop-up menu.
Exporting FFT data as ASCII text
When using the Spectrum Analyser in off-line mode (“Monitor Edit-cursor 
Position” or “Analyse Selection” mode) you can export the displayed FFT 
data...