Tracktion Waveform Pro 12

New in version 12

Fresh UI Makeover
The User Interface has undergone a complete refresh, offering new light and dark schemes that perfectly complement Waveform’s bold, high contrast new look.

Improved Quick Actions
Multiple quick action bars can now be stacked in the arrange window with a simple click of a button. Further improvements come in the form of visual icons which are now on hand and can be added with a right-click.

Entirely New Browser
The browser has been completely overhauled offering intuitive new ways to browse, tag and favourite. A new categorised approach allows you to select and search by: Plugins, Presets, Racks, Samples, Clips, Tracks or All. Making the search experience both cleaner and more efficient.

Brand New BassOSC Instrument
Create the perfect sub effortlessly with the brand new BassOSC synth. A minimal, yet carefully laid out UI allows for quick adjustments while a wave type and drive knob are on hand for character and grit.

Guitar
Dual Guitar IR
Dual Guitar IR is a low-latency, dual Impulse Response (IR) convolver developed as a cabinet simulator for guitar and bass amplifiers and pre-amplifiers.
The single Guitar IR plugin is less CPU intensive and is offered to suit live performance, simple process chain simulations, and can easily be loaded onto other instruments for interesting acoustic effects.

Utility Plugins
Waveform 12 also adds 6 of the most commonly requested utility tools, including:
An AB Switch – A convert to Mono tool – a Mid/Side splitter – a Spectrum analyser – Plus MIDI CC and a MIDI Note Name plugin.

15 Refreshed Audio Effects
Waveforms’ entire collection of stock DSP plugins has been refreshed, bringing much-improved performance, functionality and visual appearance.

MIDI
Waveform 12 adds powerful new filters to its advanced MIDI editor, including Notes in Key, Notes in use and named notes – making composition and editing faster than ever.

MIDI Randomisation
In Waveform 12 Velocity, pitch, note start and note length can all be randomised via dedicated popup windows. Simply choose between a more human or more random performance and then dial in the strength control to taste.

New Drum Grid Mode
Turbocharge your programming with a drum centric alternative to the Piano Roll. Mouse clicking to enter and reposition drum hits is now far quicker and more intuitive.

Probability Added to Step Clips
Breath new life into basic patterns by adding and adjusting probability per note. Simply raise or lower the probability of a note being triggered via a slider and witness ever-evolving loops unfold before your eyes.

MIDI Strum
Inject instant movement and realism with MIDI strum. Simply select chord(s) in the midi editor and simply command drag to create a strum performance.

Added Controller Support
Controller integration has been greatly improved with added support for a selection of ICON, Behringer, Presonus and Native Instruments controllers – with more be added all the time.

WHAT KIND OF MUSICIAN ARE YOU?
Waveform is a rapidly evolving application specifically designed for the needs of modern music producers. Specializing in creative and inspirational workflows and avoiding features not explicitly needed allow the app to remain surprisingly fun and intuitive. While other apps try to appeal to broad user groups, for example film score, live sound, performance – we are laser focused on music production.

BAND RECORDING
When working as part of a band, there is a strong focus on recording, editing and mixing real instruments and vocals. Waveform Pro has assembled some of the most highly respected partners

Multi track drums are potentially one of the toughest tasks for editing and historically have required specialist knowledge and skills. Engineers working at the highest levels have relied on a tool known as ‘Beat Detective’ in an existing DAW – the Waveform development team poured over countless tutorials to devise ways in which this process can be improved – the result of this effort is our intuitive Groove Doctor tool set.

Another common production technique with live multi-tracked recordings is drum replacement. Whether you’re adding punch and character to a kick or replacing a poorly recorded snare, simply click ‘Beat replace drum loop’ and the audio clip is automatically analyzed, sliced and imported into the Multisampler. From here you can generate a MIDI clip and switch out/experiment with drum samples.

Have you ever missed an amazing practice take? Or cursed when an artist sings a pickup just before the downbeat? Waveform’s Retrospective Record has you covered, keeping a recording buffer running for any track, capturing musical ideas in the background even when not recording. Ideal for multi-track band recordings, the retrospective record buffer can be set to range between 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Performances can be retrospectively recalled with a simple click of a button.

EDM – HOUSE / TECHNO
Electronic dance music covers a broad spectrum, for this example we will focus on the four-to-the-floor genres that can propel producers to the top of the charts.

In the world of EDM, there is a vast array of source material to pull from, whether it be loop libraries, VI’s or recorded sounds. Waveform offers the perfect browser for EDM productions. Not only is it intuitive and easy to navigate but you can create multiple instances and have them audition and synchronize loops simultaneously. Audio previews sync to the project tempo and between the browser panes making it super easy to audition loops and experiment with different combination ideas. Once happy with a selection of samples you can batch add them to an edit with a simple drag and drop.

Step sequencers are synonymous with house and techno music production. Allowing for the quick, intuitive programming of rhythmic elements they’ve been the go-to choice of producers for drums, basslines and more. Waveform’s Step Clips integrate seamlessly with the Drum Sampler and can be dragged onto any track within your edit. Or program rhythmic synth elements with your favorite virtual or external MIDI instruments directly in the timeline.

Clip FX are a unique and highly creative tool within Waveform. Each audio clip can be manipulated directly at the clip level with a suite of creative sound design tools. Allowing you to ‘layer’ processing and re-arrange freely. Tools include step volume, clip reverse, pitch manipulation and any plugin DSP. Creating pulsing risers or interesting rhythmic content has never been easier.

Chord Companion adds to Waveform Pro’s renowned composition tools allowing you to trigger complex chords with just a single MIDI note or pad on your controller. A variety of scales are offered allowing for the easy drag and drop of chords onto the pads. Once on the pads the octave and inversion of each can be tweaked and performance tools like arpeggiation, note repeat and random are on hand to inspire and speed up your productivity.

Antares Autotune is a powerful tool for both fixing minor errors in a performance, but also adding more extreme FX that have become popular. It is commonly used to perfect an amazing performance that may have exactly the right energy but not quite pitch perfect, running small amounts of correction can be just the confidence boost your vocalist needs. Alternatively, it can be used with more extreme correction to result in the iconic vocoder style sound.

ELECTRONIC – D&B / DUBSTEP / GRIME
The secret to becoming a superstar electronic producer lies in the discipline of sound design. Watch interviews with some of the genres greats such as Noisia, Pendulum and Deadmau5 and they all say the same thing – take time to create your own sample libraries so when you write your tracks you pull from your own creative pool. This is critical in defining your own sound.

The Waveform development team have given deep thought to this process and have not only built the tools needed, but also the workflow to make this process as fun and productive as possible.

At the center of this workflow is the powerful Multi Sampler instrument. Sounds can be ingested into the sampler from several intuitive sources within the DAW, but also from outside the DAW. It allows you to route audio from other apps – including your web browser – directly into the sampler, opening up a world of sound sources. Sounds can be creatively manipulated and the output of the sampler can be saved in standard loop format or our unique ‘track loop’ format that behaves like a normal audio clip, but can also reload all the track settings used to create the sound – including the MIDI data, instrument and DSP – so integrating the sound into future productions is ultimately flexible and auditioning is just like any other audio clip.

Another powerful feature of the sampler is the old skool ‘Recycle’ workflow – greatly improved and simplified of course. In Waveform, you can send any audio clip to the sampler at the touch of a button, with automatic transient slicing, to immediately be able to convert the audio to MIDI for manipulation. Alongside the popular warping capabilities, audio can be twisted to your liking.

Editing between multiple audio clips can be super creative using the innovative comp group feature. This deploys the familiar comp swipe tool usually associated with multi-take files, but can be used across unrelated clips. A good example of how it can be used involves grouping several bass or lead clips and using swipe to quickly select regions from each – this can result in really interesting transitions.

Waveform Pro’s powerful automation system can be used creatively to add rhythmic movement to your sounds. Preset wave shape patterns can be easily deployed, adjusted and assigned to your favorite parameters. Another set of tools for adding movement to your sounds are the suite of modifiers that can also be assigned to any parameter – use an enveloper to pump the bassline when the kick hits or use a randomizer to add character.

Diving deep into your virtual instruments and creating your own patches is another key part of defining your sound. Waveform Pro’s rack environment is a modular playground for loading any number of instruments, FX and modifiers with an intuitive patch system. Layer multiple instruments and craft your own complex sounds with ease and create your own faceplates for these creations with only your favorite parameters at your control to tame the complexity.

SINGER / SONGWRITER
As a singer songwriter, you are looking for an application that allows you to ideate and construct compositions as quickly and easily as possible – the technology needs to get out of the way of the creative flow. Waveform Pro includes unique tools and workflows designed to be as intuitive as possible and thereby reducing the technological barrier that can so easily stifle the creative process.

Constructing the basic elements of a track requires the artist to either be a multi-instrumentalist, or have the necessary toolkits available to easily recreate musical elements. Waveform Pro includes a collection of unique, full multi-track drum loops, recorded in one of Italy’s finest studios. Utilizing Waveform’s Track Loop format, the content can be auditioned as a stereo file and utilized as such, or imported in full multi track format at the touch of a button for ultimate flexibility. With a wide array of drumming styles available, these collections can form the basis of diverse musical genres.

Waveform Pro also includes the heavyweight sample based instrument ‘Collective’ designed to provide an extensive list of different instrument types – everything from drums, strings, keys to less typical instruments such as harps and mandolins. Finding the instrument you hear in your head to accompany your creative idea is its primary goal.

Vocals are obviously a critical element for songwriters and there is no better tool for speeding up the creative process than Antares Autotune included in Waveform Pro. By utilizing the superb correction algorithms, you can minimize the number of takes needed to capture the moment and keep the creative process flowing. Often these early takes can be the best as they have the most feeling – so correcting any minor tonal errors allow you to retain the content through to completion.

Another Grammy award winning tool, indispensable to a songwriter, is Celemony Software’s ground breaking Melodyne, also included in Waveform Pro. This powerful application allows you to manipulate audio and experiment with different tone and phrasing of your recorded ideas with no loss of audio quality. Waveform Pro features ARA integration that allows Melodyne to function seamlessly within the DAW environment.

New in Waveform Pro 11 is the multi screen management system including optimized touch capabilities. What this allows you to do is step away from your main computer and utilize an iPad (or similar) device to control the DAW from anywhere in your space. Removing the glare of technology from your thought process yet having all your core functionality at your finger tips.

Every musical project requires some level of signal processing to complete the composition – whether it be adding a touch of reverb or dynamics, or more additive FX such as delays or combinations of processors – Waveform Pro has you covered. The ‘Standard Pack’ includes the aptly named ‘DAW Essential Collection’ which provides high quality CPU optimized processors for all the common tasks. Waveform Pro 11 also adds to the popular ‘Artisan Collection’ now with 182 elemental processors for you to combine in interesting ways – there is something for everyone and every style. With this depth of processing, you will never be left short for creative inspiration.

HIP HOP / R&B
Melody can be a powerful starting point especially for Hip Hop and R&B where the beats often dance around the melodic structure and vocals. Waveform Pro is packed full of creative tools to help inspire and capture your melodic ideas. The revolutionary Pattern Generator’s and MIDI tools place a potent sound design toolkit at your fingertips, and when it comes time to record we back you up with the industries finest tools including Antares Autotune and Celemony Software’s Melodyne.

Waveform Pro’s pattern generator toolkit brings together melody, chord progression and bass into one easy to use synchronized environment. Choose from popular chard progressions and manipulate to your taste while automatically adding melodic and bass accompaniment. As you build your arrangement, the toolkit can also be controlled via the global chord track so experimenting with key changes is fast and easy.

If playing your progressions is your preference, the new Chord Companion instrument allows you to trigger complex chords with a single note and assign to your favorite controller hardware for tactile performance. Also featuring powerful arpeggiator and note repeater, the Chord Companion is a potent creative weapon.

Next on the agenda is a killer beat. You know you need to go deep to get that unique sound and we have the tools to get you there. Waveform Pro’s samplers are designed to help you create your own sound libraries, surgically engineer your audio and program. With a dedicated Drum Sampler UI and the integrated Step Sequencer you have all the tools needed to compose the perfect beat for your next hit track.

When it comes to vocals, Waveform Pro has everything you need to capture the ultimate performance and craftily engineer to your preferred style. With the included Antares Autotune you can fine tune minor imperfections, or mangle to the popular vocoder effect level – with this powerful tool, anyone can approach the mic and get amazing results.

Adding the dressing to your musical salad is the next step and this is where all of Waveform Pro’s included instruments come into play. Whether you are pulling from your own sound library or just need to add a sprinkling of brass or strings, we got you covered. The powerhouse instrument ‘Collective’ provides a wide array of instrument types to choose from – everything from grand piano’s to harps are included. 4OSC and Subtractive provide the floor rumbling bass and dreamy pads classic analog synthesizers are famous for.

EXPERIMENTAL
Experimental covers a broad array of genres, but all invoke a similar methodology – taking existing tools and workflows and using them in unique and unusual ways – often outside of their design parameters. This is where musical genesis takes place and entirely new genres are created – and the Waveform development team dive deep thinking of ways to spark these uprisings.

Since the very fits version of Waveform (Tracktion back then) the app has featured a digital modular philosophy. Unique at the time, it differed from other DAW’s with fixed signal flow based on mixing consoles of the time. Waveform Pro features a powerful ‘rack’ environment that allows you to freely route audio, MIDI and modifier tools in a free space. Connect all your DSP in weird and wonderful ways and spice with the array of modifier tools.

Waveform Pro’s powerful modifier tools are perfect for experimentation. Rapidly assign to your plugin or DAW parameters to explode them into life. The suite includes step sequencer, LFO, envelopers and more. These powerful tools allow sounds to interact together in organic ways, bouncing off and around each other. Deploy in the modular rack environment to dive deep into sound design and sonic evolution.

A good sampler is an indispensable tool to any sound design enthusiast – and Waveform Pro’s has been carefully designed to not only provide a potent feature set, but also a revolutionary workflow around it. Sounds can be ingested into the sampler from several intuitive sources within the DAW, but also from outside the DAW. It allows you to route audio from other apps – including your web browser – directly into the sampler, opening up a world of sound sources.

To help you keep track of your sonic explorations, Waveform Pro’s unique ‘track loop’ audio file format gives you the convenience of loop auditioning, with all the flexibility of loading the original sound source. Track Loops behave like a normal audio clip, but can also reload all the track (or multi track) settings used to create the sound – including the MIDI data, instrument and DSP – so integrating the sound into future productions is ultimately flexible and auditioning is just like any other stereo audio clip.