Steinberg Wavelab Elements 8 Manual

Master Section
Master Section Window
221
Master Level Pane
This pane in the Master Section allows you to control the master level of 
the active audio file.
Faders
The faders in the Master Level pane govern the final output level. Use 
the faders to optimize the level of the signal that is sent to the audio 
hardware.
NOTE
It is important to avoid clipping, especially when mastering. Clipping is 
indicated by the clip indicators of the Master Section.
Meters
The Master Section meters show the signal...

Master Section
Master Section Window
222
Mono Button
The Mono button sums two channels to mono. The output level is 
automatically reduced by -6
 dB, to avoid clipping. The Mono button is 
useful for checking mono compatibility of stereo mixes, etc.
If the Mono button is activated, the red indicator for the Master Level 
pane is lit, even if the master level is not adjusted. This helps you avoid 
accidentally leaving the Mono button activated.
Unlink Button
Determines whether the faders should be...

Master Section
Master Section Window
223
By adding a special kind of noise at an extremely low level, the 
quantization errors are minimized. The added noise can be perceived as 
a very low-level quiescent hiss added to the recording. However, this is 
hardly noticeable and preferred to the distortion that occurs otherwise. 
The Noise Shaping options allow to filter this noise to a frequency area 
less sensitive to the human ear.
NOTE
Dithering should always be applied after the output bus fader stage,...

Master Section
Master Section Window
224
RESULT 
The plug-in appears on the pop-up menu in the Dithering pane, and can 
be inserted after the Master Level faders. The plug-in is still available for 
selection as a regular pre-master effect if the corresponding entry in the 
Post column in the Plug-in settings dialog is activated.
When to Apply Dithering
The basic rule is that you should dither when moving to a lower bit 
resolution. One instance of this is when converting an audio file to a 
lower...

Master Section
Master Section Window
225
Effect plug-in slot
Slot where you can insert an effect plug-in.
Presets menu
Lets you store and restore preset settings. The Presets menu of 
the top slot offers additional options to save and load default banks 
and effects.
Plug-in visibility
Activates/deactivates the plug-in window.
Switch effect on/off
Excludes the plug-in from both playback and rendering.
Noise type
Lets you set one of the available noise types that are added to the 
signal. This is only...

Master Section
Rendering
226
Render
Clicking opens the Render dialog. Right-clicking opens a menu 
where you can select whether you want to open the Render 
dialog, render using the last settings, or use in-place rendering.
Playback goes through Master Section
If this option is deactivated, the Master Section is ignored during 
playback of any file, freeing up resources. However, rendering to 
file is still possible. If playback is activated when you change this 
option, it stops and restarts.
Rendering...

Master Section
Rendering
227
RESULT 
The file is rendered. 
NOTE
Several rendering operations can be run at the same time when using 
different files.
In-Place Rendering
In the Audio Files workspace, you can process a section of an audio file 
or the whole audio file directly from within a plug-in window, without any 
intermediary step. This is a quick way to process several audio sections 
in an audio file, or test the effect of different plug-ins on an audio file.
When using this function, the...

Master Section
Rendering
228
Rendering an Audio Selection In-Place
You can render the plug-ins of a section of an audio file or the whole 
audio file.
PREREQUISITE 
In the Audio Files workspace, open the audio file that you want to render, 
and set up the Master Section.
PROCEDURE
1. If you only want to process a section of the audio file, in the wave 
window, select the audio section that you want to process.
2. Open the plug-in window.
3. Optional: If you only want to use some plug-ins of the Master...

Master Section
Rendering
229
Create named files
If this option is activated, you can set name of the rendered file. 
Otherwise, the file is named “untitled”.
Name
Enter a name for the rendered file. Clicking the arrow icon opens a 
menu that offers you several automatic naming options.
Auto naming
When rendering multiple sources, you can activate this option to 
add a numeric prefix to all rendered files.
Where
Select a folder where the file is rendered to.
File format
Opens the Audio File Format dialog,...

Master Section
Rendering
230
Exclude bypassed plug-ins
If this option is activated, the plug-ins that are bypassed during 
playback are not used for rendering.
This applies to the bypass states managed by WaveLab Elements, 
not any bypass state that is under the control of the plug-ins.
Open resulting audio file
If this option is activated, each rendered file is opened in a new 
window.
Render Dialog in the Audio Files Workspace
The following options in the Render dialog are exclusive to the Audio 
Files...