Nuendo Version 11 Released

First revealed in November, Steinberg announces the immediate availability of its much-anticipated premium media production system, Nuendo 11. At the heart of Nuendo is two decades of technological advancements, which make it the outstanding DAW it is today. At the turn of the millennium, the first version introduced native technologies with peerless audio and surround sound tools to the pro audio industry. Now, Nuendo is at the heart of countless audio production facilities, delivering dedicated workflows and features to professionals around the world.

Nuendo 11 delivers new and enhanced features, including dedicated tools for Dolby Atmos and Netflix productions along with new design tools and exclusive content. A major update on this scale confirms Steinberg’s commitment to keep advancing Nuendo’s status as the gold standard for professional audio production.

ADM authoring for Dolby Atmos is one of the highlights included in Nuendo 11. With this module and its integrated Renderer for Dolby Atmos, content can easily be created according to Dolby Atmos specifications, allowing producers to work within Nuendo while eliminating the need for further software or external hardware.

Senior Product Manager, Content Creation, at Dolby Laboratories, Jordan Glasgow commented: “Nuendo 11 is a huge step forward for Dolby Atmos content creation. Having all this functionality inside of Nuendo really streamlines the workflow, as you no longer need to toggle between applications or wait for your final output file to print in real time. I think this release is definitely going to make a lot of Dolby Atmos content creators very happy.”

Nuendo now includes an entire metering plug-in suite with SuperVision. Providing more than 20 different display modules for level metering, loudness measurement and analysis, SuperVision is extremely flexible and offers customisable settings and layouts for up to nine module slots.

More metering options are integrated with the Netflix Loudness Meter and Intelligibility Meter. To ensure consistency of content production, the Netflix Loudness Meter in Nuendo 11 is calibrated to the official Sound Mix Specifications and Best Practices, measuring the dialog-gated loudness as required by Netflix. Based on algorithms developed by the Oldenburg branch of the Fraunhofer IDMT in Germany, the new AI-powered Intelligibility Meter indicates in real time the effort of the listener to understand speech in the mix.

Job Queues is a tremendous time-saver, allowing engineers to enter up to 20 different tasks in a list. This means that stems are individually exported together with all the settings available in the Export Audio Mixdown dialog, but the tasks are processed in one single action.

Nuendo 11 also adds many enhancements to its sound design tools. The MultiTap Delay now supports up to 7.1 surround sound. Frequency 2 offers dynamic EQ, with the filter nodes of the eight available bands responding to the input signal and also offering independent side-chaining. The new Multiband Imager places up to four bands in different locations within the stereo image. The new Squasher compresses the input signal in up to three bands, with an individual gate, saturation effect and independent side-chaining. The enhanced Sampler Track now slices samples and includes two global LFOs.

SpectraLayers One is a simplified version of the acclaimed spectral editing software SpectraLayers Pro 7. SpectraLayers One offers a spectrogram view of the audio tracks in Nuendo, including selection, editing and display tools that allow intricate editing to improve dialog and location audio.

VST Connect SE 5, the remote recording plug-in already included in Nuendo, now supports HiDPI and offers a redesigned interface with scalable window.

Nuendo 11 also has several new tools for musicians. The Scale Assistant lets users set the scale of the music, which is then adjusted accordingly within the newly enhanced Key Editor, which now displays Global Tracks. Along with other improvements, the Score Editor includes Note Length and Velocity Overlays to edit notes, the new Property tab for easy access to notation settings and support for Dorico’s beautiful Bravura and Petaluma fonts.

Nuendo 11 provides many additional workflow and performance enhancements, including:

• ARA improvements
• Variable DPI on Windows 10 computers
• Optimized GUI on macOS computers
• Extended Eucon integration
• Marker lines for an improved display of marker events
• Further refinements to continue to facilitate working with Nuendo

Rounding out the extended feature set, Nuendo 11 comes with a wealth of new sound content: over 750 game sound effects by Soundbits, six loop and sound sets, more than 200 plug-in and track presets, and the seamless integration with the Soundly cloud library of sound effects, allowing users to tap into a variety of premium sounds. 

Steinberg’s Marketing Manager for Nuendo, Luis Dongo, commented: “We’re delighted to be launching Nuendo 11 during its twentieth anniversary year. It’s a major update and it has a lot to offer. Offering the ability to create content for Dolby Atmos, Netflix approved loudness metering, studio-grade instruments as well as the many other additions and improvements, Version 11 is a giant leap forward that provides new opportunities for producers and engineers working on commercial audio productions.”

Availability and pricing

Nuendo 11 is available from resellers and through the Steinberg Online Shop, at these suggested retail prices:

• Nuendo 11 boxed version – $999.99
• Nuendo 11 downloadable version – $972.00

Various downloadable updates and upgrades, crossgrades, and education versions are exclusively available through the Steinberg Online Shop.

Customers who have activated Nuendo 10 or earlier versions since November 11, 2020, are eligible for a free, downloadable grace period update to the latest version.

New features

• Dolby Atmos production workflow for authoring content to Dolby Atmos specifications within Nuendo
• SuperVision metering plug-in suite with customisable settings for the most accurate view of your sound
• Netflix Loudness Meter for ensuring your streamed content is compliant to Netflix specifications
• Intelligibility Meter for making sure dialog is both audible and intelligible to the listener
• Job Queues for queueing multiple jobs with different export requirements and processing all at once
• Sound design tools and content for creating enhanced sonic experiences in any genre
• Soundly Cloud Services support for sending files from Soundly into Nuendo 11
• SpectraLayers One for surgically editing sound in the spectral domain
• Sampler Track including slicing, LFOs and legato glide
• Scale Assistant allows you to follow, quantise and play live to a set scale
• Advanced Key Editor for creating perfect pitch bends and more
• Global Tracks lets you stay in sync more easily
• Frequency 2 is an amazingly precise dynamic EQ for better mixing
• Imager for placing up to four bands of different frequencies in independent locations in the stereo field
• Squasher lets you improve leads, tame bass and enhance reverb
• Score Editor featuring new workflow improvements and beautiful new fonts
• New samples including six fresh, exclusive sound and loop sets
• Enhanced workflow and performance including ARA improvements, variable DPI for Windows and Marker Lines
• VST Connect SE 5 for remote recording over the Internet
• Eucon integration for compatibility with the newest Avid consoles
• DOP Pin Process for a smoother workflow
• Apple Metal Acceleration for maximum performance by communicating directly with the GPU
• New Track pictures for visually identifying different track types
• OSC Renderer for the creation and mix of object-based content using the OSC network protocol
• Various workflow and user interface improvements