I started using WL7 just about since it was announced as released back in September.
Two things to note, one good, one bad:
Wavelab still seems to be, hands down, the best program for editing audio files and more particularly for authoring CDs or DDPs, especially for the Windows platform
WL 7 in it’s GUI functioning is considerably less efficient in terms of ergonomics than it’s predecessors and most other software I’ve used. For example; When saving a new montage with the Master section, click the “save” icon and you’re given a dialog box to type a name. You type the name you want for your montage in the box, then, if you want to put it in a new folder, instead of the file browser dialog box that existed in the past you must click the folder icon then click “browse folders”. Then you are started at the beginning of your system tree instead of the last place you saved something to, which means several clicks to get to your work drive/folder. you select the folder and click “save”. Done? nope. if you want to save the master section you must navigate to the edit menu and select “store master section preset inside montage” (if you do this after you saved the montage, it thankfully auto names the montage for you.) Then you still must save the montage again to keep this addition. It would be great to have a setting in which the program would automatically store the loaded preset (without needing to name it) with the file. A check box in the “save” and “save as” dialog box would help immensely.
This is just one example that, for me, illustrates that there are considerably more mouse clicks involved in using the program than in previous versions. Even in WL6 it was still less efficient in this way than just about any other program that I use on a computer (such as Cubase for instance). I was hoping WL7 would be a step in the right direction but it seems to be a step backwards. (To be fair, there are steps forward in many other aspects of WL7 than it’s predecessors).
A few extra mouse clicks in themselves aren’t a big deal. But for those of us who do this all day long, it slows down the workflow and the vibe for the client.
if you want to save the master section you must navigate
to the edit menu and select “store master section preset inside montage”
Are you aware of the “Auto save Master Section preset” option, in the Master Section preferences? (just like in 6?)
if you want to put it in a new folder, instead of the file browser
dialog box that existed in the past you must click the folder icon
then click “browse folders”. Then you are started at the beginning
of your system tree instead of the last place you saved something to
If you want to access a past folder, WaveLab gives you access to the list of them directly directly from the menu.
And if you want to create a new folder, you just need to type it in the field, without any click, and WaveLab will create automatically this folder before saving the file.
FYI, the “Save as” feature has been enhanced in next version with, among others, an option “Automatically open system file selector”.
This does not work correctly here: If I save a montage with Master section effects (auto save function checked) I can delete and reopen the effects using the restore preset function as long as I don’t close the montage. If I close the montage and reopen it again I do get the option to restore the preset but no plugin opens if I press ok.
It happens with all plugins, also with the Wavelab plugins like Q, for example.
Can it have something to do with the fact that my master section is part of the control window?
After further testing I found out that it happens only if the plugins have been removed from the master section befor closing the montage (I am talking about closing, not saving).
So, if I save the montage, then remove the plugins and then close the montage then the preset is not remembered.
If I save the montage, then close it and then remove the plugins everything works as expected.
After further testing I found out that it happens only if the plugins have been removed from the master section befor closing the montage (I am talking about closing, not saving).
But then this is normal. “Auto Save” is meant to capture the Master Section state when the montage is closing. This is why this is somehow a dangerous option I admit, this is why this option is Off by default. Maybe I should limit this function to when the montage is saved…