Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

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Using samplers and creating loops 28 – 661
Setting up your sampler(s)
The following text assumes you have made all connections as described 
in the installation chapter. Proceed as follows:
Making the basic settings
1.Make sure the sampler is turned on.
If you use SCSI it must have been turned on when you booted the computer.
2.Select “Sampler configurations…” from the Sampling menu.
The “Sampler configurations” dialog
3.Click on the Settings tab.
4.Select the desired communications protocol from the menu.
If possible, select your sampler protocol by sampler model name, this will provide the high-
est level of functionality. If your sampler can’t be found on this menu, you will have to select 
SDS or SMDI, depending on the type of connection and the instrument’s capabilities.
Only select an item that corresponds to the type of connection you actually 
have. For example, selecting anything that involves SCSI is pointless unless 
you actually have connected the sampler via SCSI, as described in the sec-
tion “Connecting the sampler” on page 31.  
						

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28 – 662 Using samplers and creating loops
5.If the sampler is connected via SCSI, pull down the SCSI Unit pop-up 
and select the instrument you want to communicate with.
If the instrument can’t be found on this menu, there is something wrong with your SCSI con-
nection. Go back and check the instructions in the section “SCSI connections” on page 31.
The SCSI Unit pop-up
If you ever change the SCSI ID for the sampler, you need to update the pre-
set. Otherwise, sampler communication won’t work.
6.If the sampler is connected via MIDI, use the MIDI input and output that 
the instrument is connected to from the MIDI pop-ups and set the SysEx 
ID (System Exclusive ID number) to the same number as that of the instru-
ment.
This setting is very important. If the two numbers don’t correspond, transfers won’t work. To 
find out how to check what SysEx ID your sampler is set to, consult its operation manual.
A few samplers that communicate via SCSI will use the SysEx ID for SCSI 
purposes as well. See your sampler documentation for details.
Creating a preset
Once all settings are done, you must convert them to a preset before you 
can continue:
1.Click on the Presets tab.
2.Type in a name in the field to the right.
Use a name that can be used to identify this particular sampler (if you have several).
3.Click the Add button to add the preset to the list.
If you have more samplers, you can now go back to the Settings tab, 
make settings for the next instrument, and create a preset for that.  
						

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Using samplers and creating loops 28 – 663
Transmitting samples
1.If needed, open the sample in a Wave window and trim it to the desired 
length.
Since samplers are RAM based, this may limit the amount of data you can transmit.
2.Add one or two loops as desired (see “Basic looping” on page 669).
3.Pull down the Sampling menu and select “Transmit…”.
4.Select the target sampler from the Target menu.
This menu lists all samplers for which you have created presets. The sampler will be on the 
list regardless of whether it is turned on or connected properly or not, so this list is not a 
verification that things have been set up properly.
5.If the protocol used for this sampler identifies samples by number, use the 
“Sample number” setting to specify a “memory location” in the sampler 
where you want to store the sample.
If another sample is already stored at that location, it will most likely be overwritten when 
you transmit, so it might be a good idea to use the sampler's front panel controls to make 
sure you have specified the number of an empty location.
6.If the sampler uses names and/or banks, click the Refresh button instead 
to get a list of the current memory contents in the sampler. Then select a 
bank and a sample location from the pop-up and list.
This is not always required. In many instruments, if nothing is specified, the sample will be 
stored in a new memory location and no existing samples will be overwritten.
7.Click Transmit.
The sample is transmitted to the sampler. You can monitor the progress of the transmission 
on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. 
						

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Receiving samples
1.Pull down the Sampling menu and select “Receive…”.
2.Select the desired sampler from the Target menu.
As with Transmit, this menu lists the samplers for which you have created presets.
3.If the protocol used for this sampler identifies samples by number, use the 
“Sample number” setting to specify which sample to retrieve.
4.If the sampler uses names and/or banks, click the Refresh button to get a 
list of the current memory contents in the sampler. Then select a bank and 
a sample location from the pop-up and list.
5.Click Receive.
The sample is received and opened in a new window. You can monitor the progress of the 
reception on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. 
About loops
If the sample contains loops they will be converted to loop markers in 
WaveLab. However, see “About loops” on page 660.
Deleting and getting information about samples
In the Transmit and Receive dialogs, you will find Info and Delete buttons. 
These buttons will only be available for samplers where a specific proto-
col that supports this functionality is implemented. They are not available 
with the generic protocols SDS and SMDI (see “Generic SDS (Sample 
Dump Standard)” on page 658).
1.If required, click Refresh to update the list of samples in the sampler.
2.Select a bank and sample in the list.
3.Click Delete to remove the sample from memory, or click Info to get infor-
mation about the properties of a sample. 
						

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Using samplers and creating loops 28 – 665
The Transmit Back feature
A common working procedure would be to receive a sample from the 
sampler, process it in WaveLab and then transmit it back to the sampler. 
The “Transmit Back” feature facilitates this. It is a variation on the Transmit 
function. The difference is that it automatically sends the sample to the 
same memory location from which it originally came, without presenting 
any dialog.
Proceed as follows:
1.Receive a sample from the sampler (see “Receiving samples” on page 
664).
2.Work on it in WaveLab as desired.
3.Select “Transmit back” from the Sampling menu.
The sample is transmitted back to the same memory location in the sampler from which it 
originally came.
In case of problems
If you run into problems during transmission, check the Troubleshooting 
chapter in the online documentation. 
						

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Using WaveLab with Steinberg HALion
If you are the lucky owner of Steinberg’s HALion software sampler, you 
can use WaveLab as your sample editor. You can add samples by drag-
ging audio file selections from WaveLab onto the HALion Key Zone Editor 
or by using copy and paste. It is also possible to transfer multiple samples 
from WaveLab to HALion in one go, using the following procedure:
1.Open and set up the audio files in WaveLab.
You may for example need to adjust the root key settings in the “Sample attributes” dialog 
(see “Editing sample attributes” on page 667), so that they correspond to the proper 
pitches of the files.
2.If you have edited the files in any way, make sure they are saved.
This is very important, since HALion will load the actual file from disk.
• If you haven’t edited the actual audio, but only the loop markers or sample 
attributes (e.g. root key settings), you should save the file(s) with the “Save 
as” command. 
This is because those settings are stored in the file headers, which are only rebuilt when the 
audio is re-saved. If the audio portion of a file hasn’t been changed, WaveLab will not re-
save the audio on a regular “Save” – hence you should use “Save as”.
3.Make a selection range in one of the files, covering the section you want 
to use as a sample.
4.Press [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[C].
With this function, no audio is copied, only the audio file reference and the position of the 
selected region.
5.Make a new selection in another file and press [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[C] again.
The file and region information for the new selection is added to the clipboard, without re-
moving any previous information there.
6.Copy the regions of as many audio files as you like in the same way.
7.When you have copied the desired regions, go to the Keyzone Page view 
in HALion and press [Ctrl]-[V].
The copied regions appear as separate samples in HALion, assigned to keys correspond-
ing to their original root key settings.
• If you are using HALion with Cubase SX/SL, and have selected  WaveLab as 
your external Wave Editor, you can open HALion samples for editing in 
WaveLab directly from the sampler, by selecting “Edit in Cubase SX/SL”. 
						

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Using samplers and creating loops 28 – 667
Editing sample attributes
The “Sample attributes” dialog.
This menu item on the Sampling menu allows you to make settings for a 
sample. They do not process the sample in any way, they just give it prop-
erties that the receiving sampler may or may not take advantage of. 
See “About the various communication methods” on page 658.
Setting Description
Name The name the sample will have in the sampler. If the sample is an already 
named file, the name is displayed here, but you can change it if you wish. 
Note that not all samplers support all characters. Furthermore, if the 
name is too long, it will be truncated.
Parse name into 
keyIf a sample is named so as to denote its root key (e.g. “Bass C0” – a 
sample of a bass in the key C0), clicking this button will automatically fill 
in the key field (see below) with the root key information taken from the 
file name. Note that you can also use this method for samples that are 
named so as to denote their MIDI note numbers (see below).
Parse last 
group of digitsThis is available when you select MIDI note number notation (see below), 
and can be useful when you want to use the Parse name into key option 
(described above). In cases where samples are named with multiple 
groups of numbers – e.g. “Piano_01_112” – you need to activate this 
option to let WaveLab know that the last group of digits is the one de-
noting the MIDI note number.
Key This specifies which key will play back the sound at its original pitch.
Detune This specifies whether the sample should be played back at a slightly dif-
ferent pitch. The range is ±50% of a semitone, which translates into a 
quarter tone in each direction.  
						

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Depending on your sampler and the protocol you use for communicating, 
the above features may or may not be supported. For example, SDS and 
SMDI do not support names. SMDI supports Key and Detune whereas 
SDS does not.
Detect from 
audio selectionIf you click this button, WaveLab will analyse the sample and determine 
its pitch and amount of detune. For this to work properly, the sample 
must be of such a nature that it is possible to clearly detect a pitch (it 
won’t work properly with chords and drum loops for example). 
Musical notation/
MIDI note numberThese radio buttons let you choose whether to display the different key 
values in the dialog with the key’s pitch or the key’s MIDI note number. In 
musical notation, keys are denoted according to their pitch (e.g. C3 – 
meaning the note C in the third octave). Each key corresponds to a MIDI 
note number, from 0 – 127. The key C3 for example, corresponds to the 
MIDI note number 48. MIDI note numbers make it possible for samplers 
to automatically map samples to the correct keys.
Key range If a sample is part of a multi-sample key map, you can specify the key 
range for the sample, i.e. which keys should be able to play it.
Velocity range If a sample is part of a multi-sample key map with velocity switchable 
samples, you can here specify the velocity range for the sample – the 
minimum and maximum velocity values that should trigger the sample. Setting Description 
						

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Basic looping
Instrumental sounds in samplers rely heavily on looping. Looping a sound 
allows you to repeat a section of the sample indefinitely, to 
create a sus-
tain of unlimited length. An example of this would be an organ sound. 
Without looping you will only be able to play notes as 
long as the original 
recording. With looping, notes can be of any length.
Finding a good loop point takes a bit of practice. Here is some advice:
• There are only two types of loops: very long and very short. Loops of intermediate 
lengths usually don’t work very well.
• A long loop will sound the most natural, and should be used whenever possible. 
However, if the sound does not have a stable section in the middle (an 
even sus-
tain part), it might be hard to find a good long loop. For example, a 
piano note – 
which decays continuously – will be hard to loop since the start point of the loop 
will be louder than the end. A flute will be much simpler, because the sound in the 
sustain section is very stable.
• Very short loops (covering only a few cycles or periods) can almost always be 
found, but may sound “static” and unnatural.
• A loop should normally start a short time after the “attack” portion, that is, when 
the sound has “stabilized” to a sustaining note.
• If you try to set up a long loop, it should end as late as possible, but before the 
sound starts decaying to silence (if it does).
• If you go for a short loop, it is harder to say exactly where in the sound to put it, 
but it should definitely be towards the end.
More information about looping in general, and the exact capabilities of 
your sampler in particular, can be found in the sampler’s manual. Below 
follows a description of WaveLab’s set of tools for setting up loops.
Adding, moving and playing loop markers
Loop markers are added, moved and otherwise edited just as any other 
type of marker. This is described in the section “Introduction” on page 328 
and onwards.
Please note the points about marker pairs (see “About marker pairs” on 
page 329). 
						

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Here is a brief description on how to create a basic loop:
1.Make a selection that corresponds to the area you want looped.
If you like, you can play back with “Loop selection” activated on the Transport bar and ad-
just the selection during playback.
2.Bring up the Marker toolbar.
3.Click on the loop marker icons (the green ones).
The selection is now enclosed by loop markers.
4.Make sure that “Loop as marked” is activated on the Transport bar.
Click the Playback end position/Loop mode button to open the corresponding pop-up.
5.Play back and adjust the position of the markers to change the loop.
A basic loop setup using markers.
Note that it takes a while for changes in the loop to take effect on playback. 
Exactly how long depends on your buffer settings, see “About loop updating 
and short loops” on page 137.
Getting a good loop by just dragging the markers around might be hard. 
Most often you will hear a click or an abrupt change in timbre at the 
turn-
ing point, which is hard to get rid of by dragging the markers.
We suggest you only use this method for setting up the basic length of 
the loop (leaving clicks, etc. as they are) and then use the Crossfade 
Looper and Loop Tone Equalizer (described below) to perfect it.