Generating Stereo Test Tones

I’m embarrassed to ask, but how do you generate stereo test tones in Wavelab Pro 9?

The Tools > Signal Generator

only offers mono tones and I can’t paste a mono tone into a stereo montage.

Sorry to be so dense.

Also, why are there 245 parameters to generate a tone? I just want 1kHz, 50 Hz, and 100kHz. why do I have options for ramp, median, release? What is this a Moog?

Thank you,
RPITA

A montage can contain both mono and stereo tracks. You may want to create a mono track in the montage for any test tones unless they are meant to have stereo information.

I want stereo test tones. Sorry I wasn’t more explicit.

Click on the link in the upper left corner to access the settings you need (see the attached screenshot).

It’s much more than that. It’s a lab.
01.png

There’s also a simple plugin called TestGenerator in the plugins list, but you have to record the signal using the Wavelab record dialog. From the manual:

“As soon as you add the TestGenerator as an effect on an audio track and activate it, a
signal is generated. You can then activate recording as usual to record an audio file
according to the signal specifications.”

Well played, Aivaras. Well played.

Hmm. Spoke too soon. PG, I can’t get this to work in Wavelab 9. Not only that, it won’t appear in any of the plugin menus I choose, Favorites, etc. Effect, only appears in Master Section. I’ve used it in the past because it was so much simpler than the other, but I’m not able to get it on a Montage Track to use it as it says above, or to configure the Record window to record it.

AFAIK you have to activate playback to hear the test tone. Here I see it in the general plug-in menu, no problem :confused: . To record you render.

Oh wow you’re right. It’s coming back to me now. You have to load a random audio file (which makes no sense at all), and play the file through the Plugin. What the manual says to do doesn’t work at all, and I still can’t load it on a montage track. It should be made to generate without having to go through all this, or at least explain it correctly in the manual.

yes it seems a little convoluted.

It can be overkill for certain things.
For test sine tones try the settings as follows for source, frequency and level in the signal generator (change the frequency and level as desired):
test signal 01.jpg
test signal 02.jpg
test signal 03.jpg

Thank you, stingray. I just had Saracon generate the test tones. My reasoning is a full-featured suite like WaveLab should be able to do this ez-peasy. But I felt like I was filling out my Federal Taxes just to get a F399-ing test tone.

Again, Wavelab is insanely powerful and very very affordable, but it only works if you’ve been using it since version 4 and know the logic behind the code.

It’s a difficult compromise. Personally, I like the signal generator. You may not have noticed that it comes with some factory presets including sine tones, and these are fairly easy to adapt to your own requirements.

Thanks Stingray, I appreciate you telling me how to use the simple plugin, because I never would have remembered that, and even checking the manual didn’t remind me of that.

I didn’t know, but it’s the same plugin that’s in Cubase. If only there was a “generate” button on it, it would be so much easier and more intuitive like other programs.

I use the normal Wavelab generator like you do, opening the sine factory preset and modifying the frequency. But you have to modify the frequency in like 4 places, which is not intuitive, and overly complicated. The TestGenerator plugin just has a slider and common buttons to easily get any frequency.

The TestGenerator plugin would be ideal IMO if you could just hit a generate button, but I guess they’re not going to modify an existing Steinberg plugin for Wavelab. But It really should be one of those things a new user would already know how to use without problem.

Yes, it would certainly make things easier. I agree it’s rather awkward the way it is.

I don’t think I said that, but I think you were asking that question yourself (?), and answered it on the Cubase forum (?).

I think that part of the manual needs to be revised for Wavelab. It says “add TestGenerator as an effect on an audio track”, which as far as I can tell you can’t do in Wavelab. Only in the Master Section does it appear for me. Maybe it works on an audio track in Cubase.

Also “activate” (?), then “record”, doesn’t really work. It really should be explained better exactly how to use it in Wavelab, because as I recall it’s not intuitive. For me anyway.

I think that part of the manual needs to be revised for Wavelab. It says “add TestGenerator as an effect on an audio track”, which as far as I can tell you can’t do in Wavelab.

Which page/chapter? I can’t find this.

Online Plugin reference, search for testgenerator.

I seem to recall it from before the online too, though.

This part of the manual is common to WaveLab and Cubase…