Antares AutoTune EFX 3 user manual

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2: How It Works 
Some background 
In 1997, Antares first introduced the ground-breaking Auto-Tune Pitch Correcting 
Plug-In and Recording Magazine called Auto-Tune a “holy grail of recording.” In 
the intervening years, Auto-Tune has established itself as the worldwide standard in professional 
pitch correction. Today, it’s used daily by tens of thousands of audio professionals to save studio 
and editing time, ease the frustration of endless retakes, or save that otherwise once-in-a-lifetime 
performance.
But in addition to its use in pitch correction 
(and, as of the introduction of Auto-Tune 7, 
time correction as well), Auto-Tune has also 
gained renown as the tool of choice for what 
has become one of the signature vocal sounds 
of our time.
First heard on Cher’s 1998 mega-hit “Believe,” 
variations of the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect have 
gone on to appear on songs from a huge 
variety of artists in almost every music genre. 
This has generated intense interest in the 
effect and introduced the magic of Auto-Tune 
to an even larger community of musicians and 
producers. 
As a result, we have created Auto-Tune EFX 3, 
an affordable, easy-to-use tool for basic real-
time pitch correction, creating the Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect and our unique Auto-Motion™ 
Vocal Pattern Generation.
New in Auto-Tune EFX 3 is a fully adjustable 
Retune Speed control that lets you finetune 
Auto-Tune EFX 3’s pitch processing for any 
performance. And its new Humanize function 
provides pitch correction that is even more 
natural and realistic.
What’s it do? 
Pitch Correction
Auto-Tune EFX 3 pitch correction works by 
continuously tracking the pitch of your vocal 
and comparing it to the notes in the (user-
customizable) scale of your song. The scale 
note closest to the input pitch is identified 
as the target note. If the vocal’s pitch exactly 
matches the target note, no correction is  applied. If the vocal’s pitch varies from the 
target note, either sharp or flat, the output 
pitch is smoothly corrected to the target note.
Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 
The Auto-Tune Vocal Effect is what is 
technically known as “pitch quantization.” 
That is, instead of allowing all of the small 
variations in pitch and the gradual transitions 
between notes that are a normal part of 
singing (and speaking, for that matter), the 
Auto-Tune Vocal Effect limits each note to an 
exact pitch, stripping out any variation, as well 
as forcing instantaneous transitions between 
notes. 
The process of choosing the pitches to 
quantize to is the same as described above 
for pitch correction. The difference is that 
for pitch correction, the correction is done 
smoothly in order to make the process as 
transparent as possible. For the Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect, the correction is instantaneous.
Auto-Motion Vocal Pattern 
Generation
Auto-Motion Vocal Pattern Generation 
is a new effect that takes advantage of 
Auto-Tune’s superb pitch-shifting ability 
to add intricate musical patterns to a vocal 
performance. Patterns are selected from a 
built-in (and expandable) library in a variety of 
styles and can be synced to your host’s tempo 
at various beat divisions. At any point in your 
vocal track, simply click the Auto-Motion 
Trigger button to send your vocal on a melodic 
adventure.   
						

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How to do it  
Auto-Tune EFX 3 has been designed to make 
almost everything automatic. Simply follow 
the steps below: 
Pitch Correction or  
The Auto-Tune Vocal Effect
  1.  Set Tracking
In most cases, simply 
leaving the Tracking 
switch at its default 
setting of “Normal” 
will ensure accurate 
pitch detection and 
tracking. In the rare 
event that you encounter a problem (e.g., 
a vocal playing back at the wrong octave), 
moving the switch to “Choosy” should 
make everything right.
  2.  Select Vocal Type 
    In order to do its magic, Auto-Tune EFX 3 
needs to figure out exactly what pitches 
are being sung. It will do its best job of 
pitch detection if it knows the general 
range of the vocal part. You can help it out 
by clicking on the Vocal Type popup menu 
and selecting your track’s vocal type. The 
choices are: 
 • Soprano Voice
 • Alto/Tenor Voice • Baritone/Bass Voice • Instrument (anything that isn’t actually   
a voice)
  3.  Select Key and Scale     
Use the Key and Scale popup menus to 
set the Key and Scale of your track. The 
appropriate Note buttons will light blue to 
indicate that they are in the scale and that 
the input vocal can be corrected or forced 
to those notes.
A TIP: If you don’t know the key of 
your track, trial-and-error works 
pretty well. Start by setting Major 
or Minor and then just trying one Key after 
another until one sounds good. 
  4.  Set the Retune Speed
    The Retune Speed is the key to natural (or 
unnatural) sounding pitch correction. If set 
at too slow a setting, Auto-Tune EFX 3 will 
not have enough time to move short notes 
to the correct pitch
    If set too fast, you’ll be able to hear Auto-
Tune working, creating an unnatural 
sounding effect (unless that’s what you 
want).
    A value of 0 will cause instantaneous 
changes from one tone to another and will 
completely suppress a vibrato. If you’re 
going for the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect, use 0.
    Values from 10 to 50 are typical for vocal 
pitch correction. Larger values let through 
more vibrato and other interpretative pitch 
gestures but also slow down how rapidly 
pitch corrections are made.
    Although the above suggestions can be 
used as starting points, finding the correct 
Retune Speed setting for a particular 
performance is largely a matter of trial-
and-error and depends on such attributes 
as song tempo, note duration and vocal 
style, among others. As always, let your 
ears be your guide.
  5.  Play Your Track
    Auto-Tune EFX 3 will process your input 
vocal according to your settings. Mr. Hand 
will continuously indicate the current 
target note.
    If you like the result, you’re done. If not, 
continue with the next steps.  
						

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 6.  Adjust the Retune Speed
    If your initial Retune Speed setting did not 
give you the results you want, speed it up 
or slow it down as necessary.
  7.  Customize the Scale
    Depending on the specific vocal line, 
adding or removing scale notes can give 
you distinctly different results. Try any 
combination of the following:
 
•  Click on a lit blue Note button to remove 
it from the scale and prevent Auto-Tune 
EFX 3 from correcting or quantizing the 
output to that note.
 
•  Click on an unlit Note button to add it 
to the scale and allow Auto-Tune EFX 3 
tocorrect or quantize the output to that 
note.
    Click and play and click and play until you 
get exactly the result you want.
  8.  Engage the Humanize Function
    One situation that can be problematic is 
a performance that includes both very 
short notes and longer sustained notes. 
The problem is that in order to get the 
short notes in tune, you’d have to set a fast 
Retune Speed, which would then make any  sustained notes sound unnaturally static. 
Luckily, the Humanize function easily 
solves this problem.
    The Humanize function differentiates 
between short and sustained notes and 
lets you apply a slower Retune Speed just 
to the sustained notes. Thus, the short 
notes are in tune and the sustained notes 
still allow the natural variations of the 
original performance.
    Here’s how it works:
    Start by setting Humanize to 0 and 
adjusting the Retune Speed until 
the shortest problem notes in the 
performance are in tune. At this point, any 
sustained notes may sound unnaturally 
static. If so, start advancing the Humanize 
control. The higher the Humanize setting, 
the more the Retune Speed is slowed for 
sustained notes. The goal is to find the 
point where the sustained notes are also 
in tune and just enough of the natural 
variation in the performance is present in 
the sustained notes to sound natural and 
realistic. (If you set Humanize too high, any 
problem sustained notes may not be fully 
corrected.)
    This is another of those settings where 
you have to let your ears be your guide. 
The optimum Humanize setting for any 
particular performance will depend on the 
performance style, the other parameter 
settings and the specific effect you desire.  
						

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Auto-Motion Vocal Pattern 
Generation
 1. Select a Pattern 
    Auto-Tune EFX 3 comes with a varied 
selection of melodic patterns (but see 
Chapter 4 for info on expanding the 
selection and creating your own). Click the 
Select Pattern menu to pick one.
    While we’ve tried to name each pattern in 
a way to suggest its style, the easiest way 
to become familiar with them is just to try 
them out.
  2.  Select a Pattern Style
The Auto-Motion 
Pattern Style 
switch lets you 
select the speed 
of the transition 
between the notes 
of the pattern. The choices are similar to 
those of the Effect Type switch:
   Hard EFX:  The classic Auto-Tune Vocal 
Effect. Transitions between notes of the 
pattern will be instantaneous. 
   Soft EFX: Transitions between notes of the 
pattern will be slightly less instantaneous. 
   Legato:  The notes of the pattern will glide 
smoothly from one to the next.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Pattern Style 
selection is completely independent 
of the Retune Speed. For example, if 
you select a Retune Speed of 0 and Legato for 
the Pattern Style, you will get classic Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect on the vocal when a pattern is not 
being triggered, but when a pattern is  being 
triggered, there will be smooth transitions 
between the notes. Conversely, if you select 
a Retune Speed of 50 and Hard EFX for the 
Pattern Style, your vocal track will be smoothly 
pitch-corrected while Auto-Motion patterns 
will exhibit the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect.  
3.  Set Pattern Tempo
    Auto-Tune EFX 3 provides two ways to set 
the tempo of your selected pattern:
   Sync to Host: Sync to Host mode ensures 
that your Auto-Motion patterns will be 
perfectly synced to the tempo of your track 
(assuming, of course, that you recorded 
your track to a click track or other time 
reference). Selectable beat multipliers or 
subdivisions allow for a wide variety of 
complex rhythmic possibilities.
    Click the Sync to Host button (it’ll turn blue) 
to sync the pattern tempo to your DAW’s 
clock. The Receiving Clock “LED” will light to 
confirm that it is getting a valid clock from 
your host. (If the LED does not light, check 
to see that your host does in fact route its 
clock to plug-ins. Most do, but there may 
still be a few out there that don’t.)
    In Sync to Host mode, the Tempo knob lets 
you select what division or multiplier of the 
beat will define the length and position of 
each note of your pattern. 
    The choices are:
 •  4/4 (whole note, 4 beats) 
 •  3/4 (dotted half note, 3 beats) 
 •  2/4 (half note, 2 beats) 
 •  1/4. (dotted quarter note) 
 •  1/4 (quarter note, one beat)
 •  1/4T (quarter note triplet) 
 •  1/8. (dotted 8th note) 
 •  1/8 (8th note) 
 •  1/8T (8th note triplet) 
 •  1/16. (dotted 16th note) 
 •  1/16 (16th note)
 •  1/16T (16th note triplet)   
						

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 • 1/32. (dotted 32nd note) 
 •  1/32 ( 32nd note) 
 •  1/32T (32nd note triplet)
    For example, if you select 4/4, each note of 
your pattern will last for four beats, while 
selecting 1/16 will result in one pattern note 
per sixteenth note. 
   Absolute BPM:  When Sync to Host is not 
selected, the Tempo knob lets you set the 
tempo in beats per minute. The available 
range is 20 BPM to 260 BPM.
  4.  Trigger the Pattern
    Play your track. At any point, click and hold 
the Trigger button to play the selected 
pattern. Continuing to hold down the 
Trigger button will cause the pattern to 
repeat for as long as you hold it down. 
Release the Trigger button to stop the 
pattern. Repeat as desired.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the Auto-
Motion patterns are being generated 
from your vocal track, they will only 
play as long as there is actually vocal present 
on the track. If you continue to hold down 
the Trigger button in a portion of the track 
where there is no vocal, the pattern will cease 
sounding. However, the pattern will continue to 
cycle through the silence and will again sound 
at the point that the vocal once again enters.
ANOTHER NOTE: The overall pitch of the pattern 
is determined by the note being 
sung at the moment you click the 
Trigger button. If you continue to 
hold down the button, the pattern will continue 
to repeat at the same pitch, regardless of the 
pitch of subsequently sung notes. However, if 
you briefly release and then re-click the button 
during a different note, the pattern will be 
transposed to reflect the pitch of the new note. 
Auto-Motion Pattern Generation offers 
enormous possibilities for striking effects. As 
always, experimentation is the order of the day.
Some useful tips 
Pitch Correction and Auto-Tune   
Vocal Effect
  1.  If you’re not getting the result you want, 
even though you’re sure you’ve set the 
correct Key and Scale, try some other keys 
and/or scales. Sometimes a melody might 
actually give a more interesting effect in 
other than its “correct” scale.
  2.  Use your host’s automation facility to 
change the Key or Scale, or toggle the 
state of various Note buttons, in real 
time. This is particularly useful for songs 
with complex chord progressions or 
modulations.
  3.  Try the chromatic scale. If you are doing 
pitch correction and the singer is never 
more than 49 cents off (i.e., just less than 
half a semi-tone — actually a pretty huge 
error), everything should work just fine, 
regardless of key changes or modulations.
    Although our experience shows that if 
you’re going for the classic Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect, chromatic rarely provides it, 
for a specific song, it might be just what 
you want.
  4.  Create a custom scale for a particular vocal 
track. Start by selecting any chromatic 
scale and remove selected notes until 
you’re left with a combination that sounds 
good.
  5.  Try re-pitching the vocal line. Watch 
Mr. Hand and note which notes appear 
in the melody. Remove one or more of 
those notes from the scale and try adding 
various adjacent notes. You might end 
up with something interesting (but then 
again, you might not).
  6.  Don’t forget your host’s Bypass function. 
Limiting the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect to 
specific phrases can provide sonic contrast 
in your song.  
						

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Auto-Motion Vocal Pattern 
Generation
 1.  Auto-Motion depends on the same Voice 
Type, Tracking, Key, and Scale settings 
as pitch correction and the Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect. Even if you aren’t doing 
pitch correction or using the Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect, be sure to correctly set those 
controls.
  2.  Try using different patterns in different 
parts of your track by using your host’s 
automation capability to switch patterns 
at the appropriate points in the track.
  3.  Try triggering a pattern on different beats 
or beat subdivisions of your track. Starting 
a pattern on an offbeat or beat subdivision 
can have a very different rhythmic effect 
than starting it on a downbeat.
  4.  Experiment with triplet or (especially) 
dotted-note subdivisions for interesting 
polyrhythmic or syncopated results. As in 
#3 above, try triggering them on offbeats 
or beat subdivisions for even more 
rhythmic interest
  5.  Set a pattern to a very fast tempo or small 
note subdivision (if using Sync to Host) and 
repeatedly retrigger the pattern for an 
unusual rhythmic stuttering effect.
  6.  Have fun!  
						

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3: Auto-Tune EFX 3 Tutorials 
This chapter introduces you to how Auto-Tune EFX 3 works by guiding you through three brief 
tutorials. The tutorials require a number of audio files. They can be found on the Auto-Tune EFX 3 
DVD, or you can download them from:  
http://www.antarestech.com/download/latest-software.php
Then just follow these steps: 
Tutorial 1: Pitch Correction 
 1. Import the tutorial files “dont_give_up_
vocal.wav” and “dont_give_up_accomp.
wav” onto two tracks of your project.
  2.  Play the tracks and adjust their relative 
levels to your taste. Note the various pitch 
problems in the vocal.*
  3.  Instantiate Auto-Tune EFX 3 on the vocal 
track. Set Retune Speed to “25.”
  4.  Set Vocal Type to “soprano.” Set Key to “D” 
and set Scale to “major.”
  5.  Play your project. Voilà! Instant pitch 
correction.
 *  Our very talented singer made us promise 
to tell you that she did this on purpose at 
our request.
Tutorial 2: Auto-Tune Vocal 
Effect 
 1.  Create a new project in your host and 
import the tutorial files “hidin_vocal.wav” 
and “hidin_accomp.wav” onto two tracks 
of the project.
  2.  Play the tracks and adjust their relative 
levels to your taste.
  3.  Instantiate Auto-Tune EFX 3 on the vocal 
track. Set Retune Speed to “0.”
  4.  Set Vocal Type to “alto/tenor.” Set Key to 
“A flat” and set Scale to “minor.”
  5.  Play your project. Voilà! Instant Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect.
  6.  Change the Retune Speed to “5” and play 
again to hear the difference.
  7.  Switch back to a Retune Speed of 0 and 
click the A#/ Bb button to remove that 
note from the scale.
  8.  Play the project again and note that you’ve 
subtly changed the melody. The syllable 
“-ther” of “together” and the word “on” 
at the end of the second phrase are now 
forced to “B” instead of their original Bb.  
						

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Tutorial 3: Auto-Motion Vocal 
Pattern Generation
The best way to become familiar with Auto-
Motion is simply to play around with it. To get 
star ted:
 1.  Load the “hidin” files from Tutorial 1 and 
set the controls as instructed in that 
tutorial.
  2.  Set your host’s tempo to 132 BPM and set 
the Auto-Motion tempo to “Sync to Host” 
an d “1/1 6 .”
  3.  Set the Auto-Motion Pattern Style to Hard 
EFX.
  4.  Select the pattern “Half Steps.”
  5.  Start playing the project. Click and hold 
the Trigger button at the beginning of the 
words “falling apart” at the end of the 
second phrase. Hold the button through 
these words and then release it. 
  6.  Click and hold the Trigger button again at 
the beginning of measure 10 (in the middle 
of the phrase “you’re in the dark”). Release 
it at the end of the phrase.
  7. Repeat again at the beginning of measure 
16 (at the beginning of the phrase “nothing 
at all”).
  8.  Finally, repeat again at the beginning of 
measure 20 (at the beginning of the phrase 
“set up to fall”).
  9.  Repeat all of the above using a different 
pattern (e.g., try “Circular Slur” for a bit 
more dramatic effect or “Down 4 Up 1” for 
some serious wackiness). 
Continue to experiment with different 
patterns, different note divisions, and different 
combinations of Effect Type and Pattern Type 
settings. 
Most of all, have fun.  
						

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4: Creating, Editing and Updating    
  Auto-Motion Patterns
For the adventuresome among you, Auto-Tune EFX 3’s patterns are stored in a dedicated file in 
the standard MusicXML format. Besides making it easy for us to release updated and expanded 
pattern collections without having to release completely new versions of the plug-in, it also 
allows anyone with an application that can open and edit MusicXML files (and there are free 
open source apps that can do this) to edit existing patterns and create entirely new patterns of 
their own devising.
If this interests you, please refer to the “Updating, Editing and Creating Pattern Files” PDF 
document included on your installation DVD or with your download.