Steinberg WaveLab Pro 10 £430

WaveLab hits 10, so let’s see if reaching double figures is cause for celebration with the latest update to this industry-standard audio editor

WaveLab (Windows 10 and macOS 10.13 and 10.14) is Steinberg’s long-established audio editor and comes in both Pro and Elements (lite) versions. Over the years the original concept has been supersized into a feature-packed multifaceted application focused on recording, editing and finessing of audio, and this differentiates it from the music production focus of most DAWs. This makes it great for a broad range of users and potential uses including broadcast, voiceover, game audio preparation, sample production, and even forensic audio analysis, alongside more music-specific tasks such as mastering and file editing.

Recap

WaveLab’s key features include destructive and non-destructive editing, batch processing, CD authoring, metadata editing, and recording (stereo and multitrack). However, this brief list underplays the wealth of features and depth of flexibility available. For example, editing options include independent processing of left and right channels within stereo files and also spectrum specific processing. Meanwhile, there are so many analysis and metering options (peak, loudness, phase, spectrum, bit, spectrogram, wavelet, and 3D frequency analysis), that you’re truly spoilt for choice. Onboard processing includes the RestoreRig suite (DeClicker, DeNoiser, DeBuzzer, DePopper, and DeCrackler) and files can be edited in isolation or as a number of clips on a timeline (called an Audio Montage).