The End All To Auto Tune Thread

[joeymusicguy]

ok, so the biggest issue i really face every single day, is someone saying something about auto tune

im pretty fed up with it

so here's what we're going to do.

we're going to make a list of metal, hardcore, and metalcore bands / albums that do not use auto tune.

and i'm going to study these cd's and find out what needs to happen to my post production editing to make everyone stop gagging at vocals just because they're in tune with the recording.

ready, set, go.

 

[AdamWathan]

and i'm going to study these cd's and find out what needs to happen to my post production editing to make everyone stop gagging at vocals just because they're in tune with the recording.

ready, set, go.

There's your problem right there, I think the idea is that people don't like the extreme and fake sounding editing to make bad performances sound good... I have no problem with the autotune stuff to be honest, that's sort of a sound people go for these days as an effect and even when it's not an effect, it's necessary to make the best of a bad situation when the vocalist isn't good enough to lay down a solid take.

Back in the "good old days" though, you HAD to be good at what you did to have it sound good on record and I think that's what people are talking about when they crap on the use of autotune.

You shouldn't have to do any post production editing, the performances just need to be good. If you have to edit though you are going to get that autotune sound no matter what, it's unavoidable.

 

[nwright]

*crickets*

 

[JeffTD]

There's your problem right there, I think the idea is that people don't like the extreme and fake sounding editing to make bad performances sound good... I have no problem with the autotune stuff to be honest, that's sort of a sound people go for these days as an effect and even when it's not an effect, it's necessary to make the best of a bad situation when the vocalist isn't good enough to lay down a solid take.

Back in the "good old days" though, you HAD to be good at what you did to have it sound good on record and I think that's what people are talking about when they crap on the use of autotune.

You shouldn't have to do any post production editing, the performances just need to be good. If you have to edit though you are going to get that autotune sound no matter what, it's unavoidable.

We've discussed this so many times it's disgusting... it's NOT ABOUT EDITING BAD PERFORMANCES. it's editing to take a good performance over the top and sound truly 'pro.'

 

[nwright]

We've discussed this so many times it's disgusting... it's NOT ABOUT EDITING BAD PERFORMANCES. it's editing to take a good performance over the top and sound truly 'pro.'

[devil's advocate]
so you're saying that 100% of EVERY tracked vocal prior to the arrival of auto tune was, in fact, not truly "pro"?
[/devil's advocate]


:Smokedev:

 

[joeymusicguy]

damnit i didnt want this to be a shit storm

but here's the fucking beef

everyone is ragging on me for my use of auto tune in editing. lets pretend none of you know what im going to do in the future.

now lets see a list of records you're comparing my records to that DONT sound like auto tune shit

because without a list of people doing it right now without auto tune, how can you talk crap on my shit?

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Why can't people just get over it?

-Some bands uitlize autotune for effect.
-Some bands utilize autotone to make the vocals sound consistent...to make a polished sounding product. Same with drum samples. Yes, we know it isn't always 100% representing the band, but who cares? It it's pleasing to the ear and YOU enjoy it, so what?
-Some bands do not utlize autotune.

I don't get the beef...well I do, I just don't get why people get their panties in a twist over it. Big fucking deal. If you have beef with it then listen to bands that do not utilize autotune.

-Joe

 

[ParsonsMatt]

If I can hear the auto tune, it ruins the song. That's my personal key. I've noticed that I can put Gsnap on a track with decent settings ( 150ms attack, 90% correction ), and not notice any change in tone.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

What's your method Joey? AT Graphic mode? Melodyne 100% correction?

I learned a nice little trick from my Steinberg/Yamaha product specialist for tuning vocals in Cubase 5. Select all, 50% correction. It's fast and a noticeable improvement without glitches. It just takes a few seconds to do the processing.

Your stuff is soooo polished and sounds great. I'm very impressed by what you can do with your modest gear, you've got a signature sound.

 

[JeffTD]

[devil's advocate]
so you're saying that 100% of EVERY tracked vocal prior to the arrival of auto tune was, in fact, not truly "pro"?
[/devil's advocate]


:Smokedev:

Not at all - I'm more referring to time based editing than vocal tuning. Vocal tuning doesn't always need to be done on a lead vocal... time based editing on the other hand... almost as a rule.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

there's something about over-auto-tuned vocals I can hear a mile away. I can hear it coming out of cars as they drive by.

 

[grywolf627]

Why can't people just get over it?...

...I don't get the beef...well I do, I just don't get why people get their panties in a twist over it. Big fucking deal. If you have beef with it then listen to bands that do not utilize autotune.

-Joe

A big +1 to this.

 

[noarin]

It really bums me out when I hear it used on professional vocalists or pro productions.

I hear it being used in KSE's stuff as well and they have a truly amazing vocalist, it ruins the "pro" feeling for me instead of enhancing it.

 

[GarethSE]

i dont like the fact that you use a shitton of autotune joey, but i will also realize that you basically have to, because you have to deal with vocalists that either cant sing or want the effect
so until you end up working with bigger, more talented artists, theres not much you can do
so youre excused bro

 

[digitaldeath]

Sorry I can't help with a list of albums Joey, I simply don't know what records do and don't use Autotune, but I know we didn't use it on our album (check sig) as the producer simply doesn't even have it!
Also check out his other two bands - Sikh and Really Addictive Sound (in which he sings) and you'll quickly realise that he's just got a fantastic voice. This is always a good foundation.
Other than that, I'm staying out of the whole Autotune debate!

 

[HandsOfDespair]

It really bums me out when I hear it used on professional vocalists or pro productions.

I hear it being used in KSE's stuff as well and they have a truly amazing vocalist, it ruins the "pro" feeling for me instead of enhancing it.

Well when I heard KSE on download festival, there was bad notes all over the place

And joey, you really don't need to worry about people complaining about your use of autotune. There will always be people to complain about your work, but judging by comments on here, there is 10 person loving your work for each person not loving it.

 

[dan weapon]

For me Autotune is one of those things where I don't care at all if it's been used, and I'm all for it like any other recording/editing technique. But it does annoy me if I can hear it but it sounds like it's not meant to be there.

 

[Ermz]

We've discussed this so many times it's disgusting... it's NOT ABOUT EDITING BAD PERFORMANCES. it's editing to take a good performance over the top and sound truly 'pro.'

That's a great way to encapsulate one of the factors that makes over 90% of today's popular music over-produced, unlistenable garbage.

I don't mind the idea of autotune. It's a salvage tool. It can also be a nice creative tool for passages where people want roboticized voices. The point where it all falls apart is when people use it as a workhorse on every single vocal line. That's the point at which you think about the 80's and say, fuck me, if that was dated, what in the holy shit will this be in 20 years?

 

[narcossintese]

Using Melodyne to get a better vocal track is like using sample replacement on the drums, crossfades on multiple guitar takes, drive and eq on screams, overdubs on live solos... It´s just a tool to make the shit sounds better, I´m ok with that.

 

[Metaltastic]

To be clear, Joey, I think what everyone hates on is the Cher-style "autotune as an effect" thing, which is just an artistic choice (so a person disliking it is the same as a person disliking breakdowns ( ) or pig squeals or something). To me, that's not at all autotune for the sake of it's original purpose (tuning) so of course it shouldn't be transparent; if a person doesn't like it, they should blame the band for writing it, not the producer! (I actually don't really mind it tbh)


On the other hand, if it is for the sake of tuning a performance, then of course it should be transparent, but I don't think I've seen anyone ragging you for that!