WavSniper
  • What is WavSniper and why would I need it?

      WavSniper was created to meet a need to be able to locate sound (sample) files QUICKLY.

      After scouring the internet looking for something that could be "ready to use" almost immediately, was difficult.

      The way computers have been designed don't allow for searching (easily) for abstract things like sounds and colours. Being limited to "filenames" to describe the contents of a file with words in a filename is difficult, and daunting.

      When working on music, you typically don't want to have to sort through whether a sample is mono, or stereo, or 22KHz, or other useless information. You want to be able to narrow your list to known descriptors (TAGs), and then sample the files quickly, and then import them into your DAW quickly.

      The couple of librarians we could find did not categorize files using any relevant information, but rather on stuff that only computers care about like, file-size, Hz, and length. All of which don't matter when you are looking for an "electronic" and "bird", but the filename turns out to be "A000027.wav"

      Most sample libraries (produced CD/DVD's) provide a directory structure that is "drill down" in nature, and does categorize the sounds based on some arbitrary structure (each sample CD/DVD will have it's own way). Often the filename itself is NOT named appropriately, so usually is irrellevant. However the folder (and higher up folders) are significant markers in finding that file.

      WavSniper simply takes those directory structures and reformats them into an easy to browse format, so you can find your files fast.

      The less time you spend looking for the appropriate sample, the less chance you have losing your groove.

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  • What are system requirements for WavSniper?

      Microsoft Windows
      Requires the .NET Framework.

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  • What DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software does WavSniper support?

      WavSniper as been tested with
      1) Ableton Live 8.x
      2) Cubase 6.x

      If you have tested WavSniper with another DAW, please let us know.

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  • Is there a limit to how many files WavSniper can catalog?

      Not to our knowledge.

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  • What are the limitations to the demo version?

      The only limitation is the Load and Save functionality has been disabled.
      There is no time-limit to the DEMO use of WavSniper

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  • How do I use WavSniper?

      When WavSniper first starts, it is empty, and must be told where to scan for wav and mp3 files.

      Please see "preparation"

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  • How do I import samples into my favourite DAW?

      There are a couple of ways to do this.

      1) Select the sample file from the grid that you like

      Either

      1) Click the RIGHT mouse button, and select "Find File in Explorer", at which point Windows Explorer will open and your file should be highlighted.

      3) Drag and drop your file from Windows Explorer into your DAW.

      OR

      2) Click the MIDDLE mouse button, and while holding the button down, drag the file directly from the WavSniper grid, into your DAW. Depending on your DAW you may have to create a blank audio track ahead of time.

      (For a list of Digital Audio Workstation software that WavSniper is compatible with, please see What DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software does WavSniper support?)

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  • How do I ensure that duplicate files are removed from the grid?

      1) Please ensure that the CRC32 column is made visible (click the "Show/Hide CRC32" button)

      2) Click the column header labelled CRC32 (this will ensure that all soundfiles are resorted in the grid according to their unique CRC32

      3) Go to the "Actions" menu, and click the "Remove Duplicate Entries" option.

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  • Preparing your Sample Library for first scan.

      It is a good idea to consolidate all your folders that contain samples (wav or mp3) files into a single directory, but not necessary.

      With WavSniper you do NOT want to remove any directory structures that your sample libraries already have implemented. WavSniper uses those folder names to generate it's TAGs.

      If anything, you should create a new folder (under your main), to store any samples from libraries/discs that you would like identified uniquely.

      In other words, if you have a sample CD from XYZ company, that you would like TAGged with XYZ, create a folder called XYZ and move the entire sample package into that directory. You will then be able to filter on XYZ, and then focus further down with additional filters.

      Once you have your sample files located in a known location, select the directory from the WavSniper "Select Base Directory" button, and then click "Scan for Audio Files".

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  • What happens when I scan a directory for Audio Files?

      Once WavSniper starts it's scan, it is logging a couple of bits of information about each sound file.

      Along with the filename and full path, it logs the date and time the file was added to the library, as well as a unique CRC32 identifier. This is used to be able to identify sounds that may exist in the library that are identical (although their filenames may be different).

      Often, you may want to re-run your scan of your entire library should you have made some alterations/additions, in which case it is recommended you run a complete rescan.

      Once your directory is completed scanning, all files will be listed and their generated TAGs also listed (in the drop-down selectors).

      You may notice that there are some strange entries in those lists, and may want to edit the list, in which case you should take a look at editing the TAG exclusions list.

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  • My TAGS list is MASSIVE! How do I trim it down?

      The first step to making your TAG list manageable, is taking a look at the composition of your TAGs.

      Click the "TAG Summary" button on the main screen.

      Click the "Scan" button to have WavSniper generate a list of all TAG files and the number of "Occurrences".

      Once that is completed, click the "Occurences" column header, so it is sorted least to most.

      The TAGS that occur only once in the library will be listed first. Simply click the first TAG to highlight it, and then scroll down to the last entry that occurrs once, and click SHIFT then click on the last item you want to highlight.

      Then click "DELETE Selected TAGs".

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