Antares AutoTune 8 user manual

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Time Display Mode
Use this control to display the timeline labels in the Pitch Graph Display in either bars and beats (as defined by your host’s tempo), or absolute time in hours, minutes, seconds, and fractions of seconds.
NOTE: If you select Bars + Beats, you will only see the timeline labels for regions where you have tracked pitch or pitch and time.
ANOTHER NOTE: If after tracking pitch or pitch and time, you change the time signature in your host anywhere in the range of tracked audio, you will need to retrack the audio in order for the changed time signature to be reflected by the Bars + Beats display. For that reason, you should, whenever possible, set your time signatures before tracking pitch or pitch and time.
This control also sets the format for the Cursor Time Position display.
Sample Rate Display
This display indicates the sample rate of the current audio file as reported to Auto-Tune 8 by the host application. 
NOTE: Auto-Tune 8 is high sample rate compatible. If your host application and audio hardware are capable of dealing with up to 192 kHz files, Auto-Tune 8 will process them correctly. However, it’s important to remember that high sample rate files require substantially more DSP power than 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz files, so the number of possible simultaneous Auto-Tune 8 instantiations will be decreased.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you are using external A/D converters with independently selectable sample rates, it can be possible to establish a mismatch between the actual conversion sample rate and what the host application thinks is the sample rate. If this happens, Auto-Tune 8 will appear to be correcting pitch to the “wrong” key. If this appears to be happening, check to be sure that your converter sample rate and your host application sample rate (as displayed by Auto-Tune 8) match. 
						

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Pitch Tracking and Correction Objects
Tr a c k   P i t c h
The Track Pitch function is used to detect the pitch of the audio to be processed so that it can be displayed on the Pitch Graph Display.
NOTE: If you will only be correcting the pitch of your vocal and will not be editing the time, you need only use the Track Pitch function as described below. However, if you will also be editing the time, you should instead use the Track Pitch + Time function as described in the Graphical Mode Time Controls section later in this chapter.
To track pitch, locate the desired audio and press the Track Pitch button. (If you are using Auto-Tune 8’s Internal clock (see below) you may (depending on your host) need to click the Reset button to reset the clock position to 00:00:0.) The Track Pitch button will flash blue and red to indicate that Auto-Tune is in Track Pitch mode.
Next, start playback of the audio. A graphic representation of the pitch and its amplitude envelope will be drawn to the display as the audio plays. When all of the audio you want to correct has played, stop playback. You will exit Track Pitch mode and, if you have Auto-Scroll enabled (as described in the Pitch Graph Display section below), the Pitch Graph will automatically scale in such a way as to include all of the tracked audio. If you have not enabled Auto-Scroll, no scaling will occur.
NOTE: If you are using Auto-Tune’s Internal Clock, after stopping playback in your host, you must click the clock Reset button to stop Auto-Tune’s transport and return you to the beginning of your tracked region.
ANOTHER NOTE: If the length of the audio to be processed exceeds the currently set size of the bu!er as set in the Options dialog (or your start point lies beyond the current bu!er area), tracking will stop when the bu!er is full and a warning message will appear notifying you of that fact. If this happens, increase the bu!er size as necessary.
YET ANOTHER NOTE: Be cautious about changing the Tracking value (in the Options dialog) after performing the Track Pitch function. Auto-Tune 8 uses the Tracking setting during both the Track Pitch function and while correcting pitch. Changing the Tracking setting after Tracking Pitch, but before correcting, may result in unpredictable pitch modifications or strange artifacts.
Correct Pitch
In versions of Auto-Tune prior to Auto-Tune 5, after creating correction objects, you would have to press the Correct Pitch button in order to put Auto-Tune into correction mode. As a result, the Auto-Tune window always had to be open in order to use Graphical Mode. Well, no longer. Now, simply create your corrections and play. Essentially, anytime you are not tracking pitch, Auto-Tune 8 will be correcting. It is this basic change that allows you to use multiple instances of Auto-Tune 8 simultaneously in Graphical Mode without having to have their windows visible.
NOTE: The ability to use multiple instances of Auto-Tune 8 simultaneously in Graphical Mode without having to have their windows visible is only available for hosts that provide valid time information. See the Clock Source section above for details. 
						

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Make Curve
The Make Curve button is enabled whenever there is any red input pitch contour data present in the Pitch Graph (whether it is displayed in the current Pitch Graph view or not). Pressing the Make Curve button causes blue target pitch contour objects (curves for short) to be created from the input pitch contour data. These curve objects can then be dragged and stretched for very precise pitch correction. This is one of the central techniques of Auto-Tune 8’s Graphical Mode and is described in more detail in Chapter 4.
Additionally, green output pitch curves are created that represent the exact pitches output at the currently selected Retune Speed. If you select the correction curve, move it, and adjust the Retune Speed, you will see the green output curve change in real time to reflect the changing Retune Speed.
NOTE: If a range of time has been selected by using the I-Beam Tool (see below), the Make Curve button works only in the selected time range. Otherwise it works on all red pitch data.
ANOTHER NOTE: Whenever you create Correction curves with the Make Curve function, those curves will initially be assigned the default Curves Retune Speed set in the Options dialog. If that default value is “0” (as it may well be), the green output curve will be positioned exactly on top of the blue correction curve, e!ectively hiding it. Even though you can’t see it, it may still be selected and edited in all the ways described in the Editing Tools section. 
YET ANOTHER NOTE: Remember that while all new curves are created with the default Curves Retune Speed, you can then select individual curves (or cut up single curves to create multiple curves) and assigned a custom Retune Speed to each one. This is an incredibly powerful capability for insuring that your corrections are as natural and seamless as possible.
Import Auto
The Import Auto button is enabled whenever there is any red input pitch contour data present in the Pitch Graph (whether it is displayed in the current Pitch Graph view or not).
Pressing the Import Auto button causes blue target pitch contour objects (curves for short) to be created from the red input pitch contour data. The blue curve(s) created by the Import Auto function is a precise representation of the pitch correction that would result from processing the tracked input pitch through the current settings of Auto-Tune 8’s Automatic Mode. In addition to the Key and Scale selections, the Retune Speed, Correction Style and any Scale Detune, it reflects the Automatic Mode’s Edit Scale settings, Targeting Ignores Vibrato mode (if selected), and  Humanize, Natural Vibrato and Create Vibrato settings.
As described above for Make Curve, green output pitch curves are also created that represent the exact pitches output at the currently selected Retune Speed.
NOTE: If a range of time has been selected by using the I-Beam Tool, the Import Auto button works only in the selected time range. Otherwise it works on all red pitch data.
ANOTHER NOTE: The curves created by Import Auto will initially be assigned the same default Curves Retune Speed as those created with Make Curve. In fact, pretty much everything we said about the Make Curve function above is equally applicable to the Import Auto function.
Once you have used the Import Auto function to create a blue target pitch curve, setting the Graphical Mode Retune Speed to 0 (or having set the default Curves Retune Speed to 0) will result in exactly the same output as you would have gotten by processing the audio through Automatic Mode. Alternatively, you can adjust the Retune Speed for all or selected correction curve segments, or further edit the blue curve using any of the Graphical Mode tools to get precisely the e(ect you want. 
						

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If you aren’t satisfied with the results of the Import Auto function, simply switch to Automatic Mode, modify any of the settings as desired, and then return to Graphical Mode and click Import Auto again.
NOTE: In addition to its use as a Graphical Mode correction tool, the Import Auto function can also be used to provide an informative visual representation of the results of Automatic Mode settings. If there are times when you’d prefer to use Automatic Mode, but can’t quite zero in on the ideal settings, examining the results of various settings with the Import Auto function can give you a visual picture of exactly what’s going on. This will often make it readily apparent which Automatic Mode settings need to be changed to give your desired results.
STILL ANOTHER NOTE: One potentially confusing aspect of the Import Auto function is the relationship between the Automatic Mode Retune Speed setting and the Graphical Mode Retune Speed setting. To summarize:
The Automatic Mode Retune Speed controls how the input audio would be processed in Automatic Mode. Changing this setting will change the shape of the blue curve that will be created by the Import Auto function.
The Graphical Mode Retune Speed controls how quickly the pitch of the input audio will be changed to that of the blue target pitch curve. As mentioned above, to precisely duplicate the results of Automatic Mode, set the Graphical Mode Retune Speed to 0. 
Make Notes
The Make Notes function provides an entirely new range of ways to use Auto-Tune 8. 
For pitch correction, it combines the ease of Automatic Mode with the control of Graphical Mode to allow you to get optimum results with a minimum of tedious tweaking. 
Combined with Auto-Tune 8’s formant correction and throat modeling capabilities, it provides an easy, intuitive method of modifying the pitch of individual notes or phrases. 
And when programming the Auto-Tune Vocal E(ect, it gives you absolute control over exactly which notes will be quantized to.
Here’s how it works:
The Make Notes button is enabled whenever there is any red input pitch contour data present in the Pitch Graph (whether it is displayed in the current Pitch Graph view or not). Pressing the Make Notes button causes Auto-Tune 8 to analyze the input pitch and create Target Note objects (Notes for short), each of which is centered on a horizontal Pitch Graph line. These Notes represent the pitches that Auto-Tune 8 sees as the performer’s target notes.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In selecting target pitches, the Make Notes function considers only the notes in the currently selected Key and Scale. If the melody includes many accidentals, it may be more convenient to select the chromatic scale.
Since it is likely that the first thing you will want to do after Making Notes is to adjust the Number of Note Objects setting (as described in the next section), when you click the Make Notes button, the entire range of tracked audio will be selected, enabling the Number of Note Objects control (this is equivalent to having selected the I-Beam and double-clicked in the pitch graph — except you don’t actually have to do that).  
						

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NOTE: If prior to clicking the Make Notes button, a range of time has been already selected by using the I-Beam Tool, the Make Notes function will apply only in the selected time range. 
Notes also display the audio’s envelope contour over the Note’s duration and a green output pitch curve based on the currently selected Retune Speed. 
NOTE: The Retune Speed behavior for Notes is a bit di!erent from that of the other correction objects. Unlike the other correction objects, Notes do not provide a blue correction curve. The implied correction curve is the horizontal Pitch Graph line upon which the Note is centered (unless the Note has been moved o! of that line - see the Snap To Note function for details). Setting the Retune Speed to “0” will cause the output to be locked to that note, suppressing any of the original performance’s expressive gestures. As you select slower Retune Speeds, the output progressively reflects the shape and position of the original tracked input pitch. 
This is much easier to understand visually than to describe. Simply zoom in on a Note and adjust its Retune Speed over its entire range. You will see the green output curve change in real time and all will be clear.
ANOTHER NOTE: Remember that while all new Notes are created with the default Notes Retune Speed set in the Options dialog, you can then select individual Notes (or cut up single Notes to create multiple Notes) and assigned a custom Retune Speed to each one. 
Once created, Note objects can be dragged up or down to change their pitch, can have their beginning and/or end positions moved forward or backward, or can be cut into multiple shorter Notes for individual processing. Check out the tutorial in Chapter 4 for an example of working with Notes.
Number 
of Note 
Objects
When Auto-Tune 8 analyzes the input pitch for the purpose of creating Note objects, it must make decisions about what constitutes notes and what constitutes transitions between notes as well as di(erentiating between a single note with wide vibrato and a series of separate notes of alternating pitch. Often, the “right” choice depends on the style and technique of a specific performance. The Number of Note Objects control lets you give Auto-Tune 8 some guidance in making these decisions.
NOTE: This function is only available when some tracked audio has been selected with the I-Beam tool. If no audio is selected, the knob will not become active. Once some audio is selected, the knob will become active. To set the Number of Note Objects value for all tracked audio, double-click the I-Beam tool in the Pitch or Envelope Display to highlight the range of all tracked audio.
ANOTHER NOTE: As mentioned above, whenever the Make Notes function is used without previously highlighting a time range with the I-Beam (i.e., is used for the entire track), Auto-Tune 8 will automatically highlight the entire range of tracked audio, allowing you to immediately adjust the Number of Note Objects setting without having to manually select the I-Beam to highlight the audio range.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Adjusting the Number of Note Objects in a range where you have already performed some pitch correction will regenerate new Note objects and replace any correction objects that were previously in that range. As a result, adjusting the Number of Note Objects value should be the first action you take before proceeding with any pitch correction or Note or Curve-based pitch shifting. If not, frustration is almost guaranteed to ensue. 
						

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When Number of Note Objects is set to the “Less” end of its range:
• Small variations in pitch are treated as a single Note.
• Large cyclical variations in pitch are seen as vibrato and treated as a single Note.
• A gradual pitch change is seen as a transition between notes and no Note objects are created for it.
When Number of Note Objects is set to the “More” end of its range:
• Small variations in pitch are treated as separate Notes.
• Large cyclical variations in pitch are seen as individual notes that alternate between the central pitch and the upper and lower adjacent pitches and separate Notes are created for each pitch.
• A gradual pitch change is seen as a glissando and multiple successive Notes are created for it.
As you might imagine, when Number of Note Objects is set to intermediate values, the results fall somewhere between these two extremes.
A TIP: As good as Auto-Tune 8’s analysis capabilities are, there may nonetheless be occasional situations in which its creation of Notes is not exactly what you want. In those cases, you can use the editing tools described later in this chapter to quickly and easily modify any errant Notes.
Again, what may seem slightly bewildering in verbal description, is immediately obvious when you see it in action. So track some pitch and experiment with the Number of Note Objects control. You’ll see.
Retune Speed
The Retune Speed setting is used only during the pitch correction process. It’s similar in function but separate from the Retune Speed control in Automatic Mode.
In Graphical Mode, the target pitch is not the scale tone nearest to the input, but rather the blue target pitch object (for Curves and Lines) or the exact note represented by a Note object. 
The Retune Speed control allows you to specify how quickly Auto-Tune 8 will change the pitch of the input to that of the target pitch curve or Note Object pitch. A value of zero will cause the output pitch to precisely track the target pitch of a curve line or be locked to the pitch of a Note object. Slower values will have the e(ect of “smoothing out” the target pitch curve. As ever, you should let your ears be your guide to selecting the proper value for each note in a particular performance.
Since each correction object (Curve, Line or Note) can have its own independent Retune Speed, the Retune Speed control is only active when at least one correction object is selected.  
						

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Whenever you select a single correction object, the Retune Speed Control will become active and its data display will show the object’s current Retune Speed.
If you select multiple objects with di(erent Retune Speeds, the Retune Speed control will move to a value that is an average of the Retune Speeds of all of the selected objects. However, the Retune Speeds of those objects will not be modified until you actually move the Retune Speed control, at which time all of the objects’ Retune Speeds will snap to the new value and continue to follow any changes you make to the Retune Speed control.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Although it’s been mentioned before (and will probably be mentioned again), we can’t stress too strongly the extent to which the ability to assign independent Retune Speeds to individual correction objects streamlines Auto-Tune 8’s Graphical Mode workflow and makes it easier than ever to get natural sounding correction results. 
In the past, your choice was typically picking a Retune Speed that was a “good enough” compromise for an entire track, or painstakingly automating the Retune Speed from phrase to phrase or even note to note (with the attendant cost in time and e(ort). With independent object Retune Speeds, getting exactly the desired e(ect for every note of a performance is a quick, simple, and intuitive process. 
Adjust Vibrato
The purpose of this function is to let you quickly and easily change (either increasing or decreasing) the depth of an existing vibrato, while preserving the original shape and character of the vibrato.
NOTE: Since each correction object (Curve, Line or Note) can have its own independent Vibrato Depth adjustment, the Adjust Vibrato control is only active when at least one correction object is selected. 
To use this function, select one or more correction objects whose vibrato you’d like to adjust. Set the desired amount of change (either more or less) using the Adjust Vibrato knob. The green output pitch curve will change to reflect your setting.
NOTE: An correction object’s green output pitch curve is defined both by the object’s Retune Speed and the setting of the Adjust Vibrato function. A variety of results can be had by experimenting with iterative adjustments to both functions.
ANOTHER NOTE: This function uses the same Stochastic Optimal Linear Estimation Theory as the Auto Mode’s Targeting Ignores Vibrato function to attempt to di!erentiate between vibrato and intended pitch changes. Therefore, you can typically select a portion of your audio containing both vibrato and intended pitch change and the Adjust Vibrato function will scale the vibrato while leaving the intended pitch changes alone. But again, depending on the actual performance, sometimes this will work better than others. If Adjust Vibrato seems to be making changes to parts of the audio you’d like to leave alone, simply Undo the adjustment and use the Scissors tool (described below) to cut the correction object into two or more objects and select only the objects you wish to edit.
The default Adjust Vibrato setting is 0. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) clicking the slider will reset it to that value. 
						

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Throat Length 
Adjust
To give you maximum control over the timbre of your vocal tracks, the Throat Length Adjust control lets you independently set the throat length of each individual correction object (Curve, Line or Note). While the overall Throat Length for your track is still set by the master Throat Length control in the Common Controls section, each correction object can have its own independent adjustment (either longer or shorter) as desired.
NOTE: Since each correction object can have its own independent Throat Length adjustment, the Throat Length Adjust control is only active when Formant Correction is enabled and at least one correction object is selected. 
The default Throat Length Adjust setting is 0 (in which case the object(s) will have the Throat Length as set by the master Throat Length control). Command (Mac)/Control (PC) clicking the slider will reset it to that value.
Graphical Mode MIDI Functions
New in Auto-Tune 8 is the ability to record a MIDI input in Graphical Mode and use the recorded MIDI notes to create Note Correction Objects. This makes it extremely quick and easy to set the target notes of a known melody line or create harmony parts from the original vocal (although, if you’re often generating harmony parts, we highly recommend our Harmony Engine Evo Vocal Modeling Harmony Generator as the most e-cient solution). 
Depending on your intent, the MIDI data could come from a prerecorded MIDI sequencer track or in real time from a MIDI controller (typically a keyboard) played during the pitch or pitch + time tracking process. 
Recording MIDI Information
The only thing you need to do to record MIDI data is to route your MIDI source to Auto-Tune 8.  
NOTE: Although virtually all major hosts these days allow the routing of MIDI to plug-ins, there may still be a few hosts lurking out there that do not support it. If you happen to be using one of those, this MIDI function will not be available.
Once a MIDI source is routed to Auto-Tune 8, any MIDI Note On and Note O( events from that source will automatically be recorded whenever you track pitch or pitch + time.
ANOTHER NOTE:  Since only one Note Correction Object can exist at any time point on the Pitch Graph, the incoming MIDI data is recorded with “last note played” priority. What this means is that if two MIDI notes overlap at all, the later note’s Note On will also generate a Note O! for the earlier note.  
						

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In practice, if your MIDI file is a single melody line that has been carefully played or programmed such that no two notes overlap, everything will be as you expect. If notes overlap, you may or may not get exactly the result you want. If not, simply edit the MIDI data (or play more precisely). If your MIDI file is polyphonic, you’re likely to get pretty wacky results. If wacky isn’t what you’re looking for, it’s probably better not to do that.
Show MIDI
When the Show MIDI button is blue, any MIDI data that has previously been recorded will be displayed as red boxes on the Pitch Graph. Clicking the Show MIDI button will toggle its state.
NOTE: The red MIDI notes display is for reference only. Unless you choose to make Note Objects from the MIDI notes as described below, the MIDI notes will have no e!ect on Auto-Tune 8’s pitch correction.
Make Notes From  MIDI
Clicking the Make Notes From MIDI button will convert any currently recorded MIDI notes into Note Correction Objects. 
NOTE: If a range of time has been selected using the I-Beam Tool, the Make Notes From MIDI button works only in the selected time range. Otherwise it works on all red MIDI data.
Since the assumption is that you will create your MIDI track with your desired timing, the recorded MIDI notes are not a(ected by the time manipulation tools. As a result, if you will be performing time correction on your audio in a range where you will be using the Make Notes From MIDI function, you should use the following workflow:
 1. Create a MIDI track with the desired timing and route it to Auto-Tune 8.
 2. Track Pitch + Time (which also records the MIDI data).
 3. If necessary, click the Show MIDI button to display the recorded MIDI notes.
 4. Use the time tools described later in this chapter to adjust the timing of your audio to match the timing of the displayed MIDI notes.
 5. Click the Make Notes From MIDI button to convert the MIDI notes in Note Correction Objects that will now be in perfect sync with your audio. 
						

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The Pitch and Envelope Graph Displays
envelope will be visible in the main editing window. This can be particularly useful when selecting edit points during time editing.
You can resize the Graphical Mode window to take advantage of those nice big high-resolution monitors that have become so a(ordable. In most hosts, Auto-Tune 8’s Graphical Mode window can be resized in real-time, limited only by the size of your monitor. 
In hosts that don’t support real-time resizing, the window size can be set in the Options Dialog as described above. In VST hosts, resizing is limited to a maximum size of 1600 x 1200 pixels — still not too shabby.
Show Lanes
The Pitch Graph Display’s default mode displays horizontal lines that represent each pitch. This is probably the most useful mode with Curve and Line correction objects.
However, with the introduction of Note objects, we added an additional Lanes display mode that, as the name implies, displays 
The Pitch Graph Display 
The Pitch Graph displays the pitch contour of the audio to be processed as well as the pitch correction objects that you create and a plot of the exact output pitch based on each object’s current Retune Speed. Optionally, the amplitude envelope of the displayed audio can be displayed as a background element of the graph.
On the display, the vertical axis represents pitch (with higher notes towards the top) while the horizontal axis represents time.
The horizontal grid lines or lanes (depending on the current display mode) represent scale pitches. 
The grid lines provide a reference to guide you in drawing and editing correction objects. The positions of the graph lines correspond to the pitches of the notes in the currently selected scale. Changing the Scale Detune setting will result in the scale pitch graph lines moving up or down relative to the tracked pitch.
If “SHOW ENVELOPE IN MAIN GRAPH” is checked in the Options window, the amplitude