Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual
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WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 181 The dialog contains the following options: Item Description Desired Loudness The loudness you desire to achieve. Positive and negative values can be set. Be aware that specifying high positive values might not be good prac- tice, as this could require a gain which is beyond what the limiter can properly handle so distortion could occur. A good tip is to use “Statis- tics” (see below) after specifying a loudness, which will tell you how much the gain needs to be raised and if peak limiting needs to be ap- plied. Light peak limiting is acceptable, but if heavy limiting is necessary this will probably render a result that will not accurately match the de- sired loudness and precision and might degrade the audio quality. In such cases a warning will be shown after applying the process, allow- ing you to undo it. Sliding interval (keep maximum) If this option is not checked, the global average loudness of the selec- tion (or the whole file) is used as a loudness reference (RMS). If checked, a “sliding interval” is used, meaning that the maximum loud- ness value found in the audio selection is retained, and used as a refer- ence. If you have a file where the overall loudness is more or less even, leave this option unchecked. If you have a file with a high dynamic range, Sliding interval is preferable. Compensate for ear’s frequency sensitivityThe human ear is less sensitive to low and high frequencies than to mid- range frequencies (as shown in the famous “Fletcher-Munson” curve). Moreover, the degree of this phenomenon depends on the overall loud- ness (the lower the loudness, the more sensitive the ear is to the fre- quency difference). WaveLab takes into account the frequency contents of the file. E.g. if it contains much bass, you’ll get a lower RMS value if you use the com- pensation option (since low frequencies contribute less to the per- ceived loudness), and a higher value if mid-range frequencies are prominent. If you want to normalize two files so that they sound equally loud, you should specify both equal “Desired loudness” values and equal “Compensation” values. Catch loudness from audio selection This will set the “Desired loudness” value to the average loudness found in the current audio file (or selection). Peak Limiter – Max peak levelThis specifies the maximum peak level of the resulting audio. The lower this is set, the less loudness you can achieve. Peak Limiter – SoftnessThis parameter affects the way the Peak Master operates. A high set- ting will maximize the perceived loudness effect but can in some cases result in a slight harshness of the sound. Adjust this parameter to opti- mize the balance between sound quality and the desired effect. Remove DC offset If any DC offset exists in the file, this will affect the loudness computa- tion. Therefore it is recommended that you keep this option activated. See “Eliminate DC Offset” on page 195 for a description of DC offset.
WAVELAB 9 – 182 Off-line processing Attempts/Analysis – Desired precisionIf the Desired loudness requires peak limiting, this will also reduce the loudness to some degree. This can’t be computed in advance and be automatically applied to the gain change, because the limiting is a com- plex process. Instead, several simulation passes are performed to find the best possible gain. This option lets you define the desired precision of the result. Attempts/Analysis – Maximum number of passesWaveLab will perform as many analysis passes as are needed to match the desired precision. Use this option to specify the maximum number of passes to be performed. Attempts/Analysis – Authorized peak compressionAs too much compression will degrade the audio quality, you can here specify a limit to the applied compression. The value can be set be- tween -1 and -20 dB. If you actually need maximum allowed compres- sion (-20 dB) to achieve the desired loudness, it might be better to reconsider, and instead lower the Desired loudness value, as this will almost certainly render better results. Warn if unmatchedIf checked, this will warn you if the normalizing process does not meet the desired loudness/precision. This option is not available in the Batch processor. Statistics This opens a window which shows you information about the file to be processed. It will show any DC offset, the current loudness, the current peak level, the required gain to achieve the desired loudness, and an in- dication about whether or not limiting is required. Loudness distributionThis opens the Loudness distribution dialog where you can see how frequently a given loudness occurs in an audio file. For instance if the peak in the display is at -12 dB, this would be the most frequent loud- ness found in the file (this is different from average loudness). Use the “?” button in the dialog for more information. Item Description
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 183 Pan Normalizer The Pan Normalizer can ensure that both channels of a stereo file have the same level or loudness. You need to have a stereo selection in a ste- reo file to apply this process. •This process requires two passes (analysis and rendering). •The Pan Normalizer is also available in the Batch processor. The dialog contains the following options: Item Description Peak level The channel with the lowest peak level will be raised to match the peak level of the other channel. Loudness (RMS) This is the most useful mode. The loudness of both channels is first an- alyzed, then the gain of each channel is adjusted to get matching loud- ness levels on both channels. The resulting loudness will be the maximum loudness found during the analysis (in either of the channels). No clipping can be introduced using the Pan Normalizer. Remove DC offset If any DC offset exists in the file, this will affect the loudness computa- tion. Therefore it is recommended that you keep this activated. See “Eliminate DC Offset” on page 195 for a description of DC offset. Analyse channel difference…This will show you the current Loudness ratio between the left/right channels. The result will differ according to the selected “Peak/Loud- ness” mode. Apply Applies the processing.
WAVELAB 9 – 184 Off-line processing Dynamics This dialog allows you to tailor the dynamics of the audio, to create effects like compression, expansion, limiting and noise gating. Since dynamic processing of audio is a big subject, we will not be able to describe all the possibilities in this short text. Please study the included presets which im- plement examples of the above-mentioned functions and experiment with the controls to get a feeling for what they do. The Time Response controls The settings in this section apply regardless of whether you use the graphic editing possibilities or not. These controls govern how a variation in sound level in the material affects the amount of processing. The Attack parameter, for example, is related to the beginning of new sounds in the material (for example each new “hit” in a drum recording). Raising the Attack time means that more of the beginning of each sound (the attack) will pass through unprocessed. We recommend that you try the Auto feature first, and if that doesn’t give the desired result, use the individual controls instead. To find out exactly what each control in the dialog does, click the question mark icon in the dialog.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 185 The Normalize controls These are used to normalize the sound before and/or after processing. Please note the following: • The effect of all dynamic processing depends on the amplitude (level) of the mate- rial to be processed. Therefore, if you process a number of files with slightly different levels (for example using presets or batch processing) the effect of the processing will be different from file to file. To avoid this, activate “Normalize before”. • On the other hand if you are experimenting with different settings, this means that after activating “Normalize before” you may have to re-adjust the Threshold level. See “Level Normalizer” on page 178 for more information on normalizing. • One reason for setting the “Normalize before” value to less than 0 dB (full level) is if you are expanding, which might introduce clipping if the signal is too strong to start with. Again, click the question mark icon in the dialog for details. The Dynamics controls When the Graphic Editing switch is deactivated, the dynamics processor works very much like a simple compressor. Use the Threshold and Ratio settings to set the amount of compression (click the question mark icon in the dialog for details). About graphic editing When the Graphic Editing check box is activated, you can specify any in- put to output function. This allows you to “draw” limiters, noise gates, ex- panders, etc. and combinations of all these. See the presets for examples. • The curve shows input level along the horizontal axis and output level along the vertical axis. With a straight line diagonally, each input level is represented by the same output level (the signal is not processed at all). No processing
WAVELAB 9 – 186 Off-line processing • If the curve starts at 45° and then tilts downwards from any point, signals above this point will have a lower output level than input level. In other words, a gain (compression) reduction is performed. Compression • If the curve is tilted upwards instead, the output level will be higher than the input level, which is referred to as expanding. Expansion • If the curve is horizontally flat from some point, the output level will be the same regardless of input level. This is referred to as limiting. Limiting
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 187 • If the curve starts out horizontally flat and then rises upwards, signals in the flat area will be eliminated completely. This is called (noise) gating. Gating Setting up the curve •You can drag any breakpoint in the curve to any position, using the left mouse button. •When you move breakpoints closer to the left side or the bottom of the graph, you will note that the number of positions is more limited. This is due to the nature of digital audio, where, for lower levels, a smaller num- ber of “bits” is used to represent the data. •You can add a new breakpoint by clicking anywhere on the curve with the left mouse button. •You can delete a breakpoint by clicking on it with the right mouse button. •The Reset button restores the curve to a straight line with only one break- point. •The “Add point at level selection” button adds a breakpoint at the level in- dicated by the current level selection (see “Level selections” on page 98 and the example below).
WAVELAB 9 – 188 Off-line processing An example of using “Add point at level selection” The “Add point at level selection” function can be used to create a noise gate with a threshold at a certain level. Let’s say you have a recording of narration, with noise between the phrases that you’d like to remove: 1.Make a regular selection in a section that only contains background noise. The longer this selection, the more accurate the result will be. 2.Select “Extend to peaks” from the Select submenu on the Edit menu. The selection height now represents the level of the background noise. 3.Open the Dynamics dialog and set it up for graphic editing. 4.Remove all breakpoints from the graph. 5.Click on the “Add point at level selection” button. 6.Add a second breakpoint, “manually”, to the left of the one that just ap- peared. 7.Drag this second breakpoint so that it appears directly below the other one, at the bottom of the graph. See the noise gate example above. 8.Adjust the Attack, Hold and Release settings as desired. 9.Go back to the Wave window and select the section to be gated. 10.Open the Dynamics window and click the Process button. 11.Listen to the result, and if necessary, Undo, adjust the settings and Pro- cess again. Expert settings The Dynamics dialog has a special tab devoted to “expert” settings. Click the question mark icon in the respective dialog for details.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 189 Level envelope This dialog allows you to create a volume envelope which can be applied to a selected range or a whole file. The dialog consists of a waveform view in the middle, with an envelope curve (initially a straight line) running through it. A vertical ruler displays the level change in dB, and the horizontal ruler displays the time line. You can boost the level up to 6 dB and decrease it down to silence. Basic operation procedure By adding points to the envelope curve you can create an envelope curve that will change the volume of the material over time. 1.Double click on the envelope curve to add a point. A point will be added where you click. 2.If you click on the point it will be selected (red color) and by click-drag- ging you can move it in any direction. The curve changes accordingly in the waveform display. •When you point the mouse in the display (or move a point), the current position and level change is shown continuously in the field above the dis- play. 3.You can keep adding as many points as you like to the curve. You cannot move a point past a another point in the horizontal direction. 4.You can select several points using [Shift] and move them together. By clicking on the envelope curve itself (not on a point) you can move the whole curve up or down.
WAVELAB 9 – 190 Off-line processing Envelope functions in the dialog The functions are selectable in three ways (the same options in all cases): • From the Functions menu. • By clicking the icons above the display. • By right-clicking in the display. The following options are available in the dialog: Option Description Deselect all points This will deselect all selected points. Delete selected points Deletes all selected points. Reset selected points Resets all selected points to 0dB. Reset whole envelope This removes all added points. Flip Vertical This will flip the current envelope vertically (in the level axis). Flip Horizontal This will flip the current envelope horizontally (in the time axis). Smooth envelope This allows you to create spline curves, for smoother level changes.