Just tried Auto Tune for the First Time

[Davis Webb]

Well, not the first time, but the first time in a long time. Boss VE20. The combination of good reverb, processing and pitch correct are an addictive combo.

If you can't sing, then the chromatic setting will not save you. But, it does smooth things out a lot. Really gives you that studio vocal sound that usually costs a Neumann mic and 10 grand of mixing to get, but in a simpler way.

I tried it without pitch correction and didn't like it as much, yeh, auto tune has its place, like for a tired busker in a Farmer's market after 3 hours of playing, I am all over that thing. My 3rd run through the set, my voice is dead. This lets you play longer and still stay on pitch. When I layed down my tracks in the studio, I learned fast that after a half hour your voice starts dying...you can still sing, mind you, but the inflections and little tricks all kinda fade away and get harder to do. This is for an energizer bunny voice.

Highly recommended, take one for a spin. Its not that robot stuff you hear, on soft setting it just nudges your voice up to pitch, not detectable. For those of us who love to sing, have some training but need to up the game to modern standards, where pitch always has to be perfect, its a godsend.

[delb0y]

I need one of these Trouble is I need one that can read my mind and work out what note I was really shooting for rather than to a note I'm close to!

Seriously, though. It sounds interesting. I still have this idea of edging towards playing solo acoustic gigs and I can't play instrumentals all night. This might be enough to give me the confidence to pursue this idea. I mean, I've sung in bands for 30 years but there's always been a drummer to hide behind...

[Davis Webb]

I play with it a bit and don't really like it when my voice is fresh. The thing is, that realistically, singers can go for about an hour, which is 2 sets, then all heck breaks loose. I really found this out the hard way in the studio, when I went in last month for my first pro studio session, a birthday gift from friends. I had to put together an electronic media kit to promote some gigs I want to do and played for a couple hours in total.

It was painfully obvious when I listened to the mixdown which songs I would be using and which ones not. The best ones were the 3 or 4 that I sung first, the rest were ok and as time went on, they got increasingly mediocre. Its not even just the pitch, its the small inflections that got hurt the worst.

So I would say rent a VBoss E20 or something like that for a week and try it, listening to the results. I really cannot see someone holding pitch for long sessions and I finally understand why it is used. As I understand it, its used by engineers for instruments as well, so that an entire good take isn't dumped because of a few bad glaring mistakes.

Cheers.

[MikeBmusic]

The TC Helicon voice processors use a guitar input so that the device knows what key/chords to work with. Looks like with this Boss unit you have to 'dial in' the key? And what happens if there is a key change in the song?

[Davis Webb]

That is only for the harmonies. The pitch correction is automatic.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

That is only for the harmonies. The pitch correction is automatic.

So if your sung pitch is exactly halfway between a C# and a D, how does it know which way to tune?

[mchalebk]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

So if your sung pitch is exactly halfway between a C# and a D, how does it know which way to tune?

I'd sure like to think that anyone singing in public could get closer to the intended pitch than halfway...

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

I'd sure like to think that anyone singing in public could get closer to the intended pitch than halfway...

This...it will not do miracles. It nudges the note to the closest tone. Here are some notes on how it works;

"Although it is possible to alter analogue signals – those based directly on the electrical signal generated by a microphone, or by a guitar pickup – a wider range of effects is possible when working with digital signals. A digital signal uses discrete values rather than continuous ones, so converting an analogue signal requires taking sets of discrete points or samples. (Higher sampling rates more closely approximate the original sound). These digital signals can be altered so that a sound produces the correct musical note by using a phase vocoder. This works by first changing the duration of the sound without altering its frequency, and then changing the frequency to both hit the correct pitch and restore the original duration.

Here is a link to get someone started on understanding pitch correction.

http://www.csp-audio.com/whatispitchcorrection.htm

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

So if your sung pitch is exactly halfway between a C# and a D, how does it know which way to tune?

I always miss by 49 cents to avoid this problem.

Seriously, though, you're NEVER going to be EXACTLY 50 cents off.

[Athana]

..nothing is real..
Strawberry fields Forever.

[Davis Webb]

I find that I am not using it now, its a neat trick but best saved for late sets where your voice is about to ..fade....

[jseth]

The times I've heard it, live, has had the same effect like a harmonizer for background vocals; best used sparingly, if at all...

Personally? I've put a lot of time and effort into learning to sing better, strengthening my voice, phrasing and pitch... I think I'll just stick to what I've got, thanks...

[KarlK]

To see Autotune used to create a specific artistic effect, check out this performance by Polica, of their song "Wandering Star."



The lead vocalist, Channy Leaneagh, besides having an angelic stage presence, is quite a good singer independent of the Autotune effects. But the application of the technology is a key part of the act, a use of the technology which some hate, and some think is tremendous.

We report, you decide.