Waze Recording Guidelines

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Waze Recording Guidelines

For a smooth voice recording session, please follow these guidelines. Share the guidelines with the recording studio before your session and confirm that they can meet them. Provide a printed copy to the audio engineer on the day of recording.

The average timeline for a voice recording session is:

  • Recording: 1 - 2 hours
  • Post-production: 0.5 - 1 hour

  1. Set up the recording room

Please ensure the following conditions are met before recording:

  • Minimize background noise in the recording room. If you’re recording in a room that isn’t a professional studio, consider turning off the air conditioner or other noisy equipment.
  • Set recording levels such that the loudest parts peak at around -6 decibels (dB). This prevents clipping and distortion.

  1. Record voice prompts

Once the recording room is set up, you can start recording. Please ensure that all voice prompts are recorded in stereo and are saved as WAV files with the following settings: 24-bit, 96 kHz, stereo.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Record the mandatory voice prompts first. In the script you receive from Waze, you’ll find these in a dedicated tab specific to your language.

  2. Record the prompts that are used worldwide (kilometers, miles, meters, yards, feet)

  3. Export each prompt as a separate file

  4. Name each file exactly as it appears in Column A - 'Save As File Name’ in the script. Note that file names are case sensitive. If a prompt has multiple versions, add a number like 1, 2, 3 to the end of the file name.

  5. Place all files in a single folder. Name the folder as follows: {language name} + {voice name} + Mandatory

  6. Zip the folder and send it to waze-localization-community@google.com

  7. Prepare the final audio (Mastering)

Mastering is the final step to get the best possible audio quality. This happens after all voice prompts have been recorded. Please ensure the following:

  • The final audio should have a peak level of 0 dB full scale
  • Consider using Ultramaximizer (like Waves L1/2/3) to enhance sound quality and increase loudness. Set the headroom to between -0.2 and 0 dB and increase by 5 to 6 dB as needed. Be careful not to over-compress the audio.
  • If necessary, consider applying a subtle noise reduction plugin to minimize background noise
  • Remove any long, unnecessary pauses from the beginning and end of each recording
  • Export the mastered files as WAV files
  • Don’t add any sound effects (like reverb, flanger, chorus, delay) unless specifically requested to do so
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