Just upgraded to Wavelab 9 Pro (from Elements 9) and I’m really enjoying the auto split and the batch processor.
So I have a large file after sampling various percussive synths and drum machines and my goal is to automate pretty much everything that I used to do by hand in Elements 9.
When it comes to using the “Auto Split” feature I don’t get the results I’m looking for. So I want to split the large file into separate ones so using the “Split at Beats” I set the Beat detection sensitivity to 80, Minimum beat level to -40 db, region duration to 800ms and to be able to se what I’m getting I’ve selected to “Create Markers at Split Points”. All is fine and dandy but the markers are placed somewhat before the actual sample starts (se picture below).
In this case the marker is placed before the level get’s above the threshold. What am I missing here?
What I’m looking for is something like this (I’ve moved the marker manually in this example).
Beat Detection window:
99
0db
100ms
Maximize level checked on.
I get about 5 samples offset at 48KHz doing that with generic markers, which is less than you’re getting. It looks like you’re getting about 0.6 ms offset (about 30 samples at 48) between marker and audio.
Edit: or if you give it another 10db, setting -30db, does the marker get closer?
I’ve tried your suggested settings but I’m still no where close from what I consider being a “good hitpoint” for percussive samples. The results are basically the same for pretty much any values I use.
The sample file contains a lot of silence and that might affect the results perhaps? It’s about 1 to 2 seconds between different drum machine hits for about 2 minutes.
Tried using the hit point detection in Cubase 9 pro and it’s very exact, I could bounce to separate files in Cubase and then use Wavelab for the rest of the processing as a workaround until I figure out how Wavelab works.
I must admit I really only use Auto Split in the montage to automatically trim clips (“clip head and tail”) and then the CD Wizard to automatically space the clips and offset CD Markers to the clips for an album. I’ve found that very quickly gets me 80-90% of the way to where I was manually trimming the clips only before, so I find that combination absolutely brilliant in Wavelab. The automatic level detection works pretty well after I found the minimum -60db threshold too high for most of my program. (Wish the manual minimum was lower in the montage, to -80 or -90 db). The minimums go lower in the audio editor I believe.
Beat detection in Auto Split is probably a whole other science, but if it’s placing markers before the -40db threshold, that does seem to be a problem that should be addressed.
I’ve tried out all the software I have to see how exact they are when it comes to beat detection. NI Kontakt, Steinberg Groove Agent 4, Cubase 9 Pro, NI Maschine and WaveLab 9 Pro…
My conclusions are:
WaveLab is as good as any software (I own) to find hitpoints.
I’m way to picky for my own good when it comes to trimming percussive samples.
I should have upgraded to WaveLab Pro a long time ago, the auto split in combination with the batch processor will save me A LOT of time.
