Ableton Forum

I use Live to write original songs. My voice is pretty bad as far as carrying a tune. Can I use the Vocoder feature to smooth out my voice when it 'wanders' off pitch?

simple answer no. that's not really what vocoders are used for. I wish I could give you a more detailed answer but i myself haven't really looked into the details of how a vocoder works. pretty much I always saw it as using whatever audio you feed through it as an envelope for a synth or noise. therefore you'd have to be playing the notes that you're singing for the vocoder to play the same notes.

i think if you want your voice to sound like a robot, vocoder is the tool. they might have some kind of autotune plug in out there?

I'm also not a very good singer. Even with Melodyne, it can't make my voice sound perfect. I think to get great results with Melodyne/Autotune, you need to at least be within 1 step of each tone you're trying you hit. And to hit the mark more often than miss. Unfortunately there's no "Bruce Dickinson" preset or anything (not sure what type of music you're singing though).

"My voice is pretty bad as far as carrying a tune. Can I use the Vocoder feature to smooth out my voice when it 'wanders' off pitch?"

Vocoders and/or AutoTune can not polish a turd, so to speak.

If you want a robitic voice by all means use it, but if you want to "sing" on your tracks, take vocal lessons and/or practice singing with a piano or guitar so you can develop your tone and pitch. It will take a few weeks to discover your vocal tone and pitch, but it will pay off... trust me.

Otherwise you might be better off recording a real singer. You can find singers at a local college music department or craigslist.

Try some of these links to start out
Try some of these Vocal Lesson Playlist
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... C+playlist
Misc links.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... al+lessons
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... cal+lesson
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... al+lessons

or write some instrumental jams!!

SpeedKing wrote:I'm also not a very good singer. Even with Melodyne, it can't make my voice sound perfect. I think to get great results with Melodyne/Autotune, you need to at least be within 1 step of each tone you're trying you hit. And to hit the mark more often than miss. Unfortunately there's no "Bruce Dickinson" preset or anything (not sure what type of music you're singing though).

melodyne can't fix your voice???? either you're not melodyning right or you are a horse. and no you don't need to be within one step for melodyne

hashbeatzz wrote:

SpeedKing wrote:I'm also not a very good singer. Even with Melodyne, it can't make my voice sound perfect. I think to get great results with Melodyne/Autotune, you need to at least be within 1 step of each tone you're trying you hit. And to hit the mark more often than miss. Unfortunately there's no "Bruce Dickinson" preset or anything (not sure what type of music you're singing though).

melodyne can't fix your voice???? either you're not melodyning right or you are a horse. and no you don't need to be within one step for melodyne

hello T-Pain

hashbeatzz wrote:
melodyne can't fix your voice???? either you're not melodyning right or you are a horse. and no you don't need to be within one step for melodyne

Im gonna try melodyning a horse in the near future. Thanks for the idea!!!

You need to get the new Elton John plugin from Wankforce Audio.

Which will make anyone sound like Elton John.

Unfortunately you will then be gay and wear stupid clothes and start going out with David Furnish

ian_halsall wrote: Unfortunately you will then be gay

You say that as if someone being gay is a bad thing. Poor choice of words man.

Lots of singers aren't blessed with traditionally 'good' voices, Bob Dylan for example and more recently, for me anyway, Laurel Halo. It's all about settling on a style which complements the music you're making and conveys the message you want effectively.

ian_halsall wrote:You need to get the new Elton John plugin from Wankforce Audio.

Which will make anyone sound like Elton John.

Unfortunately you will then be gay and wear stupid clothes and start going out with David Furnish

yeah maybe - that term is in common use but it doesn't mean it's an insult especially - I don't care either way - I am gay

etruscan wrote:I use Live to write original songs. My voice is pretty bad as far as carrying a tune. Can I use the Vocoder feature to smooth out my voice when it 'wanders' off pitch?

I find Autotune EFX using just the Pitch Correct mode sorts out my vocals without too much Cher effect
http://www.antarestech.com/products/auto-tune-efx.shtml

hashbeatzz wrote:

SpeedKing wrote:I'm also not a very good singer. Even with Melodyne, it can't make my voice sound perfect. I think to get great results with Melodyne/Autotune, you need to at least be within 1 step of each tone you're trying you hit. And to hit the mark more often than miss. Unfortunately there's no "Bruce Dickinson" preset or anything (not sure what type of music you're singing though).

melodyne can't fix your voice???? either you're not melodyning right or you are a horse. and no you don't need to be within one step for melodyne

Hahaha, well of the two, I must not be "Melodyning" right. But seriously, I might not be. I downloaded the demo and spent quite a few hours tinkering with it, but even still, on my Melodyned vocal track, it just doesn't sound natural. Not like T-Pain, but just...not natural. But I fully accept that I might not be good enough at it to fully realize its capabilities. But I'm not convinced either way.

Just for some clarity around vocoders and fixing pitch. I have used vocoders to fix singers going badly out of key. Simply set up a separate track with a copy of the vocal heavily vocoded. Have it triggered by a synth sound playing the "right" notes. Mix it with the actual vocal and you will hear an improvement. It will make the listeners ear think that the vocalist is kind of hitting the right notes. As said above, you can't polish a turd, but you can certainly mask the smell a little with some judiciously placed scented candles