SpectraLayers 12 Update Explained
"SpectraLayers 12 Explained®" is a comprehensive video tutorial series from production wiz Gary Hiebner designed to get you up to speed on all the latest features and enhancements in Steinberg’s powerful spectral editing software. Whether you’re a music producer, audio engineer, or post-production professional, Gary’s clear and practical demonstrations will show you how to isolate, enhance, and transform your audio with precision and creativity. These SpectraLayers 12 videos are designed for SpectraLayers users looking to learn and master everything the latest version has to offer.
Videos
• Introduction (02:26) - We start off with an overview of what's going to be covered in this video series, including all the new features and updates. Gary also provides a quick walkthrough of the interface to familiarize anyone that's not experienced with SpectraLayers.
• Updates to Unmix Song (05:38) - Here, we take a look at the updates and changes to the Unmix Song module in version 12, comparing version 11 to version 12. You can hear how the separation of the layers has been improved with fewer artifacts.
• Updates to Unmix Drums (10:27) - There have been extra separation drum layers added to the Unmix Drums module, including extra cymbal options. We take a comparative listen to v11 and v12 to hear the improved separation in drum detection of the different layers. We also look at using the updated Unmix Drum module after using the Unmix Song module.
• Improved Unmix Noisy Speech (02:55) - We look at the improvement to the Unmix Noisy Speech module next, which allows you to separate your speech or voice from any background noise. Here, we run the process and compare how much it's improved over version 11.
• Using the Unmix Soundtrack (04:38) - Explore the new Unmix Soundtrack Module and see how it allows you to take a piece of audio and separate the dialogue, music, and background to separate layers. This is super handy if you're working in the post production field. For example, in this video, you see how we can extract the music and add in other music layers over the original dialogue and ambient background.
• Using the Unmix Instrument (03:38) - With this new module, you can detect and register an instrument that doesn't fall within the categories of the current Unmix instruments. So you'll see how we can register a different instrument and then use the Unmix process to isolate this instrument to a layer.
• Updates to Unmix Sax & Brass (02:54) - Now in the Unmix Song module, you have the option to Unmix the Sax & Brass layers first in the process. Sometimes these can sit very close to other instrumentation in the mix (like the vocals), so by attempting to process the sax and brass first, you can get a different result with the layers.
• Voice Enhance Tool (04:16) - Learn how to use this new tool that uses machine learning and AI technology to reconstructive audio files. For example, if your voice is band-limited or clipped, you can use the Voice Enhance Tool to reconstruct and reshape the audio to a better quality.
• Using the DePlosive Module (04:51) - With this module, you can remove hard or harsh plosive sounds in your audio usually found in vocal recordings on some words with certain consonants. In this video, you'll learn how to deal with these trouble spots.
• Improved Voice DeNoise (05:19) - Here we take a look at improvements to the Voice DeNoise module and hear how much better it separates the voice from any background noise or music compared to version 11. There's much better separation, and the process time has improved.
• Working with Multiple Layers (05:31) - See how to use the new feature of being able to work on multiple layers at a time. This is a huge time-saver, as you can apply a module or even editing functions across multiple layers at a time.
• Updates to Unmix Transcription (09:38) - In this video, we examine the updates to the Unmix Transcription. There have been more languages added, and the module is more accurate in its transcription process. In this video, we Unmix the dialogue in an audio file and then use the Unmix Transcription to create a transcription of the dialogue. We also test this feature out with another language to see how well it transcribes another language. You'll also learn how to create a transcript for multiple voices.
• Updates & New Features with the Cut & Copy Special (06:05) - Here we take a look at the updates to the Cut and Copy Special edit functions. These work well for consolidating audio to specific layers or even creating new layers for selection of audio on a layer.
• Updates & New Functionality to the Frequency Selection Tool (05:43) - Watch how the Frequency Selection tool tracks frequencies better in this video. You can drag back to change the tracking of the selection and also make multiple frequency selections with the tool, whereas before you could only create one selection at a time.
• Updates to the Harmonics Selection Tool (03:36) - With the Harmonics Selection tool, you can now select extra harmonics above and below the targeted harmonic. Plus, you can make multiple selections of the harmonics, which you couldn't do previously.
• Improved Transient Selection Tool (04:29) - The Transient Selection tool is more accurate and flexible now, as it locks into target areas more accurately now. You can also choose what you want to include or exclude in the transient selection. I'll also show you how you can use the Unmix modules and the Transient tool to improve the transients on a layer that has been unmixed.
• Resize Active Selections in the Spectrograph (03:10) - You can now resize your active selections in the Spectrograph, even while in playback. You can also resize the fades on the selection.
• Custom Batch Processing Naming (03:54) - In version 12, you can create custom naming schemes with the batch process. You can add some new tags to the filenames to create these custom naming events, which works really well when working with layers, as you can create custom names based on the layers.
• Group ARA Clips by Track (07:25) - There are now new clip-grouping options in ARA mode. In this video, you'll see how to use ARA mode in your DAW and then choose the different grouping options for navigating your clips in the DAW.
• Other Workflow Improvements (07:23) - In this final video, we look at some of the other smaller workflow improvements that have been added to version 12. You'll see how you can render your volume envelopes to a layer, work with multiple VSTs now in the VST module, and consolidate successive actions to one event in the History panel. Other new additions include the new Filter search panel in the modules panel, the Frequency Selection using Octave Display units, the new Phase Rotation module, and finally the ability to transfer your user presets to another computer.