I still haven’t started using Wavelab for real. I have been using Audacity for the most basic stuff.
I would like to see what Wavelab really can do, that Audacity can’t. I tried finding some guides and tutorials on Youtube, but the amount of content on Wavelab is pretty limited - and what I found didn’t seem relevant to me.
Could someone please give me a few tips on how I can process some recorded voices and sound effects? Let’s say I have some high-pitched voices and I need to make them less annoying by cutting off some high frequencies. What would be the most optimal method for achieving that?
And let’s say that I have some sound effects that need some more bass or boost or “power” to them - how should I do that?
I would love to learn the few basics of Wavelab that are useful to me for this particular task, but the software seems so complex - so it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
what would you use in audacity to accomplish those tasks right now?
there are numerous ways to do what you need, from quick and dirty right up to sample level spectral editing them out
I have been a WL user for over 25 years. I use WL for lots of different things from audio mastering to audio transfers and restorations. I started with WL 1.6.2 and I am now on WL 12.0.51. Over that time period I have learned a lot about WL and how AMAZING it is. Why don’t you start at the beginning, import a track and use the included Steinberg plugins to start learning about WL and all the things it can do. I have had over 50 interns in the 30 years we have been in business who knew NOTHING about WL and I showed them the basics and let them discover the rest. I am suggesting you take an afternoon and just sit and discover WL AFTER you have watched some videos on YT.
I haven’t found a good, visual way to edit EQ in Audacity. Is Master Rig in WL the way to go, or is there a simpler method/plugin?
And another quick question, please. Let’s say I have a voice recording and I need to clean it up by removing some background music. Is it possible to eliminate just the background music and leave the voice intact?
What do you mean by transfers and restorations? An example, please.
That’s the plan although, I want to focus on a few specific features of the software that could be helpful for these particular tasks, and leave out the rest for now.
Is spectral editing equivalent to very precise editing of audio?
Wavelab can seem daunting at first. Its design is rather different to that of Audacity. The workspace of Wavelab is highly customisable and can be adapted to your own way of working. The two main areas of activity are the Audio editor and the Audio montage. Understanding these first is one of the keys to understanding Wavelab.
IMO an EQ or filter plug-in would be the usual method for this. Wavelab is supplied with many. They are activated in the Effects section of the Master section and/or in the Inspector of the Audio montage. Try a low pass filter in the Frequency plug-in. Set Band 8 to Cut 12 and then adjust the frequency as required. Or use the Post Filter - experiment with the High-Cut control. There’s also Studio EQ and GEQ with which you can do similar. And of course there are countless third party EQ and filter plug-ins available.
Well, similarly you could use an EQ plug-in to boost or modify the bass frequencies, or you might get the desired result using a compressor or dynamics / saturation plug-in.
In both cases for processing multiple files with the same EQ you can use the batch processor supplied within Wavelab (see the operation manual for more details).
Not directly in Wavelab 12. This would require a specialist plug-in such as Acon Digital Extract Dialogue or another application such as SpectraLayers.
We are just getting ready to do the transfers of ten reel to reel tapes and 6 cassettes for a client. This will involve exercising the tapes and cassettes, transferring them to digital through our analog transfer console and then giving the client a CD or digital copy on an USB stick of all of his materials. This is all done in real time and I will be using WL for the transfers and noise reduction if needed. I have an extensive collection of noise reduction software from many different companies to help me. BUT you can do a lot of noise reduction using the Steinberg plugins in WL. I hope this answers your question…
So, I have an audio file where there is a recorded voice but there is also low volume music in the background. The music is just ambience without any percussions. I tried using Spectral Editor, but I am at a loss. Is there a way to select a chunk of the music only, without the voice, and let the software remember those frequencies, and then remove those exact frequencies throughout the entire recording? So that I remove as much music as possible and just keep the voice.
EDIT: I tried the “magic wand” on the music parts without the voice. And then Apply. It’s actually not bad, but any advice is still welcome.
As you found out you can partially achieve the results you want within Wavelab but it is not designed specifically for this and, as previously mentioned, there are other specialised plugins and applications which may give you a better result, namely Acon Digital Extract Dialogue plugin or Steinberg SpectraLayers… and there are other online and plugin options, some of them free - just do a search for ‘vocal remover’ or ‘background music remover’ or something similar. These use AI technology / neural networks and will likely give a superior result for separating voice / vocals from music and background noise.
Wavelab is a DAW. It is designed to do editing and processing of audio files mostly two channel. In order to do what you want to do you will need software from other developers. Some excellent suggestions have been forthcoming from others. I do a lot of work on audio restorations and transfers and have invested heavily in noise reduction software and to do what you want to do will not be “cheap”. FWIW
although, I want to focus on a few specific features of the software that could be helpful for these particular tasks, and leave out the rest for now.