Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

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The Dithering pane
The Dithering pane allows you to add dithering to the signal before it’s sent 
to the audio hardware or to a file on disk. You can choose between Wave-
Lab’s internal dithering algorithm, Apogee’s renowned UV22HR algorithm 
or any external dithering plug-in of your choice. First, some theory:
What is dithering?
Dithering is a method for reducing quantization errors in digital record-
ings. In the case of WaveLab, dithering is applied when reducing the...

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When should I apply dithering?
The basic rule-of-thumb is that you should dither when moving to a lower 
bit resolution. One obvious instance of this is when converting an audio 
file to a lower resolution (e.g. preparing a 24-bit file for mastering to CD, 
which uses 16-bit format).
However, even if you’re playing back or rendering a 16-bit file to the same 
resolution, you need to dither if you’re using any real-time processing 
whatsoever in WaveLab! The reason for this...

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Making settings
When dithering, there are no hard and fast rules for how to set up the pa-
rameters – this largely depends on the type of material. We recommend 
that you experiment and let your ears be the final judge.
The available parameters are different for the internal algorithm and the 
UV22 algorithms:
Internal dithering
Internal dithering must be used when rendering multichannel Montages, 
see “Dithering and multichannel Montages ” on page 526.
Parameter...

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UV22 Dithering
The UV22 is a dithering plug-in based on an algorithm developed by Apo-
gee. 
The UV22 is mainly included for backwards compatability, so that Wave-
Lab Master Section presets saved in earlier WaveLab versions can be 
loaded successsfully.
UV22HR Dithering
The UV22HR is an advanced version of Apogee's renowned UV22 dither-
ing algorithm, capable of dithering to 8, 16, 20 or 24 bits.
Option Description
Normal Try this first, it is the most “all-round”...

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Adding other plug-ins to the Dithering pane
If you have purchased another dithering plug-in that you prefer, you can 
use this instead of the internal or UV22/UV22HR dithering. It’s also pos-
sible to insert some other type of plug-in in the Dithering pane – it will be 
applied after the Master level faders (possible useful plug-ins would be 
maximizers, limiters, etc.).
Please remember that the meters in the Master Section monitor the signal 
before the Dithering pane! To...

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Master Section presets
You can turn all settings currently made in the Master Section into a pre-
set. This includes which processors were used, what settings were made 
for each one of them, and dithering options.
Creating presets
To create a new preset, proceed as follows:
1.Set up the Master Section as you want it.
This includes selecting Processors, making settings, and setting dithering options.
2.Click the Presets button in the Effects pane.
3.Type in a name for the...

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Loading a preset
To load a preset, select it in the list to the left, and click on one of the Load 
buttons, depending on the desired load method:
• The Replace method replaces all settings in the Master Section with the setting in 
the preset.
• The Mask method replaces only those slots in the Master Section that are actually 
used in the preset.
• The Append method fills the unused slots in the Master Section with the settings 
in the preset.
If there are not enough free...

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3.Make sure Catch mode is active.
4.Press the first combination of keys that you want to use.
You can include modifiers ([Shift], [Ctrl], [Alt], etc.) if you like. There is also a setting that 
makes the program distinguish between two modifiers with the same label, on each side of 
the space bar.
5.Proceed with the following key(s).
6.Disable Catch mode.
This is just a safety measure so that you don’t accidentally erase or add to your current key 
sequence, when pressing...

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Rendering
While the Master Section can perform all processing in real time during 
playback, it’s also possible to save the audio output to a file on disk. This 
is done with the Render function.
There are several uses for Rendering:
• Mix down a complete Audio Montage to an audio file.
This can be a goal in itself, but can also be necessary if your Montage uses e.g. more ef-
fects than the system can handle in real time. By Rendering it to a file first, and creating a 
CD...

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Calling up the Render dialog and filling out the options
Click the Render button to call up the following dialog:
The Render dialog for Wave windows (for information on Rendering Audio Montages, see 
“Mixing down – The Render function” on page 527).
Here is what the options mean:
Range
This is where you specify what part of the wave to render.
Option Description
Selection Process only the portion that is currently selected in the Main view.
Whole file Process the entire...