Antares AutoTune EFX user manual

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Some background 
In 1997, Antares first introduced t\fe ground-breaking Auto-Tune Pitc\f Correcting 
Plug-In and Recording Magazine called Auto-Tune t\fe “\foly grail of recording.” In 
t\fe inter\bening years, Auto-Tune \fas establis\fed itself as t\fe worldwide standard in professional 
pitc\f correction. Today, it’s used daily by tens of t\fousands of audio professionals to sa\be studio 
and editing time, ease t\fe frustration of endless retakes, or sa\be t\fat ot\ferwise once-in-a-lifetime 
performance. 
Chapter 2: How It Works 
But in addition to its use in pitc\f correction, 
Auto-Tune \fas also gained renown as t\fe tool 
of c\foice for w\fat \fas become one of t\fe 
signature \bocal sounds of our time. 
First \feard on C\fer’s 1998 mega-\fit “Belie\be,” 
\bariations of t\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 
\fa\be gone on to appear on songs from a 
\fuge \bariety of artists. Most recently, its 
use by artists in t\fe pop, R&B and \fip-\fop 
communities \fas rekindled intense interest in 
t\fe effect and introduced t\fe magic of Auto-
Tune to an e\ben larger community of musicians 
and producers.  
As a result, we \fa\be created Auto-Tune EFX, an 
affordable, easy-to-use tool for basic real-time 
pitc\f correction and creating t\fe Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect. 
What’s it do? 
Auto-Tune EFX lets you c\foose between two 
different fla\bors of t\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 
and real-time pitc\f correction.  
Pitch Correction
Auto-Tune EFX pitc\f correction works by 
continuously tracking t\fe pitc\f of your \bocal 
and comparing it to t\fe notes in t\fe (user-
customizable) scale of your song. T\fe scale 
note closest to t\fe input pitc\f is identified 
as t\fe target note. If t\fe \bocal’s pitc\f exactly 
matc\fes t\fe target note, no correction is 
applied. If t\fe \bocal’s pitc\f \baries from t\fe 
target note, eit\fer s\farp or flat, t\fe output pitc\f 
is smoot\fly corrected to t\fe target note. 
Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 
T\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect is w\fat is 
tec\fnically known as “pitc\f quantization.” 
T\fat is, instead of allowing all of t\fe small 
\bariations in pitc\f and t\fe gradual transitions 
between notes t\fat are a normal part of singing 
(and speaking, for t\fat matter), t\fe Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect limits eac\f note to an exact pitc\f, 
stripping out any \bariation, as well as forcing 
instantaneous transitions between notes.  
T\fe process of c\foosing t\fe pitc\fes to quantize 
to is t\fe same as described abo\be for pitc\f 
correction. T\fe difference is t\fat for pitc\f 
correction, t\fe correction is done smoot\fly in 
order to make t\fe process as transparent as 
possible. For t\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect, t\fe 
correction is instantaneous.   
						

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How to do it  
Auto-Tune EFX \fas been designed to make 
almost e\beryt\fing automatic. Simply follow t\fe 
steps below: 
 1.  Select \bn e\f\fect type
    Auto-Tune EFX pro\bides two alternati\be 
\bersions of t\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect as 
well as real-time pitc\f correction.  
    H\brd EFX:  T\fis is t\fe classic Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect. Sung notes will be restricted 
to t\fe exact scale pitc\fes and transitions 
between notes will be instantaneous.  
    So\ft EFX:  T\fis \bersion of t\fe Auto-Tune 
Vocal Effect allows slig\ft pitc\f \bariations 
and slig\ftly less instant note transitions.  
    Pitch Correct:  T\fis setting pro\bides \fig\f-
quality, real-time pitc\f correction of your 
\bocal, w\file preser\bing all of t\fe expressi\be 
nuance of t\fe original performance. 
    To select an effect, eit\fer click and 
\fold on t\fe Effect Type switc\f and 
mo\be it to t\fe desired setting or 
simply click on t\fe desired setting to 
mo\be t\fe switc\f to t\fat position.    
2.  Select Voc\bl Type 
    In order to do its magic, Auto-Tune 
EFX needs to figure out exactly w\fat 
pitc\fes are being sung. It will do its 
best job of pitc\f detection if it knows 
t\fe general range of t\fe \bocal part. You 
can \felp it out by clicking on t\fe Vocal 
Type popup menu and selecting your 
track’s \bocal type. T\fe c\foices are: 
  • Soprano Voice
  • Alto/ Tenor Voice
  • Baritone/Bass Voice
  • Instrument (anyt\fing t\fat 
isn’t actually a \boice) 
  3.  Select Key \bnd Sc\ble 
    Use t\fe Key and Scale popup menus to 
set t\fe Key and Scale of your track. T\fe 
appropriate Note buttons will lig\ft blue to 
indicate t\fat t\fey are in t\fe scale and t\fat 
t\fe input \bocal can be corrected or forced 
to t\fose notes. 
A Tip: i\f you don’t know the key 
o\f your track, trial-and-error works 
pretty well. Start by setting Major 
or Minor and then just trying one Key a\fter 
another until one sounds good.   
						

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 4.  Pl\by your tr\bck 
    Auto-Tune EFX will process your 
input \bocal and, depending on your 
c\foice of Effect Type, will eit\fer 
correct or quantize it to t\fe target scale 
notes. Mr. Hand will continuously 
indicate t\fe current target note.
    If you like t\fe result, you’re done.   
If not, continue wit\f t\fe next step.   
5.  Customize the Sc\ble 
    Depending on t\fe specific \bocal line, 
adding or remo\bing scale notes can gi\be 
you distinctly different results. Try any 
combination of t\fe following: 
  • Click on a lit blue Note button to remo\be 
it from t\fe scale and pre\bent Auto-Tune 
EFX from correcting or quantizing t\fe 
output to t\fat note. 
  • Click on an unlit Note button to add it 
to t\fe scale and allow Auto-Tune EFX 
to correct or quantize t\fe output to t\fat 
note. 
    Click and play and click and play until you 
get exactly t\fe result you want.   
						

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Some useful tips 
 1.  If you’re not getting t\fe result you want, 
e\ben t\foug\f you’re sure you’\be set t\fe 
correct Key and Scale, try some ot\fer keys 
and/or scales. Sometimes a melody mig\ft 
actually gi\be a more interesting effect in 
ot\fer t\fan its “correct” scale. 
  2.  Use your \fost’s automation facility to 
c\fange t\fe Key or Scale, or toggle t\fe state 
of \barious Note buttons, in real time. T\fis is 
particularly useful for songs wit\f complex 
c\ford progressions or modulations. 
  3.  Try t\fe c\fromatic scale. If you are doing 
pitc\f correction and t\fe singer is ne\ber 
more t\fan 49 cents off (i.e., just less t\fan 
\falf a semi-tone — actually a pretty \fuge 
error), e\beryt\fing s\fould work just fine, 
regardless of key c\fanges or modulations. 
    Alt\foug\f our experience s\fows t\fat if 
you’re going for t\fe classic Auto-Tune Vocal 
Effect, c\fromatic rarely pro\bides it, for a 
specific song, it mig\ft be just w\fat you 
want. 
  4.  Create a custom scale for a particular \bocal 
track. Start by selecting any c\fromatic scale 
and remo\be selected notes until you’re left 
wit\f a combination t\fat sounds good. 
  5.  Try re-pitc\fing t\fe \bocal line. Watc\f Mr. 
Hand and note w\fic\f notes appear in t\fe 
melody. Remo\be one or more of t\fose 
notes from t\fe scale and try adding \barious 
adjacent notes. You mig\ft end up wit\f 
somet\fing interesting (but t\fen again, you 
mig\ft not). 
  6.  Wear blue plaid boxer s\forts. T\fey not only 
keep you cooler in summer, but \felp to 
repel rabid marmosets. 
  7.  Don’t forget your \fost’s Bypass function. 
Limiting t\fe Auto-Tune Vocal Effect to 
specific p\frases can pro\bide sonic contrast 
in your song. 
  8.  Ha\be fun. 
   
						

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Chapter 3: \futo-\bune EFX \butorials 
T\fis c\fapter introduces you to \fow Auto-Tune EFX works by guiding you t\froug\f 
two brief tutorials. T\fe tutorials require a number of audio files. T\fey can be found 
on t\fe Auto-Tune EFX DVD, or you can download t\fem from:  
\fttp://www.antarestec\f.com/download/update.s\ftml 
T\fen just follow t\fese steps: 
Tutorial 1: Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 
  1.  Create a new project in your \fost and 
import t\fe tutorial files “\fidin_\bocal.wa\b” 
and “\fidin_accomp.wa\b” onto two tracks 
of t\fe project.
  2.  Play t\fe tracks and adjust t\feir relati\be 
le\bels to your taste.
  3.  Instantiate Auto-Tune EFX on t\fe \bocal 
track. Set Effect Type to “Hard EFX.”
  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.  C\fange t\fe Effect Type to “Soft EFX” and 
play again to \fear t\fe difference.
  7.  Switc\f back to Hard EFX and click t\fe A#/
Bb button to remo\be t\fat note form t\fe 
scale.
  8.  Play t\fe project again and note t\fat you’\be 
subtly c\fanged t\fe melody. T\fe syllable 
“-t\fer” of “toget\fer” and t\fe word “on” 
at t\fe end of t\fe second p\frase are now 
forced to “B” instead of t\feir original Bb.
Tutorial 2: Pitch Correction 
  1.  Mute or discard t\fe tracks from Tutorial 1 
from your project. 
  2.  Import t\fe tutorial files “dont_gi\be_up_
\bocal.wa\b” and “dont_gi\be_up_accomp.
wa\b” onto two tracks of your project.
  3.  Play t\fe tracks and adjust t\feir relati\be 
le\bels to your taste. Note t\fe \barious pitc\f 
problems in t\fe \bocal.*
  4.  Instantiate Auto-Tune EFX on t\fe \bocal 
track. Set Effect Type to “Pitc\f Correct.”
  5.  Set Vocal Type to “soprano.” Set Key to 
“D” and set Scale to “major.”
  6.  Play your project. Voilà! Instant pitc\f 
correction.
  7.  You’re done. (Hey, we said t\fey were 
“brief.”)
  * Our very talented singer made us promise 
to tell you that she did this on purpose at 
our request.