Hello once again,
I have a couple of questions regarding W8 (full version):
I have just finished mastering a project which was mixed in 32bit/96k. After the mastering is finished, I resample to 44.1k and dither to 16 bit. One of the new plugins is the isotope MBit+ dithering plugin, which I used. When I render, I ‘create named file’ and put it in a new folder. One of the settings is the ‘file format’. My question is: does this have any effect on the previous resampling and dithering; does this dither the file twice? If I leave the file format at ‘match file’, it seems to ‘see’ the new sample rate but not the dithering, so the file ends up being 44.1k at 32 bit. I put the Crystal Resampler in one of the effect slots and I put isotope in the dithering slot Should I put izotope in an effects slot as well so the ‘match file’ function will work as expected? Can I bypass that altogether? Or would it be better to batch process this step?
This has to do with setting the preference for how the dials on plugins work. I set them to linear and all of the Steinberg plugins work as expected. But I have a lot of UAD plugins that I use in mastering and it doesn’t seem to have any effect on them. The buttons still only respond to circular adjusting. Previous Wavelab versions could do this. Is there a special command for applying this to third party plugins?
Thanks,
Albert
Toronto, Canada
Saving to a file does not change the sample rate, unless you ask for it (not recommended), hence preserves the dithering, if you don’t save to a number of bit smaller than the plugin you used (eg. saving to 8 bit file would be bad if you rendered earlier to 16 bit, while saving to 32 bit preserves all the information).
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In Options > Plugin settings > General, you can find the option “VST Plugin knobs”, at the bottom.
Hello Philippe,
Sorry for not getting back sooner. (painting my place in a heat wave in Toronto
In reference to the dithering, I apologize, but I think you misunderstood my question.
My question was regarding the ‘best way’ to get to 16 bit. Just dithering with the MBit+ ‘will not’ make it 16 bit unless I set the ‘file format’ (at the rendering stage) to 16 bit too, which leads me to believe that the MBit+ is being ignored by Wavelab. Is this the case?
For example, if I put the Crystal Sampler in the Master section to change the sample rate from 96k to 44.1k and put ‘Match output’ in the ‘file format’ box, it still changes the sample rate just fine.
But if I put the MBit+ in the Master section to change from 32 bit to 16 bit, and put ‘Match output’ in the ‘file format’ box, it stays at 32 bit, which indicates (to me) that the MBit+ is not being read/processed by Wavelab.
So I’m asking if it would be better to use the MBit+ through the batch processor to avoid using the ‘render’ function in the master section. Or should I put the MBit+ in one of the slots in the master section instead of in the ‘dither’ slot that was dedicated to dithering?
Regarding the second item, linear controls: (In Options > Plugin settings > General, you can find the option “VST Plugin knobs”, at the bottom.) I did that and it makes no difference. Keep in mind this is only for third party plugins, not Steinberg plugins. I can live with it.
I hope I’ve been a little less confusing this time. Sorry for the hassle.
Albert
No, the audio will be reduced to 16 bit, but you could still write it as a 24 or 32 bit file. The remaining bits will simply be all zeroes. This disconnection in Wavelab has lead to this question many times, but the fact is that Wavelab will not think or assume. You can reassure yourself that bit reduction did take place by using the bit meter in WL - it will stay at 16, even though the info below the file says 24 or 32.
In the case of 96k or 44k1 sample rate; this is actually the output rate of the master section, so in that case it will be followed. Number of bits is never really an output number - people could want to have a 16 bit file embedded in a 24 bit container.
Ah! Now that makes sense to me. Even though the dithering has been done, the ‘box size’ or word, that it’s stored in will stay the same until it’s rendered and changed by the ‘file format’ command. The ‘file format’ just changes the word size. So the file format menu is not a dithering engine. Good to know. I just assumed that it was even though I’ve always used a dithering engine in the master section. Great explanation.
Thank you for being so patient.
Albert
