Autotune or not?

[Shack]

Hi guys. I am just about to do a mixdown for a forthcoming single and wondering whether or not I should be using autotune for the mix. The vocals sound good to me, but I keep reading all these articles whereby people are saying that they can not do without autotune and how it is an essential tune nowadays.

Cost is prohibitive for me because I am running Protools on PC and would need the expensive version, i.e. I can not use the cheaper plug-in. I do not want to produce something which will be substandard and was wondering how essential Autotune really is to the mix nowadays? Am I better off delaying and waiting till I can acquire it or is a proper vocal, good music and decent mix good enough? By the way, I am doing R&B music.

[lpdeluxe]

I believe Auto-Tune should be used only as a last resort. The guys who put it on everything probably put ketchup on all the food they eat, too. I recorded a friend who writes great songs but can't carry a tune in a bait bucket. Auto-tune saved the vocal tracks and actually allowed a finished recording with a lot of emotional expression. On the other hand, I'm working on a project now with several excellent singers and even when the intonation isn't perfect, I leave it alone for the expressiveness. I went to a great deal of trouble getting Auto-Tune to work on my computer, and repeated the whole process after a meltdown of the original box, but to me it's a life preserver, not a yacht. It will save you when there ain't no way to get a part in tune, but good singers don't need it.

[matty_boy]

IMO if the vocal sounds good and doesn't hurt the song, leave it alone.

[tmix]

Another vote for no.
I have and use autotune often, It is not the magic wand fix all, and it does impart its own sound the more it is correcting. Most of the time it is best used lightly on backgound vocals if they are off too much, but when used extensively the back ground vocals tend to dissappear because you lose the effect of slight detuning between takes.

Use it as a tool to save an otherwise good take.

My opinion obviously.

Tom

[Blue Bear Sound]

Use your ears........ Autotune is a rescuing tool best used to fix the odd glitch, nothing else........

[glimmer_doll]

I think the reason auto-tune is so indispensable is because being a pop star has more to do with looks than actual singing ability

Auto-tune is just another tool to add to the plasticity of music...the more I hear where music is going today, the more I start to agree with the Steve Albini recording approach...

Making the vocal performance "prefect" is a joke...music is about expression, not perfection

[biotek]

if it ain't broke DON'T FIX IT!!!

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Originally Posted by Shack

I keep reading all these articles whereby people are saying that they can not do without autotune and how it is an essential tune nowadays.

I can think of quite a few decent vocal performances that occurred before autotune was around. Might be 'essential' for a crap singer tho .

[dachay2tnr]

Originally Posted by Kevin DeSchwazi

I can think of quite a few decent vocal performances that occurred before autotune was around. Might be 'essential' for a crap singer tho .

Yeah, but because of Autotune (and similar devices) the expectations are somewhat different today. Listen to some of the doo wop tunes from the late '50's, and you'll hear some of the worst intonation imaginable - even on some that were monster hits. I sincerely doubt that would fly today.

Regardless of that, if the vocals sound good to you, Shack, I would leave them as is. As already stated above, don't fix what ain't broken.

[foreverdown]

you get someone that sucks in your studio and then they leave with crappy vox and some people might think its your fault. So I would say its a good tool to have. I just read an article on autotune 4 in Electronic Musician and it had some good advice... Use it ONLY when you have to and try to use it only on the part that's messed up. Not the whole track.

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Originally Posted by dachay2tnr

Yeah, but because of Autotune (and similar devices) the expectations are somewhat different today. Listen to some of the doo wop tunes from the late '50's, and you'll hear some of the worst intonation imaginable - even on some that were monster hits. I sincerely doubt that would fly today.

I agree when it comes to pop music. I have a record by a swedish chap named Nicolai Dunger (think that's how you spell it), produced by Will Oldham. Some of the singing is a bit out but that's kind of the charm of the thing and it fits within the context of that recording.

I wonder how long before Antares release 'Autoemote'. Software that actually makes a singer sound like they're feeling it.

[foreverdown]

Antares Auto-Tune 5 (with Emo-tune™ Addon)

[foreverdown]

here are some modern day examples of auto-tune killing the emotion and uniqueness of voices... Hear these three bands and hear how they all have that same feel to the vocals... autotune done too much and not very well. (songs in parentheses are the ones you should listen to)

http://www.purevolume.com/andthenIturnedsevenMN (I Miss You)
http://www.purevolume.com/stagefrightremedy (in my room)
http://www.purevolume.com/daphnelovesderby (come winter)

Anyone notice the similarities? eh?

[The Seifer]

You should listen to the auto tune on a track called "all of this" on blink 182's new album. The guy singing the chorus sounds like a robot.




p.s.

emo is the shittiest music ever invented

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Originally Posted by The Seifer

You should listen to the auto tune on a track called "all of this" on blink 182's new album. The guy singing the chorus sounds like a robot.

I'd rather not, thanks all the same


p.s.

emo is the shittiest music ever invented

What's that?

[The Seifer]

yes you will listen to the auto tuned garbage produced by blink 182 right now


emo is an especially homo type of music that involves wussies with acoustic guitars singing about how they are secretly gay. forever down posted a link to an emo band, so I checked out one of their songs. not only was the song richard simmons flavored, it also had so much auto tune on the dudes (girls) terrible voices that they were all garbled and artifactlicious.

[dachay2tnr]

Originally Posted by The Seifer

[b]
emo is an especially homo type of music that involves wussies with acoustic guitars singing about how they are secretly gay.

Yeah, but how do you really feel about. LOL.

[djc]

I'm still waiting for Auto-Music where you don't have to do anything at all.

[foreverdown]

I Don't think you should label a whole genre of music Seifer. Your opinion is very closed minded and you should never say a whole genre is the worst music ever. I don't really care to get into an argument, but you should never rule out an entire genre of music. oh, and foreverDOWN is my music. Its me with an acoustic guitar. And I don't just write about girls and I am not secretly gay. Nor do I sing about doing so. Also, blink is not emo. They are pop rock now. And before that they were Pop punk. Anywho, I think rather than saying a genre sucks or a genre is the worst, or this band sucks... Instead you should say that you don't care for the genre or band. Or that you can't stand that music. The music doesn't suck... you just don't like it. That's not to say that some things don't suck... because somethings do

[lpdeluxe]

[QUOTE=foreverdown]I Don't think you should label a whole genre of music Seifer. Your opinion is very closed minded and you should never say a whole genre is the worst music ever. I don't really care to get into an argument, but you should never rule out an entire genre of music.

Except rap.


Oh, right: that's not music.

[foreverdown]

haha I agree that Rap is not my favorite, but there is this other genre that is similar, but it is really music and has a lot of skill behind it and that is hip hop. Also I think the song by tupac "changes" is a great song.

[The Seifer]

don't be a crybaby

I was talking about those other girls that you posted

[foreverdown]

haha, you said "emo is an especially homo type of music that involves wussies with acoustic guitars singing about how they are secretly gay." and then you said "emo is the shittiest music ever invented" I know at times you were only talking about the other band, but I don't think you should ever rule out an entire genre of music. That's all I'm posting on this subject... sorry everyone, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

[Kevin Deschwazi]

If you hijack a thread by talking good sense then that's ok by me.
I agree that if you don't like something it's your privelege to say so but move on FFS.

The pigeonholing of music is one of my pet hates. Obviously it serves a purpose in a more general sense but all these sub genres and sub sub genres are a bit of a waste of time if you ask me.
(I had no idea there was a difference between rap and hip hop)