Steinberg releases WaveLab 13 with Dolby Atmos mastering

Steinberg has announced the availability of WaveLab 13, which adds Dolby Atmos music mastering to more than 30 new features, including multicore rendering and streamlined editing features for both stereo and immersive projects.

As Dolby Atmos continues to grow across the industry, WaveLab 13 debuts a new Dolby Atmos production workflow, with new Master and Album montages that deliver the tools to finalise immersive sound projects with precision and ease. The Master montage streamlines the import and editing of ADM files, applying processing, normalising and re-rendering, while preserving object spatial information.

The Immersive Plug-in Hub allows standard VST 3 plugins to be inserted across up to 128 audio channels, also allowing bed, clip, and track plugins to be inserted. The Album montage makes arranging multiple ADM files into a single, cohesive album master straightforward. Clips can be visualised in multiple formats, from stereo through to 9.1.6, with the option to update the display automatically to match the Dolby Atmos Renderer.

Loudness and TruePeak normalisation ensure accurate levels across multiple ADM files, with options to preserve or adjust differences between them and stereo masters. Compatible ADM files can be combined into a new file with crossfade support and multiple ADM files of any type can be merged into one. A stereo reference track enables accurate A/B comparison and length alignment of the ADM file with a stereo master.

The updated MasterRig 2 plugin suite has a fully scalable user interface, sidechain support, and new, enhanced modules for EQ, compression, limiting, and stereo imaging. Further support for Dolby Atmos workflows comes from the MixerDelay, which aligns speaker channels by individually adjusting delay times, and Bass Manager, which optimises low-frequency distribution, enhancing clarity and consistency in immersive mixes.

Tailored for vocal and speech processing, VocalChain is a multi-effect which integrates tools like EQ, compression, and reverb in a streamlined interface, while UltraShaper merges advanced compression with transient shaping in a single dynamics processor. Plugins can also now be instantly removed from a slot by dragging them outside it.

Full multi-core support for Audio Montage elements means multiple tasks can be processed simultaneously, radically reducing render times and making the workflow for complex projects much more efficient. Switching to another tab seamlessly continues playback from the same position as the previous tab, making full A/B comparison of audio files and clips faster and more precise. Clip audio signals can be routed directly to track plugins with sidechain capabilities.

Each signal can be adjusted, giving precise control for techniques like ducking and rhythmic processing. Many improvements to how the WaveLab GUI uses and manages colours include the ability to automatically manage the colours of clips and tracks based on custom rules. Alternatively, random colours can be assigned to all tracks with a single command. The colour palette can be customised by choosing the number of hues and brightness levels, with colour contrast and clarity for selected clips also improved.

“We are very proud of what we’ve achieved with WaveLab 13, which includes offering a standardised workflow to master music for Dolby Atmos,” said Luis Dongo, Steinberg senior marketing manager, pro audio. “On top of that, with over 30 new features, additional plugins and workflow accelerators, WaveLab 13 is a remarkable release that will make both existing and new users very happy.”