How to Use Auto-Tune VST
Antares' Auto-Tune software makes it possible to manipulate the pitch of a vocal recording. Using a digital audio workstation, audio engineers can correct out-of-tune notes, control vibrato -- the modulation of a note's pitch over time -- and create surreal vocal effects. Artists as diverse as T-Pain, Islands and Brian Eno all use Auto-Tune on their records. With the Auto-Tune VST plugin, you can manipulate vocals within your VST-based recording platform.
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Instructions
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Automatic Mode
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Open your VST host program and load a session containing a vocal performance. Insert an instance of Auto-Tune on the session's vocal track. Open the Auto-Tune display window and set the Correction Mode switch to "Automatic." Play the session to hear Auto-Tune's effect on the vocal track.
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2
Choose the correct scale and key for your session in the Auto-Tune display. This will conform the vocal track to the notes in the scale. Many songs will work with a major or minor key setting. If your vocal uses notes outside of the major or minor scale, use the chromatic mode. Watch the Pitch Change meter so see how much Auto-Tune is affecting the track at any time.
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3
Click the Remove button beside notes that aren't in the vocal melody. Auto-Tune will not try to tune the vocal to pitches that you disable using Remove. Alternatively, click the Bypass button beside a note, and Auto-Tune will ignore notes in the performance around the selected note, leaving them untuned.
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4
Adjust the Retune Speed knob until Auto-Tune catches every note in the performance. Once Auto-Tune is affecting all notes acceptably fast, increase the Humanize knob to slow the onset of pitch correction on longer notes. Use the Natural Vibrato knob to control how much of the original performance's vibrato the tuned vocal retains.
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Add a synthetic vibrato to the vocal track by using the Create Vibrato set of controls. The Rate knob controls the speed of the vibrato. Adjust the time in milliseconds between the start of the note and the onset of vibrato with the Onset Delay knob. To gradually increase the vibrato depth over time, use the Onset Rate control; it controls the duration between end of Onset Delay and the point of full vibrato effect. Pitch Amount and Amplitude Amount knobs controls the depth of pitch and volume modulation in the vibrato.
Graphical Mode
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Switch to Graphical Mode to gain even more control over individual notes in the vocal track. Select Track Pitch and play the vocal phrase you wish to tune. Auto-Tune records the pitch information any displays it on the Pitch Graph. Once you stop playback, Track Pitch will automatically deselect, allowing you to manipulate the phrase. The vocal's pitch displays as a red line on the Pitch Graph.
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Choose the Line and Curve tools to draw a specific pitch envelope for the phrase. Draw the note over the displayed waveform on the Pitch Graph by clicking on the desired pitch, which displays as a horizontal line on the graph. Each time you click, a new point will be created in the envelope. Double click to end the envelope. This method will replace any natural vibrato in the track with the pitch envelope that you specify.
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Use the Note Tool to draw a desired pitch on the Pitch Graph that preserves the vocal's natural vibrato. Click and drag across a note in the pitch graph to tune this pitch. Use the underlying waveform as a guide to where notes begin and end in the phrase. You can then use the Adjust Vibrato knob to increase or decrease the natural vibrato in the note.
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Tips & Warnings
For a more natural result, automate your VST host to bypass Auto-Tune, only engaging it for offending notes and phrases.
To get the robotic effect T-Pain uses, in Automatic Mode, set the Retune Speed and Humanize knobs to 0. Also set all the knobs under Create Vibrato to their lowest, leftmost setting. This works best with the scale set to major or minor.
To manipulate the timbre of a vocal, turn on the Format switch to enable the Throat Length control. With extreme settings, this can create synthetic, inhuman-sounding vocal textures.
References
Resources
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