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Oh, boy. I know I'm opening a can of worms on this one...

I need to get vocals to another level. I currently have no pitch correction capabilities. I'm running Cubase le4 - soon to upgrade to 5 which I know has a pitch corrector in it.

I know there is a love/hate deal with auto tune on here... but. Which version of suto tune should I get? The middle of the road evo? I don't have mega bucks but want some control over it. i basically need to be able to easily correct vocals and would like some effects to smooth them somewhat. Suggestions? Is there another program that will do what auto tune does?

Also - could someone explain melodyne and enigma to me?

I am a complete noob when it comes to pitch correction vst's. I understand how they work, the concept and why the auto tune can sound like it does. I need some suggestions in selectiing the right one in a price range I can afford.

I would also like a suggestion on a compressor that doesn't sound like poo like the cpu hog that comes with cubase... It always seems harsh to me. Works ok for drums just not vocals...

Thanks for the input. Yes I did do some searches first...

Matt in GA

Comments

bent Sat, 11/07/2009 - 15:18

Enigma is a frequency selectable swept flange effect with additional delay parameters, fun toy to play with - makes for some pretty neat tubular 'wow' type sounds.

Autotune... Has it's place, when used to fix small pitch problems, I suppose. It has a bad rap due to it's over use in current song productions. In some instances it's a joke (look it up on youtube. Boy that Obama video, that's a real knee slapper - ooh, or that thing that dude did on the Ellen show, boy howdy...), in others, it's an overused 'serious' effect (my opinions, mind you - I can't stand the thing, but to each his own). We have the rack mounted version at RC. I never use it, but had to learn the stupid thing so I could teach the other guys how. I've since forgotten what I learned. But I digress... To use it seriously to make small tweaks I would imagine you could go the cheapest route - Autotune EFX, or you could buy the rackmount on Ebay for around $200...

I don't know anything about Melodyne - it's pretty much the same as Autotune, isn't it?

bent Sat, 11/07/2009 - 15:25

Since we (or rather,I) started off discussing Enigma, Waves has some very good comp and limiter plugins. The Ultramaximizer is a decent down-and-dirty (not the sound of it, but the ease of use, mind you) limiter that really gets everything up and in your face. Quick and easy - hands down my favorite. Their other comps are equally valuable. There's a reason Yamaha licensed Waves (or vice-versa) on their Y56 and now the Y96 cards for their digital consoles (might have had something to do with my asking their rep about adding third party plugins as options when they came to the Mouse years ago and did a demo of the (at the time relatively new) PM1D - or maybe not... I can dream, can't I?).

ocdstudios Sat, 11/07/2009 - 23:32

True, true. You have to know how to use it. but you know what i was saying. I did download a trial of the auto tune. I can see how it could be abused very easily. The trick is to make it NOT noticable. It works well if you keep it under control. I think it will help get my vocals to a new level for sure. I need to check out the others you suggested as well before making a purchase.

anonymous Wed, 12/02/2009 - 20:39

the melodyne plugin is a very simple program to use.

you load it into your inserts on cubase. and you can pitch correct an entire track or just certain sections based on your needs.

the way it works is it breaks the vocal into syllables which get assigned note values. you then drag the note values to the desired note and choose how much correction you want to apply. 100 percent will be a pitch perfect note. this won't sound like T-Pain, but it does sound pitch corrected. a little less (50-85 percent) can impart a more natural sound. let your ears be the judge, rather than use set rules.

variaudio which comes with cubase is extremely easy to use. i dig it. it doesn't sound as good as melodyne, but it still sounds excellent if you take the time to learn it.

anonymous Wed, 12/02/2009 - 20:48

another benefit of melodyne is that it allows for extreme pitch correction that actually sounds pretty good. some of the others sound bizarre beyond a few semitones up or down

this makes melodyne excellent for creating natural sounding harmonies (just double the track and correct pitch to a harmonizing melody)

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