Steinberg has announced the upcoming release of its highly acclaimed audio editing and mastering suite, WaveLab 8, alongside the smaller derivative, WaveLab Elements 8.
WaveLab 8 features a brand-new speaker management system, loudness metering and processing, single-window plug-in management, a master control panel, iZotope’s MBIT+ master dither, Voxengo’s CurveEQ, brickwall limiter and tube compressor, SuperClips, metadata support and over 150 improvements to its user interface and comprehensive tool set.
“The eighth generation of WaveLab clearly shows that we continue to invest in providing the highest level of quality, reflected in the wealth of enhancements to existing features while bringing new, advanced mastering and restoration tools by Steinberg, iZotope, Voxengo and Sonnox to mastering studios around the world,” said Timo Wildenhain, product marketing manager at Steinberg. “I think it’s safe to say that WaveLab is the number-one mastering software for Mac and PC on the market today.”
WaveLab 8 introduces a new speaker management system to its many indispensable features, providing maximum flexibility with up to eight-loudspeaker configurations.
Observing EBU R-128 compliance, WaveLab includes loudness metering for momentary, short-term and integrated values, true peak support and enhanced loudness and batch processing tools that meet EBU standards.
With the MBIT+ master dither developed by the engineers at iZotope, WaveLab now features a sophisticated set of word-length reduction algorithms for dithering and noise shaping. The second plug-in highlight is Voxengo’s linear-phase spline equalizer, CurveEQ, which matches and transfers a spectrum’s shape from one recording to another. More plug-ins newly introduced to WaveLab 8 are Steinberg’s Brickwall Limiter and Tube Compressor for extra punch and rich tone.
Workflow improvements see a polished user interface for easy operation, a brand-new master transport panel to expedite navigating through the project, single-window plug-in management that allows users to sort plug-ins by manufacturer, category or preference. Audio Montage now offers a new Master Plug-in Section for local storing of plug-in chains alongside SuperClip capability to combine multiple clips.
WaveLab 8 delivers professional editing tools that facilitate the audio editing in many ways: volume clip handles with raise selection adjust levels of individual selections conveniently, Track Lock to prevent accidental modifications, new trim and split options, auto-replay, improved processing via key commands and much more.
Many other improvements include extensive metadata support for creating and exposing valuable information on audio files, 16-bit floating-point zoom resolution for precise waveform display, refined marker handling and batch processing plus an overhauled in-app help system.
Steinberg will also be releasing WaveLab Elements 8, a smaller version of WaveLab, with its studio-grade Brickwall Limiter, Tube Compressor, a new transport panel, enhanced editing tools and track effects. Quality waveform resolution, an enhanced Audio Montage, metadata support and many other great improvements make WaveLab Elements 8 a powerful, and very affordable, audio editing application.
WaveLab 8 and WaveLab Elements 8 will be available from May 2013 for a suggested retail price of 549 EUR and 99.99 EUR respectively. Prices including German VAT. WaveLab 8 Trial will be available as download through the Steinberg website and requires the USB-eLicenser.
