Few audio plugins enjoy awareness even in the public domain as Antares Autotune does. Building upon the tech that has been powering its pitch perfection for decades, we test the enhanced Auto-Tune Pro X.
What Is Pitch Correction Trying To Achieve?
With the quest for ‘perfection’ pervading any industry, music production is no different. With the human voice being the element holding the most meaning for the majority of listeners, all ears are on a record’s vocals. What actually constitutes perfection can mean different things to different people, however a good place to start is the understanding that virtually all productions aim to get vocals as accurate they can be. With this aim in mind, prior to pitch and time-based surgery becoming available, the solution was simple: sing it until it was the best it could be.
Transparency Versus Creativity
Transparent tuning is the aim where naturalism is required. A combination of time spent in record and support from a tuning tool can provide a best of both worlds approach that is less conspicuous than a pitchy performance that draws more unwanted attention than one uncorrected.
It should be borne in mind, however, that some artists may not benefit from any treatment at all. Recognising exactly when authenticity should prevail over intervention is an engineering skill in itself that instils in artists confidence in their own abilities and in those of their engineer.
Opposing the naturalistic approach is creative tuning. This famous flavour of correction will be the one most familiar to the listening public. Certainly, records where pitch treatments have been deployed as sounds in themselves have provided highly memorable sounds that have stuck with listeners for better or worse…
Auto-Tune Pro X
The latest incarnation of one of the world’s best-known pitch correction tools landed recently with a number of notable improvements, both in use and under the hood. The key points of difference with the previous version now include a redesigned Graph Mode for detailed pitch and time editing, Auto Mode for real-time correction and effects, and the ability to run natively on Apple Silicon.
In the video we take a listen to Auto-Tune Pro X’s Classic hard-tune character sounds before dialling in more natural results to help turn a good vocal into a great one. We also run through Auto-Tune Pro X’s new workflow-enhancing features that bring improved ergonomics for the engineer.
More From Antares:
Auto-Tune is the most sophisticated effect for pitch correction. The innovative Throat Modeling and Formant Correction controls will offer endless options to optimize and enhance your vocal tracks. Real-time pitch correction has never been easier thanks to the low-latency mode, which you can use both while recording in the studio or performing live. In addition, the included Auto-Key plug-in can automatically detect keys and scales in no time and with flawless precision. With over twenty years of relentless development and evolution, Auto-Tune Pro X is the industry-standard pitch-correction plug-in used by award-winning and independent artists.
The Ultimate Tuner?
While tools such as Auto Tune always sought to solve a problem, Antares’ famous vocal-bending chops initially came to wider attention thanks to their creative potential. Newer iterations from version 6 onwards brought better processing that cemented the technology’s role as an aid to perfection or naturalistic improvement. These latter two aims have a formidable tool in the latest Auto Tune Pro X. For many who need naturalism, the right artist can deliver organically under the right conditions, but nonetheless a tool like Auto Tune Pro X has the engineer covered for when failure is not an option…
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash