How to Get Creative with Auto-Tune
Antares Auto-Tune Pro
Matthew Weiss of The Pro Audio Files started this week off with an intriguing article on using Auto-Tune in creative ways.
In addition to using Auto-Tune in a subtle manner, simply to enhance a vocalist’s performance, Auto-Tune is often used in a way that creates a memorable tone; much like a phaser, flanger, harmonizer, reverb, or distortion.
Weiss describes how he often uses what he calls “Auto Tone” in one of three ways: He uses Melodyne to achieve a clear tone; the current version of Auto-Tune to produce a moderately transparent effect; or the old version 5.1 of Auto-Tune (which the newest Auto-Tune allows you to emulate) to get a T-Pain effect. This now-classic sound is a result of the poor “formant” shifting of the older version of Auto-Tune.
Running Melodyne into Auto-Tune is another option from Weiss’ list, and it happens to be the way that I often prefer to apply Auto-Tune myself. This allows you to get extremely technical with pitch and time correction within Melodyne’s interface. Then, when you run this already-pitched vocal through Auto-Tune, you can focus on using Auto-Tune as more of a creative effect than as a means to correct pitch.
In the full version of his post, Weiss even demonstrates how you can automate these effects within Auto-Tune. “Akon is very particular about how he blends his voice with Auto-Tune,” Weiss says. “He will go out of his way to glitch it on purpose to create captivating moments. When he does this I take that as a cue to automate the settings on Auto-Tune to emphasize the effect.”
To learn more about how you can use manual formant shifting as an effect, and apply many other unique Auto-Tune-specific effects, read the full article by Weiss on The Pro Audio Files.
Charles Hoffman is a Mixing and Mastering Engineer at Black Ghost Audio. After graduating from the University of Manitoba with an English degree, Charles completed his education at Icon Collective in Los Angeles, CA.
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