User Guide Ahead Software AG Information on copyright and trade marks The Nero Wave Editor user manual and all its contents are protected by copyright and are the property of Ahead Software. All rights reserved. This user manual contains material that is protected by internationally valid copyright. This manual may not - in whole or in part - be copied, transmitted or otherwise reproduced without the express written permission of Ahead Software AG. All trade names and trademarks are the property of the respective owners. Ahead Software rejects any claims that transcend the legal guarantee rights. Ahead Software AG does not undertake any liability for the correctness of the content of the Nero Wave Editor user manual. The contents of the software supplied, as well as of the Nero Wave Editor user manual, may be changed without prior warning. The trademarks mentioned here are only listed for information purposes. Copyright © 2003 Ahead Software AG REV 1.1 Contents 1 Instructions in brief ........................................................................5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 What's new in Nero Wave Editor? .............................................. 5 Introduction .................................................................................. 6 How this information is organized.............................................. 6 Notes for the user......................................................................... 6 Important terms ............................................................................ 7 2 About Nero Wave Editor ................................................................8 2.1 2.2 2.2.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 8 Structure of the program ............................................................. 8 Workspace ..................................................................................... 9 3 Settings .........................................................................................10 3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 Selecting the input and output devices ................................... 10 Setting the editor options.......................................................... 10 Setting the display features.......................................................... 11 Specifying the directories used .................................................... 12 Audio output ................................................................................. 13 VST Plug-ins ................................................................................ 14 4 View ...............................................................................................15 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 Specifying the view .................................................................... 15 How the audio files can be represented................................... 16 Zooming ...................................................................................... 17 Vertical zoom ............................................................................... 17 Horizontal zoom ........................................................................... 18 5 Audio files .....................................................................................19 5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6.1 5.6.2 5.6.3 5.6.4 Loading and playing back audio files ...................................... 19 Selecting sections of audio files............................................... 20 Saving the selection as a new audio file ...................................... 21 Inserting an audio file ................................................................ 21 Recording a new audio file........................................................ 22 Converting an audio file ............................................................ 23 Editing audio files ...................................................................... 25 Muting .......................................................................................... 25 Normalization ............................................................................... 25 Changing volume ......................................................................... 26 Fading in and out ......................................................................... 27 Contents · 3 Nero Wave Editor 6 Recording gramophone records .................................................28 6.1 6.2 Preparation ................................................................................. 28 Recording ................................................................................... 29 7 Effects ...........................................................................................31 7.1 7.1.1 7.1.2 7.1.3 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 Introduction ................................................................................ 31 Saving the effect settings ............................................................. 31 Loading the effect settings ........................................................... 32 Deleting the effect settings........................................................... 32 Equalizer ..................................................................................... 33 Transposing................................................................................ 34 Dynamics .................................................................................... 35 Time correction .......................................................................... 36 Delay............................................................................................ 37 Flanger ........................................................................................ 37 Chorus......................................................................................... 38 Reverberation ............................................................................. 39 Wah-Wah ..................................................................................... 40 Phaser ......................................................................................... 41 Voice modification ..................................................................... 42 Pitch tuning................................................................................. 43 Karaoke filter .............................................................................. 44 8 Enhancement................................................................................45 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Introduction ................................................................................ 45 Band extrapolation..................................................................... 45 DC Offset Correction.................................................................. 46 Filter toolbox............................................................................... 46 Declicker ..................................................................................... 47 Noise Reduction ......................................................................... 48 Noise Analysis............................................................................ 49 9 Index ..............................................................................................51 Nero Wave Editor Contents · 4 1 Instructions in brief 1.1 What's new in Nero Wave Editor? In comparison with the first version of the software, Nero Wave Editor has a number of new and enhanced features, such as support for DirectX and VST plug-ins. In addition, an overview of the existing processing steps allows you to return quickly to any stage of the process, and crossfading allows you to create professional recordings without pauses and hissing noises. The high quality Declicker which suppresses the individual hissing and clicking noises from records and the Decrackler which removes constant background crackling are just two of the great new features. Of course, Nero Wave Editor is non-destructive, which means that the original file is not modified. As well as protecting the original file, this also speeds up the work, as the changes do not need to be saved individually and are implemented in real time. You only save your new audio file once you are happy with the results of your editing. If Nero Wave Editor should crash before you have saved your file, you can use the crash restore function to restore the most recent version of your work when you restart the program. Another new feature is the automatic separation of tracks which can then be stored in new files. Nero Audio Plug-in-Manager 6.0 reads and writes files in the following formats: 'wav', 'mp3', 'wma' and 'aiff'. You need an additional license to be able to create an unlimited number of MP3 files, which you can obtain from Ahead Software AG. Nero Wave Editor's new effects include a wah-wah filter (a bandpass filter which allows the center frequency to be changed over time), a phaser which allows a signal to be combined with a phase-shifted version of itself, voice modification with which you can modify vocals to create interesting results and pitch tuning, which corrects the intonation of vocal or instrumental recordings. Another new feature is band extrapolation, which makes old and dull sounding recordings seem fresher by generating high frequencies and corresponding basses to extend the frequency spectrum. Band extrapolation can also be used to improve MP3 recordings with a very low bit rate. Using the filter toolbox allows interference frequencies can be filtered out. The Karaoke filter removes the human voice from stereo recordings in which the voice has been mixed in the center of the stereo field, which allows the original song to be saved without the vocals. With the stereo processor the stereo field can be corrected and the stereo effect artificially amplified. Nero Wave Editor Instructions in brief · 5 1.2 Introduction These brief instructions are aimed at putting you in the position where you can quickly create your own audio files or to edit existing ones. Because this is a sizeable and powerful program, only the main points are dealt with here and some parts of the program are not explained in detail (or at all). You can find more detailed information on Nero Wave Editor in the online help feature that you can call up at any time (press the F1 key). You can also find the latest information on Nero Wave Editor at the www.nero.com Internet site. 1.3 How this information is organized These instructions contain practical examples of how to create and edit audio files as well as details for reference. The individual sections offer the following information: Section 1 explains how the manual is organized and the symbols used. Section 2 introduces Nero Wave Editor and its features and describes the structure of the program. Section 3 explains how you can set the input and output device and specify the different program options. Section 4 describes, how you can change the appearance of Nero Wave Editor and work with the zoom function. Section 5 shows how you can easily work with audio files including editing them. Section 6 explains, how analog gramophone recordings can be saved as digital audio files. Section 7 shows you how to alter audio files by using special effects. Section 8 shows you how to alter the sound of audio files by optimization. Section 9 helps you find the Information you need with the aid of the index. 1.4 Notes for the user The following symbols are used in these instructions: This symbol stands for 'warning' or 'danger'. Hints that bear this symbol are very important and the program may behave incorrectly if you ignore them. This symbol stands for 'useful tip' or 'worth knowing'. Information marked this way is important and instructive. Nero Wave Editor Instructions in brief · 6 1.5 Important terms A number of important terms relating to audio files are explained below. The choice of sampling rate and bit depth has a significant influence on the quality of the recording. Bit depth / resolution In principle, audio data is made up of periodic vibrations, which can be illustrated by a curve. The resolution shows exactly how the sampling value of a curve should be determined. The higher the resolution, the more exactly this can be done. The sampling rate indicates how often an analog-digital converter determines the sample value from an analog signal. This is measured in sample values per second (Hertz, often abbreviated as Hz). In this case it is also true that the higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the results. Sampling rate Nero Wave Editor Instructions in brief · 7 2 About Nero Wave Editor 2.1 Introduction Nero Wave Editor is a user-friendly program for editing and recording audio files, which may be of the 'wav', 'mp3', 'vqf' or 'aiff' format. The other types of format that can also b ...