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Is there a cost effective VSO "AND" Key Change tool out there, either outboard or plugin ? I want to use on final mixes to speed up tempo without changing pitch and change the pitch/key without changing tempo.

I have been mastering to an Alesis Masterlink.

I do not know of an outboard tool for VSO and key change, allowing me to alter speed while retaining original pitch on final mixes. I see the Tascam 900/901SL series do this (16% and "key change") but no internal HD and I hesitate to invest in the Tascam DV-RA1000 when most people seem to be mastering "IN" the box these days.

Is there a plugin or mastering SW package that incorporates true, simple VSO and Key Change capability? Any advice is appreciated.

Comments

BDFitz Sun, 02/06/2011 - 09:24

After doing more research on this it seems WaveLab 7 offers the most bang for the buck SW package. The lite vs does not include the pitch shift algorithms so it will have to be the full package. I'm surprised there are no plugins dedicated just for this but this will probably be the way I go, from the Masterlink 24 bit mixes, into the MAC and final master on WaveLab 7. Still open to suggestions. thanks

JoeH Sat, 02/12/2011 - 07:46

Samplitue/Sequoia (PC based DAW software) has a feature called "Elastic Audio" that will let you change pitches without changing tempo, and they also have real time & Destructive tools to let you change one without the other. How well it works depends on the quality & complexity of the source material, and how much effect you need to use. Small changes work pretty well with it, larger changes sometimes introduce artifacts, again, depending on what you're trying to do.

Celemony (Autotune people) offers a variety of features in their latest editor package. I believe it's a stand-alone product that also works as a plug in with some DAWs (Probably ProTools, but I'm not 100% sure on that...)

If this is a one-off, you may want to just FTP the file to somoene who's got either of the above (or other packages) and let them do the heavy lifting for you. If it's something you want to purchase and learn to use for yourself and future projects, it's going to cost a little bit of $ to do so. Samplitude Pro isn't cheap (around $650 or so....?) and Celemony is $299, I THINK.... I'm a PC person, and I don't know of what's available on the MAC side, but Wavlab is always getting good marks, too.

BDFitz Sat, 02/12/2011 - 08:21

JoeH,

Thanks. I am all MAC and I decided on the WaveLab 7 for MAC which will be here next week. I can already see it's more than I need or want in a learning curve but I know some SW has a lot of artifacts. Most of my projects are tracked here and mixed/mastered elsewhere. I've worked on 3 mastering projects at a pro facility and this will easily give me excellent mastering tools in-house. I have a dual intel iMac dedicated for WaveLab 7 and am setting up the referencing for it now. The VSO is often requested and keeping the original key is paramount. The rest of this (RMS levels, etc.) will require going back to school. I've already read drastically varying opinions on optimum RMS levels and such. WaveLab is far beyond tweaking a few knobs, adding a brick will limiter, compression or loudness to a track. To a layman like me it's pretty advanced science and I'll try to make sense out of the modeling and analytical tools it offers. Just the Pitch shifting requires a calculator. Here goes!

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