Vocal help (autotune?)

[mazafaka]

This is somewhat off-topic (although not entirely):

1. I am learning to sing (if you could call it that), and although I know it's cheating, could someone suggest a plugin to use with Live 5 for vocal pitch correction? Is Antares Auto-Tune the only/best option?

2. I am using a PC for most of my work, and I see that Auto-Tune is not available in VST format, only in DirectX. Is the performance of DirectX plugins with Ableton worse than their VST counterparts?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

-Ethan

[Clearscreen]

try akai's pitchright plugin if you can find a demo as well. it's not as featured as autotune, but it's a lot cheaper and may help you out

[mazafaka]

Just did a little more research and found Melodyne Uno for ~$159 USD. Anyone used this? This will be for a project studio, so I think single track processing will be fine.

[nebulae]

I have tested both Autotune and Melodyne Uno.

First, Autotune on the PC is only available as DirectX, so you have to use FFx4, found here:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/vb-audio/us/pro ... dxrack.htm

This is one of the few DX to VST wrappers I know of, and it's quite stable in Live. However, this always feels like a workaround.

Melodyne seems infinitely more flexible to me. You can do a ton of magical things, especially with vocals. With Uno, you can only load one file at a time, and because it is another app, you might have to load it via rewire to do your edits.

If I had to choose, I'd pick Uno over Autotune, and I'd get it from AudioMidi.com.

Hope this helps.

[The Offender]

spend the money on vocal lessons instead
pitch correcting is for posuers

[forge]

Melodyne is absolutely fantastic, I find it very unstable via rewire or VST, but it's more like a wave editor anyway and I always use it standalone.

You can get very applied with editing vocals and doing it invisibly can take alot of work, and melodyne does have a bit of a learning curve but it is TOTALLY worth it. You can get amazing results with a bit of effort. And of course the more you get used to it the quicker you get.

dont bother with auto tune, I bought it but now I use Ableton it's useless as I've not been able to get any vst>dx wrapper to actually work.

I would definitely recommend melodyne Uno - I have the cre8 version, Uno wasnt out at the time but I would have got it if it was as I dont use any of the multitrack features (unless I just want to preview a vocal in context)

[nebulae]

The VST>DX works really well, and Autotune does work in that situation and has since Live V.3. I know friends that have used it in live performances without issues. However, I do agree that Melodyne is a much better option because it graphically allows you to do your work. I also agree that rewire is a bad way to go with those tools. But then again, I hate having to switch between apps when editing.

Also, I've read that Uno's engine is newer and better than the multitrack version. Can you confirm?

I'd say that if you have to play live and process or autotune live, look into Autotune. But make sure you test out the demo with the wrapper. Otherwise, Melodyne is the best option.

[jahnlay]

Get Melodyne, by far the best

[innerdreamrecords.com]

Just did a little more research and found Melodyne Uno for ~$159 USD. Anyone used this? This will be for a project studio, so I think single track processing will be fine.

I can't say enough good things about Melodyne as both a pitch correction and learning software. If you're serious about learning to sing get a teacher or some good DVD's, CD's/books. Melodyne will help you to see where you're going flat or sharp and other things.

I'm an average singer at best but I was able to produce a soprano with the Boston Symphony last year and she was able to really help me understand good technique, that helped a lot.

[majestic]

I use Melodyne cre8 and Autotune 4 all the time, love 'em both. I've never had any tech problems with either of them, they both work flawlessly. Don't necessarily write off cre8 in favour of uno, it just depends on what you're doing. I generally run 5 or 6 tracks of Melodyne concurrently, and uno would be painful in my case.

Get Melodyne to fuck with melodies in the studio, and Autotune for live real-time pitch correction.

[mazafaka]

First of all, thanks for everyone's input - this is very helpful to me.

What is the workflow process like with Melodyne? Can I use it like a sample editor, where I pull up the recorded vocal track, make corrections and resave it? Can I then move on to another track? When it says the limitation is one track, can I have multiple vocal tracks and edit them one at a time?

Thanks,
Ethan

[innerdreamrecords.com]

I use Cre8 - and this is how.
I import my vocal, say the lead and then you run a pitch detection on the file with cre8. After that I tune the bad notes and export as a new file. Then record my doubled vocal to that or backing vocals. Then I re-import the lead vocal and the new parts and correct the new parts errors then align the phrases so the syllables don't clash. You can polish as much as you like with it to get super slick POP productions or just clean them up a bit.

[lightman]

DO NOT USE PITCH CORRECTION.

practicing singing is the best thing you can do, it will develop your voice, if you use auto tune, you will get used to using it, and use it more and more.

there were many great singers before autotune!

[Tommy_B]

I would personally never use Autotune (or any other pitch correction device) in an attempt to make me "sound better". If you cant sing...then you just cant sing.

[innerdreamrecords.com]

I would personally never use Autotune (or any other pitch correction device) in an attempt to make me "sound better". If you cant sing...then you just cant sing.

Every pro engineer and producer I know uses pitch correction. If you're making tunes in the POP market you have to stay with the pack or be left behind, simple fact.