The invention of AutoTuning

[ApolloSpeed]

kinda off topic, but here we go....

Anybody know when the vocal autotuner came out? Just curious when people started using them in studios? 80's? 70's?
I'm pretty sure they had a hardware version that coulda been used in studios before digital mixing came about...... but does anyone got a clue when this started showing up in albums?

 

[Zorran]

i think people would do it manually back in the day.. speeding up/slowing down tape perhaps? i remember reading about trevor horn and his engineer kinda fucking with the tape to change tuning?

i also remember reading something about an eventide unit?

there was a thread about this on grearslutz.

 

[Matt Crooks]

Antares came out with autotune in 1997.

http://www.antarestech.com/about/history.shtml

Before that, the Eventide was used to "mask" pitch problems by adding a +5/-5 cent signal along with the original that helped the voice sound thicker and more in tune. Of course, in the tape days, people would use the varispeed to move a vocal a little here and there.

 

[ApolloSpeed]

yeah, i see what your saying about the tape speed adjustment.....funny, I would think that it would change the tempo of the vocals. Seems like it would be a real bitch to manual auto tune with tape!

 

[metalkingdom]

The most common method was to record an artist who could actually sing.

 

[Denial Machine]

The most common method was to record an artist who could actually sing.

The golden days of music.

 

[kev]

The most common method was to record an artist who could actually sing.

LOL

 

[C_F_H_13]

The craziest story I heard on this subject started as soon as DAT machines came out (not first by far, but to give you an idea).

My boss now was a young kid in the business working with a HUGE diva star of the 80s (he never used her name), he got paid a giant chunk of change to "clean" her vocals.

What he would do is print the vocal to a dat machine, then have that dat running to another dat machine, both of which synced to a a third with the instrumental mix on it. He would then use the vari-speed to move notes up and down. Now you might say, well wouldn't that make the vocal slow down and speed up? Why yes it would, so he'd have to do multiple passes, each time moving the notes a little closer . He said it'd take him about a day PER TRACK, and would generally do only 6-10 tracks. The he got his hands on a ultra harmonizer a few years (90's?) later and ysed that until auto tune came out.....

Crazy...

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

The most common method was to record an artist who could actually sing.

Seriously to bad those days are gone

 

[metalkingdom]

The craziest story I heard on this subject started as soon as DAT machines came out (not first by far, but to give you an idea).

My boss now was a young kid in the business working with a HUGE diva star of the 80s (he never used her name), he got paid a giant chunk of change to "clean" her vocals.

What he would do is print the vocal to a dat machine, then have that dat running to another dat machine, both of which synced to a a third with the instrumental mix on it. He would then use the vari-speed to move notes up and down. Now you might say, well wouldn't that make the vocal slow down and speed up? Why yes it would, so he'd have to do multiple passes, each time moving the notes a little closer . He said it'd take him about a day PER TRACK, and would generally do only 6-10 tracks. The he got his hands on a ultra harmonizer a few years (90's?) later and ysed that until auto tune came out.....

Crazy...

DAT machines weren't common in recording studios until the early 90's. Timecode DAT's (which can be synched to each other via SMPTE) didn't come out until the late 90's and by then it was too late for music studios to invest in them. One "trick" that I used to do was to have two of the same DAT machines racked on top of each other and use one remote to simultaneously control both machines...But that was still very frustrating. I bet your boss did the same thing. The H3000 (ultra harmonizer) were in widespread use way before DAT's were common.

Judging from your name, I'd guess you live in Texas. Judging from your posts, I'd say Houston. Am I right? If so, then I think I know who you work for.

 

[C_F_H_13]

DAT machines weren't common in recording studios until the early 90's. Timecode DAT's (which can be synched to each other via SMPTE) didn't come out until the late 90's and by then it was too late for music studios to invest in them. One "trick" that I used to do was to have two of the same DAT machines racked on top of each other and use one remote to simultaneously control both machines...But that was still very frustrating. I bet your boss did the same thing. The H3000 (ultra harmonizer) were in widespread use way before DAT's were common.

Judging from your name, I'd guess you live in Texas. Judging from your posts, I'd say Houston. Am I right? If so, then I think I know who you work for.

The remote thing is probably right. I was guessing on the details to be honest...but still a crazy story. 90's would actually make sense though cause I think he's only 38 now?...I don't know...you clearly were actually working/doing this shit then so I will take your word for it. I think I was.....7 in 1990 hahaha...so yeah...it's all a second hand story.

But no, not from houston,or even texas...I'm based in LA. I just love pantera.

 

[Deaf Ear]

The software was originally designed to measure seismic activity.