Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual
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WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 201 Pitch Correction Pitch Correction is a function which allows you to detect, and to change, the pitch of a sound, with or without affecting its length. Amount of shift This allows you to specify the amount of pitch change in semitones and/or cents. Pitch detection WaveLab can analyze an audio selection and detect the pitch of the audio. Click the “Find current pitch of audio selection” button to perform the de- tection. The found pitch is displayed below the button. You also have the option to automatically compute the required pitch shift, based on the currently detected pitch and the pitch specified in the value field below the “According to the current pitch, etc.” button. When the button is clicked the “Amount of Shift” parameters are automatically adjusted to the computed pitch shift.
WAVELAB 9 – 202 Off-line processing Length compensation This allows you to set how the length of the selection should be affected by the operation. • A setting of 100 means that the length will be the same after the operation. • A setting of 0 means that the program will behave like a tape recorder does when the speed of its tape is varied. For example, if you raise the pitch by one octave, the sound will become half as long. • Intermediate values will give results in between these two extremes. • For large transposition values, the lower this setting is, the better the quality of the effect will be. Additional settings Setting Description Quality There are three Quality settings, “Quick Process”, “Standard” and “High Quality”. The High Quality mode provides very high quality pitch correction, but the process will take longer. For most uses, the Standard mode is probably sufficient. If the DIRAC processor is used you will get an additional setting; “Best”. Audio Quantize When this option is activated, the processed file will have the exact same sample length as the original. When it is deactivated, the result- ing file length may differ by a few milliseconds. If you don’t need this length accuracy, you should leave the option deactivated, for a slightly better audio quality. Preserve Formants When this option is activated, changing the pitch of vocal material will give a more realistic result. When you are processing non-vocal material, you should leave this option deactivated, since it uses a slightly slower processing algorithm. Warning: this algorithm might increase the signal level. If your audio material has a high level, you may need to lower its level before pitch shifting. In fact, the best solution is to use this effect from the Batch Proces- sor, followed by a normalizer. Rhythm Accuracy This is only available if “Standard” or “High Quality” mode is selected. Set this parameter according to whether the rhythmic feel of the au- dio material has a high priority or not. If you set this to a high value, the timing and rhythmic feel will be preserved as far as possible, which is important for drum tracks, etc. If you set it to a low value, the audio quality can be slightly better, but sections of audio might be moved slightly (in the milliseconds region) in the process. Use DIRAC processor This is described below.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 203 About the DIRAC processor The DIRAC engine (DIRAC Time Stretch/Pitch Shift technology, ©2005 Stephan M. Bernsee) is a very high quality pitch shifter, perhaps the best available on the market today. It will produce the best quality results pos- sible, but the trade off is longer processing times. In WaveLab, you can use the DIRAC algorithm to process files with up to 96 kHz sample rates, but not over. • If you check the “Use DIRAC processor” box there will be an extra quality mode available (“Best (very slow)”) and 6 processing options available on the pop-up menu. • The selected quality mode affects the processing speed to large extent. Be pre- pared for very long processing times if the “Best (very slow)” option is used. About the DIRAC processing options: Option Description Auto / Preview This automatically selects the best time/frequency trade off for real- time/preview performance. This is the fastest setting but might not provide optimal results in all cases. Time localization ++ (instruments, voices)Selects full time localization. This is a good setting for single instru- ments and solo voices. Time localization + Time/frequency localization with the emphasis on time localization. If the previous mode produces echo artefacts, try this option. Average Time/ Frequency localizationThis sets the time/frequency localization halfway between the time and frequency domains. It is the best setting for all general purpose signals. Frequency localization +Time/frequency localization with the emphasis on frequency localiza- tion. Good setting for classical music. Frequency localization ++ (complex mixes)Highest possible frequency localization. This setting might not work well on material with many sharp attack transients, but it can produce good results with less transient/percussive material.
WAVELAB 9 – 204 Off-line processing Pitch Quantize The purpose of this process is to automatically detect and correct the pitch (intonation) of an audio file. The input signal is quantized to discrete notes. Pitch quantize works best on recordings that have a single fundamental frequency, such as voice or single instruments. The dialog has the follow- ing parameters: •Reference frequency: defines the reference tuning (in Hz) for the pitch correction. Default is 440 Hz. •Tolerance: defines the tolerance for the pitch correction (in cents). If the pitch of the input signal deviates more than the specified amount from the nearest semitone, it is shifted toward that frequency by the specified amount. For example, if a singer sings 25 cent flat and this value is set to 10, the correction will shift the note so it will be 15 cent flat after the correction. •Slur time: defines the time it takes for the correction to reach the full cor- rection amount. Typically, sung notes are slightly unstable at the beginning, because the attack phase of a sound has a higher amount of noise, and because singers gradually adjust their tuning after the onset of the note. The slur time makes the pitch correction sound more natural because it mimics this effect. Higher values will yield a slower adaptation time and will delay the cor- rection to the corrected pitch. Longer slur times will also preserve vibrato better.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 205 Pitch Bend This function utilizes a high quality pitch shifting engine that lets you cre- ate stunning effects, by gradually changing the pitch of a sound accord- ing to a set envelope curve. Range Specify the maximum range in semitones for the pitch change. When you change this value, the vertical ruler reflects the changes. You can right- click or double-click in the dialog box to bring up a slider. Envelope In this window, you draw the curve that the pitch should follow. • Create and erase points by double clicking. • Select points by clicking on them. By pressing [Ctrl] when clicking, you can select more than one point and later move them together. Selected points don’t have to be contiguous. You can also click anywhere in the window and drag the mouse over the envelope points to select them. • You can drag any segment to move the whole envelope curve up and down. • You can drag a single segment vertically by pressing [Ctrl] and moving the seg- ment up and down. • You can drag a single segment horizontally by pressing [Ctrl] + [Shift] and moving the segment left and right.
WAVELAB 9 – 206 Off-line processing Functions You can access these functions either from the Functions menu, or by clicking the corresponding icon: Option Description Deselect all points Select this option to deselect points (selected points are red, un- selected points are yellow). Delete selected points All selected points will be deleted. Reset selected points All selected points will be set to position “0” (no pitch change). Reset whole envelope The envelope curve will be reset to its default shape (2 points and no pitch change). Flip Vertical All envelope points will be moved to the opposite side of the hor- izontal axis. Flip Horizontal The envelope curve will be reversed (the start becomes the end, and vice versa). Smooth envelope Activate this option if you wish to make the envelope curve smoother (no straight lines between points). Undo Select this option if you want to undo the last envelope change. Redo Select this option if you want to redo the last undone change. Apply Click this button when you have set up the envelope curve and want to apply the effect on the audio selection.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 207 Harmonization This is a variation of the Pitch Correction, which allows you to create not only one shifted voice, but up to sixteen! Setting up the voices 1.Set the scroll bar to the voice for which you want to make settings. Which voice is currently shown is indicated just above the scroll bar. 2.Activate the voice by clicking the check box. 3.Set up the amount of pitch shift for this voice, by adjusting the Semitones and Cents values. The maximum range is ±36 semitones (±3 octaves). The cents value adjusts the pitch within one semitone, that is, 50 means a quarter tone. 4.If you want one of the voices to play back the original wave (at the re- corded pitch), activate one voice for this and set both its Semitones and Cents settings to 0. 5.If you are processing a stereo selection or if you have activated “Create stereo wave” (see below), you can adjust the stereo position of the voice by using the Pan control. If you pull the slider all the way left or right, this voice will be played in that channel only. 6.Use the scroll bar to select the next voice and set this up like the first. The text to the right of the Pan control tells you how many voices are activated.
WAVELAB 9 – 208 Off-line processing Additional controls Please note that by specifying very small pitch shift amounts (a few cents only) and panning the detuned voices hard left and right, you can create stereo material out of mono recordings without a noticeable change in pitch. Please try to keep a balance in the detuning. If for example you set one voice to +5 cents, set another to -5 cents. Hi-fi Chorus This chorus works slightly differently from many others. Often chorusing is achieved by delaying a copy of the signal, continuously varying the amount of delay and mixing the delayed signal back in with the original. While this is adequate for many purposes, WaveLab takes a more natural approach to creating chorus. Since a chorus effect is about making a re- cording sound as if it was performed by many “identical musicians”, WaveLab takes just that approach. It multiplies the recording up to 100 times and detunes and delays each “voice” slightly and – if so desired – pans the voices across the stereo image. To find out exactly what each control does, click the question mark icon in the dialog. Control Description Preserve level When this is activated, the resulting audio will have the same level as the original, even though a number of voices have been added. Create stereo waveIf you are operating from a mono selection you can still create a stereo wave by activating this option. The processed wave will then open in a new window.
WAVELAB Off-line processing 9 – 209 EQ This is a three-band equalizer with high and low shelving filters and a full parametric mid-frequency band. The following parameters are available on the Settings tab: Parameter Description High Shelf Gain Determines the boost or cut (in dB) of the high shelving filter. High Shelf FrequencySets the frequency of the high shelving filter. Frequencies above this value will gradually be increased or reduced in level, according to the High Gain setting. Mid Shelf Gain Determines the boost or cut (in dB) of the Mid range EQ. Mid Shelf FrequencySets the center frequency of the Mid range EQ. Frequencies around this value will be affected by the Mid Gain. Mid Q Use this parameter to set the width of the Mid range, i.e. how wide a fre- quency range around the Mid Frequency should be affected by the Mid range EQ. The higher this value, the “narrower” the Mid range. Low Shelf Gain Determines the boost or cut (in dB) of the low shelving filter. Low Shelf FrequencySets the frequency of the low shelving filter. Frequencies below this value will gradually be increased or reduced in level, according to the Low Gain setting.
WAVELAB 9 – 210 Off-line processing Presets tab The Presets tab features a list of EQ presets, with self-explanatory names. •To load a preset, select it in the list and click the “Load” button. •If you have modified a preset which you wish to save, use the “Update” button. •You can also save your own presets by typing in a name and clicking the “Add” button. Convert sample rate This function allows you to change the sample rate of a recording. This is very convenient if you have a file that you wish to use in a certain audio system and find that the file was recorded at a sample rate this system doesn’t support. Please note that Sample rate conversion can also be done as part of the Saving process (see “Saving in another format (Save as…)” on page 117). Please note the following: • Sample rate conversion from a low frequency upwards does not improve sound quality. The high frequencies that were lost due to a low recording frequency can- not be restored by a conversion. • When you sample rate convert down to a lower frequency, high frequency mate- rial will be lost (this is part of the mathematics behind digital audio). Therefore, do not convert down and then up again, since this will lead to a degradation in sound quality (unless that’s exactly what you’re after). Instead, use the Undo and Redo functions. Performing the sample rate conversion 1.Select Convert sample rate from the Process menu. This opens the Sample Rate dialog. 2.Select the desired sample rate from the pop-up menu and click OK. If you want to change any other audio properties (e.g. the bit resolution or stereo/mono sta- tus), you can do this in one of two ways: