Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

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Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices 27 – 651
It is worth noting that without using a word clock based system, it is possi-
ble to synchronize WaveLab with another device for a shorter period of time. 
Exactly how long depends on a number of factors, such as the overall sta-
bility of the system (using an ADAT as master will provide higher stability 
than using an analog tape machine for example) and the length of the audio 
files played by WaveLab, etc. 
Also note that if a project involves using several different types of machines 
as the master, the result (the length of time synchronization is upheld) is 
likely to vary in an unpredictable way. For best results when using synchro-
nization without word clock, it is recommended that you use a fixed (and 
relatively stable) setup during the course of the project.
Setting up
1.Make sure the desired Montage or Wave window is active.
This is important, since each Montage or Wave can have separate Sync settings.
2.Pull down the Options menu and select Preferences.
The Preferences dialog appears.
3.Click the Sync tab.
4.Pull down the MIDI Input pop-up menu and select the MIDI Input port to 
which your synchronization device is connected.  
						

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27 – 652 Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices
If the time code in the master device is offset (so that playback starts at a 
time position other than zero), you need to compensate for this in Wave-
Lab by setting the SMPTE Offset parameter to the same value:
5.If the SMPTE Offset is positive, click the [+] button next to the SMPTE 
Offset parameter. If it is negative, click the [–] button.
6.Set the SMPTE Offset parameter to the time position when you want 
playback to start.
This should be set according to any offset values in the master device, so that both devices 
have the same start position. The offset value is subtracted from (+ button activated) or 
added to (– button activated) the incoming time code. Usually, positive offset values are 
used. If you edit this value during playback you have to stop and restart for the change to 
take effect.
Each Audio Montage can save its own SMPTE offset. When you edit the off-
set in the Preferences dialog, you actually edit the offset of the currently ac-
tive audio document.
7.Leave the Time Correction parameter at 0 for now.
You may need to adjust this later on, as described below.
8.Click OK to close the dialog.
Activating MTC sync
To activate MTC sync in WaveLab, proceed as follows:
1.Click the playback start position icon to the left on the Transport bar.
A pop-up menu appears. 
						

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Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices 27 – 653
2.Select “Sync from MIDI Time Code” from the pop-up menu.
The button changes shape to a MIDI symbol, indicating that WaveLab is in MTC Sync mode.
•You can also activate Sync mode by pressing [Shift]+[F9] on the com-
puter keyboard.
WaveLab is now expecting MIDI Time Code, and will start playback when 
the master device is started. If the MIDI Time Code stops, WaveLab will 
stop playback but remain in Sync mode. You can also do the reverse: 
start the master (generating MTC), then press [Shift]+[F9] to start Wave-
Lab in sync.
• If you find that there is a slight, constant offset between the master and 
slave, you need to adjust the time correction parameter until you get it right, 
either by stopping playback and going back to the Preferences dialog, or by 
nudging the sync offset (if you are playing back a Montage; see below).
Although rare, such an offset could occur due to audio card latency, “slow” MIDI equip-
ment, the coarseness of the MTC signal, etc. 
3.To exit Sync mode, select another playback start position option from the 
pop-up menu, press [Shift]+[F9] or stop playback manually.
Sync mode 
selected   
						

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27 – 654 Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices
Nudging sync offset
This is only possible when playing back an Audio Montage. For general in-
formation about nudging, see “Nudging” on page 430.
For various reasons, you may find that there is a slight constant offset be-
tween the master and the slave during synchronized playback. This is ad-
justed with the time correction parameter in the Preferences–Sync tab. 
However, trying to guess the correct time correction value in Stop mode 
can be a time consuming process. Instead you can nudge the time correc-
tion value during playback and use your ears to find the optimum setting:
1.Pull down the Edit view Options menu and select “Synchro Offset 
(SMPTE)” from the Nudge submenu.
You may also want to deactivate the “Auto Select” option on the Nudge submenu, to avoid 
accidentally changing nudge target.
2.Activate synchronized playback as described above.
3.If WaveLab’s playback is “behind” the master, click the right Nudge icon 
or press [F12].
This will skip samples, effectively “speeding up” WaveLab’s playback. This may cause 
some clicks just after you nudge. 
The timing adjustment will be audible after the playback latency time (displayed in the Pref-
erences–Audio device tab).
4.If WaveLab’s playback is “ahead of” the master, click the left Nudge icon 
or press [F11].
This will add blank samples, effectively “slowing down” WaveLab’s playback. This may 
cause some clicks just after you nudge. Furthermore, these blank samples will have to be 
played back, resulting in a short silence, during which the Montage cursor will stay flickering 
in one place.
• As when nudging other Montage elements, you can use modifier keys to 
determine the nudge “impulse”:
Modifier Impulse
No modifier (standard impulse) One frame
[Shift] (large impulse) One second
[Ctrl] (small impulse) 1/10 frame
[Ctrl]+[Shift] (micro impulse) 1/100 frame 
						

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Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices 27 – 655
These values are fixed, and are not affected by the current setting in the 
Nudge Impulse Value dialog.
5.Repeat the nudging procedure until you find the optimum setting (no au-
dible offset between master and slave).
6.Stop playback.
Now, your adjustments are added to the current SMPTE Offset and/or time correction set-
tings in the Preferences dialog, so that next time you start playback, the two devices will be 
in sync.
Again, the purpose of this function is to adjust for any constant offset be-
tween master and slave. It is not meaningful to use this for compensating for 
drifting sync (in a setup without word clock).
Also note that this is a function for fine adjustments, ± a few seconds at most.
Checking incoming time code
You can inspect the incoming MIDI Time Code in the following way:
1.Enable Sync Mode as described above.
The Time Code display will only be updated in Sync mode.
2.Open the Monitor window from the Specialized Windows submenu on 
the View menu.
3.Click the Timecode tab at the bottom of the Monitor window.
Now, the Monitor window serves as a time code display, indicating incoming time code in 
the format hours:minutes:seconds,frames:  
						

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27 – 656 Synchronizing WaveLab to external devices
Sync to ASIO Positioning Protocol (APP)
In order to take advantage of the ASIO Positioning Protocol, your audio 
hardware must be suitably equipped and the functionality must be in-
cluded in the ASIO driver for the hardware.
Hardware and software requirements for APP
•Your computer audio hardware must support all the functionality required 
for the ASIO Positioning Protocol. 
That is, it must be able to read the digital audio and the corresponding positional informa-
tion from the external device.
•There must be an ASIO 2.0 driver for the audio hardware.
•For resolving to external timecode, the audio hardware must have a time-
code reader built-in.
For information about which audio hardware models currently support 
APP, see the Steinberg web site (www.steinberg.net).
Activating
When using the ASIO Positioning Protocol there is no setting up required 
in WaveLab, since the timecode comes in directly via your audio hardware. 
To activate APP sync in WaveLab, proceed as follows:
1.Click the playback start position icon to the left on the Transport bar.
A pop-up menu appears.
2.Select “Sync from ASIO Time Code” from the pop-up menu.
You can also activate ASIO sync mode by pressing [F9] on the computer keyboard.
• When APP sync is activated, WaveLab starts playing the wave file or the Audio 
Montage as soon as time code comes in via ASIO. 
It will be locked to exact positioning (with sample accuracy) from then on.
•If you need to stop and restart in sync, press [F9] twice, to deactivate and 
reactivate the synchronization. 
If the time code has a discontinuity, then WaveLab stops and restarts automatically at the 
new position. 
						

							28
Using samplers and creating
loops 
						

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28 – 658 Using samplers and creating loops
Introduction
This chapter describes various operations related to samplers. WaveLab 
has the ability to communicate with most audio samplers on the market, 
making it possible to receive and transmit audio.
Connected to this functionality is the possibility to create good loops. 
Looping is a common technique used in samplers to simulate the infinite (or 
at least very long) sustain of many instrumental sounds. WaveLab has tools 
for creating smooth loops, even for the most complex types of sounds.
What we normally refer to as audio files in WaveLab are probably called 
“samples” in your sampler. In this chapter we will adhere to this terminol-
ogy and call audio recordings “samples”.
Background information
About the various communication methods
Samplers from various manufacturers are very different when it comes to 
communication possibilities. The following section tries to categorize the 
various means of communication that are available:
Generic SDS (Sample Dump Standard)
SDS is the most basic and widely spread way of communicating with a 
sampler. It is part of the MIDI standard. SDS allows you to send and re-
ceive samples, but does not support any type of name handling. Specify-
ing which sample to send/retrieve is done using numbers.
Recommendation: Use SDS only if no other means of communication is 
available. It works well, but it is slow and not very practical.
The WaveLab implementation of SDS requires two way MIDI communica-
tion between the sampler and computer (MIDI In to MIDI Out and vice 
versa). “Open loop” (one way) transfers are not supported. 
						

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Generic SMDI 
SMDI is the SCSI version of SDS. Since it uses SCSI as a carrier, it is 
much faster. However, it doesn’t have very much additional functionality; 
again samples are identified via numbers rather than names.
Recommendation: Use SMDI if you want fast communication, have the 
necessary computer equipment and a sampler that supports it. However, 
if your sampler supports some proprietary type of SCSI communication, 
this is preferred to SMDI.
Proprietary MIDI only communication
Many samplers use proprietary MIDI communication protocols to ex-
change sample data. Normally this will provide better functionality than 
SDS, for example the possibility to specify samples by name.
Recommendation: Use a proprietary MIDI protocol rather than SDS if 
your sampler supports it.
Proprietary SCSI only communication
Same as above but via SCSI.
Recommendation: Use a proprietary SCSI protocol rather than SMDI if 
your sampler supports it and you have the necessary equipment.
Proprietary MIDI + SCSI communication
A common means of communication is to combine MIDI and SCSI. Nor-
mally “administration”, such as providing lists of sample names, etc., hap-
pens via MIDI and the actual audio transfer is done via SCSI. This type of 
communication normally provides very high functionality and reliability.
Recommendation: Use this type of communication if your sampler sup-
ports it and you have the necessary equipment. 
						

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28 – 660 Using samplers and creating loops
Which communication methods does my sampler support?
• To find out whether a sampler supports generic SDS or SMDI, check its docu-
mentation or contact the manufacturer.
• To find out whether it has a specific communication protocol that is also imple-
mented in WaveLab, select “Sampler configurations…” from the Sampling menu, 
click on the Settings tab, pull down the top pop-up and check whether your par-
ticular model is on the list.
• For further details about some supported samplers, check the Sampler Details 
chapter in the online documentation.
About sample rates and bit resolutions
WaveLab doesn’t put any restrictions on the sample format:
• Samples can always be received, regardless of format.
• When you transmit, samples with sample rates not directly supported by the sam-
pler may be accepted or rejected. Exactly how a sample with an unusual sample 
rate is handled depends on the sampler.
• Transmitted samples are always converted to 16 bit during the transfer.
About loops
WaveLab supports transmission of up to two loops in a sample. The fol-
lowing rules apply:
• If you transmit a sample with more than two loop points defined, only the first two 
will be transferred.
• Your sampler, or the transmission protocol you use, may not support more than 
one loop. For example, SDS and SMDI only support one loop point. In this case, 
only the first loop will be used.