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I was not really sure what forum this would be best suited for but was curious about any experience anyone might have with using Melodyne vocal software. I like many of us, am not gifted with a pitch perfect voice or an amazing range. I recently purchased Melodyne in an effort to make my tracks sound a little smoother. I have never been a fan of auto tune witch makes vocals sound stiff and fake. Melodyne from what I've heard on many youtube demonstrations is capable of sounding a lot more natural. My first few days experimenting have been an eye opener. I have a lot to learn but it seems like a pretty powerful tool if used properly. Any thoughts or suggestions for its use?

I use it for all my harmony vocals. I have gotten to the point to where my lead vocals are mostly on-pitch -- but my harmonies -- yuch! ... and I pretty much slam them with melodyne. But since they are harmonies, you can't really tell -- or at least I can't.

I only have melodyne essential which only works on single lines (editor works on polyphonic tracks). Editor would be nice, but essential works for me. I probably should sweeten my lead vocal lines also, but I haven't done that yet, I just keep singing them until I get it close enough.

Great tool!

Kevin, thanks for jumping into the conversation! Yeah, I have alreday tinkered with making harmonies. As a backing track, they do seem to add a little depth to the original vocal on its own. The pitch correction gets it close but on both original and artificial harmonies there are always a few notes that have those unwanted artifacts. I've watched some of the on line tatorials and there are some methods and tecniques that can be used to smooth those areas out. I'm still on the slow learning curve but the good thing seems to be that these methods are pretty strait forward and easy to apply once learned. By the way, I only got Essentials as well. pretty much all I'll ever need I'm sure! thanks again!

Oh, I don't use melodyne to create the harmonies -- just to bring them in pitch. I sing all the harmony parts. Creating harmonies by pitch shifting the original vocal line makes the harmonies too perfect in timing (or I think that they would).

I sing my own harmonies as well but for the purposes of making them sound really tight, you can make some pretty cool backing tracks. you can allow them to still reflect a human touch by adjusting the level of pitch corection you want. I have not played out in many years and don't anticipate doing so in the future so it's more about just making a solid recording. For me harmonies have always proven to be a challenging endevour. Lets just say no one has ever acused mine of sounding too perfect so I supose that might be i nice change! LOL!

I have Melodyne Assistant which I got on eBAY for about $150. Definitely check out eBAY if you buy (I am assuming you are doing the 1 month demo that Melodyne offers). If you get it from a reputable seller, it's the same as buying from their website and you will save a few bucks. I got the boxed version which comes with an instruction book and CD. The book is nice, I was able to have it open while I was figuring stuff out instead of switching windows while trying to read on the computer.

I believe Assistant has everything Editor has without the polyphonic capabilities. It's good for fixing minor timing issues as well as fixing pitch, and it's pretty natural sounding if you already sing okay and don't go nuts trying to make the parts perfect. As far as harmonies go, you can 'write' the harmony part by editing another harmony or the lead vocal track. I was unable to sing the highest harmony on the song I am working on now so I took the highest harmony I could sing and made a new file from it with the notes shifted where I wanted them. With the single note versions (e.g., Essential or Assistant) you obviously can't hear all the harmonies while you adjust the one you are working on. I haven't found this to be a big problem though; it just takes a bit more time to audition any changes.

You can open Melodyne and run it inside your DAW but I just run it Standalone. I have had some issues with stability running it as a 'plugin' plus it interprets the timing in it's own way which is a can of worms that I won't get into here. Granted that some of those worms are me being relatively new to the program, lol.

Anyway, I think it's a very useful program especially for someone like me who is a guitarist first and a singer last

Peace,
TC

TC,

I downloaded the "Essentials" version. It was only $69 on sweetwater.com. Like you mentioned, this version is only for vocal editing but that was all i was looking for. I have run it with both Apple Logic and Garage Band and it opens and opperates pretty smooth. The key I'm findind is less is for sure more when doing edits. Just enough corrections without making it sound too processed is the goal I'm shooting for. That's when your ears have to take over. So far though, I can honestly say it was $69 well spent!

I knew you would love it. Another thing I like about Melodyne is you can upgrade at any time for simply the cost differential between the version you own and whichever version you are moving to. This is a great policy, and I wish more music software companies did this. Rock on!

Peace,
TC

I actually use it most often to correct intonation on bass guitar tracks. It might be that I use a cheepo bass, but Melodyne tightens it up nicely.

Glen

Most of the pros I know use Antares.

Hey All,

There are very few people ( vocalists ) in the world who are pitch perfect. With the best vocalists I've ever worked with, I will still run a suitable programme, on very low intensity simply to "bed" the track. It's simply one of many production processes to make that track shine.

Would I use it on someone that can't sing ? NO WAY, it's a waste of time and effort.

cheers,niteshift

It's true, melodyne is very good when paired with someone who can sing (at least a little). I suppose you could correct someone horrible but it would take hours and hours and it's not going to sound natural at all.

I don't know if any of you have tried this but melodyne is an EXCELLENT way of de-essing vocals; you can bring the highs up to get that nice cottony sound without it being harsh or sibilant. It took me awhile to get the hang of it but I was able to get a nice breathy sound on my last tune.

Peace,
TC