I don't think it's auto tune, because as @leftroundabout says, the piano would bend out of tune too. One comment on Youtube mentioned Sideways Yodelling, which is basically like what happens when (if you're male) you're going through puberty and your voice breaks. It can be used to make some very cool sounds. Nov 02, 2017 Our song: Me and DeeWhatever do the AutoTune challenge! Testing whether anyone can actually sing with autotune!
The Top Ten Singers with Too Much Autotune
1Will.I.Amwill.i.am is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor known for being the lead vocalist in The Black Eyed Peas. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He has released several solo albums such as 'Songs About Girls' and 'Will Power' .Ugh, can't stand the Black Eyed Peas. He abuses te crap out of autotune and the latest music trend. - DCfnaf
How could you forget this guy? this guy uses loads of Autotune in a horrible way - christangrant
It's so noticeable! He just uses autotune too much! - TheFourthWorld
All the members of the Black Eyed Peas, actually. - Misfire
2Jacob SartoriusRolf Jacob Sartorius (known by his middle name), born October 2, 2002, is an American singer and internet personality, who rose to fame via social media from posting lip-syncing videos on musical.ly and his Vines (on Vine). In 2016, he released his debut single 'Sweatshirt', which reached the Hot 100 ..read more.Someone please change that ugly image. Nevermind it changed back - ElSherlock
He should be in first place. Watch his music video for 'Sweatshirt' and then compare that to his real voice. The autotune is so bad that he sounds like a robot. He can't sing! - olliv
Autotune Sartorius is what he should be called. - CommunismNow
So cheesy and squeaky! Really ear-piercing.
3FutureJust listen his voice in Endgame of Tay Tay. Although I like it in the context of this song, it's pretty bad.
I'm mixed on autotune, the type of songs you have depends, trap (which is guiltily one of my favorite genres) suits autotune the most.
Fetty Wap is awesome and uses A LOT of autotune and can be really fun to listen to.
Future is from the exact same genre but he is pretty boring and lazy. So overall, it depends on the user. - AlphaQ
She sounds like a whiny robot when she sings. Her singing is some of the worst I've ever heard. - DCfnaf
Duh, of course she is number one she sounds like a horny robot. - DaisyandRosalina
She's a fake Barbie doll in general, so the awful autotuned singing fits her. - Elric-san
DCfnaf, You Shouod Remix The Worst 2017 Movies List Just To Put Beauty And The Beast As A Dishonorable Mention Because Its Number 6 - VideoGamefan5
5Ke$haKesha Rose Sebert (formerly known as Ke$ha) was born on March 1st, 1987 in Los Angeles, United States. She is best known for her hits like Timber, Tik Tok, and We R Who We R. ..read more.Lol I know her older songs were at least 20% autotune, but it seemed more of like a stylistic choice rather than a 'I am talentless so I use this much auto-tune'. While I definitely don't think she is the best natural singer ever, her new album Rainbow is nothing like her old stuff and she actually shows she has real raw talent. So yeah lol, be kind to my Kesha baby! - Twixx
I notice that Ke$ha is just one of those 'talk singers' who puts no effort into their music. She basically just speaks into the microphone and then chooses to let autotune take care of the rest. This is evident when she sings live and does a poor job. - DCfnaf
If you think she can't sing, listen to 'The Harold Song.' It is pretty good. But she does use way too much autotune in her popular stuff. - 445956
Basically she talks and autotune does the rest. - DaisyandRosalina
6Lil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was discovered by Brian 'Baby' 'Birdman' Williams at a very young age, and was signed to Cash Money Records, where he would be one quarter of the rap group Hot Boys. In the years to follow, he would go on to find his own ..read more.He uses way too much autotune. He is literally abusing it. His rapping and lyrics don’t make up for that either. - Userguy44
Lil' Wayne is using autotune in his rock-oriented album..but it doesn't work. We can tell that he has no talent whatsoever. - DCfnaf
Listen to How to Love. I apologize for the pain in advance. - cjWriter1997
He sounds weird with autotune - ElSherlock
7Submarine ManWater Handblast (born Ardy Robert Andrews) better known by his name Submarine Man, is an American rapper known for his songs that heavily feature lyrics about foot fetishes as well as heavily autotuned vocals.He is so hard to understand that some of his songs are not available on any lyric websites.
He's not even a real music artist, he's supposed to be terrible. - DaWyteNight
Imagine taking this guy seriously
This guy is a joke artist - ElSherlock
8Travis ScottJacques Webster, better known by his stage name Travis Scott, is an American hip hop recording artist, record producer and musician from Houston, Texas.Love him or hate him, he created one of the most iconic albums of the 2010s
He sometimes uses autotune - ElSherlock
Asstroworld sounds like it was made by a robot singing into a fan
Yeeeah! It's liit! Oh my God! Straight up! - DaWyteNight
9Britney SpearsBritney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer and actress who was born in McComb, Mississippi, and grew up in Kentwood, Louisiana. She performed acting roles in stage productions and television shows like 'The Mickey Mouse Club' as a child before signing with Jive Records in 1997 ..read more.Free Voice Sound Effects
It's honestly not Britney's fault for her using autotune. When she was young, she used to have a 'baby voice', but she has became older and her vocals are getting deeper. That's why she isn't live all the time. #FreeBritney - Bizcut4life
Some Top 40 artists have catchy, maybe even iconic, songs. I cannot think of a single Britney song I like. - RubyParagon
She wasn't bad, but she completely wasted her natural vocals with her 'particular' tone and autotune. - DaisyandRosalina
When 'Womanizer' came on in the car, I was yelling at my mom to switch it, and for some stupid reason she told me it was good and stayed at the station. Thankfully we only listen to the claswic alternative station. - 445956
10Jason DeruloJason Joel Desrouleaux, better known by his stage name Jason Derulo (an alternate spelling of his surname), is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is best known for his singles such as 'Whatcha Say', 'Ridin' Solo', 'In My Head', 'What If', 'Wiggle', 'Talk Dirty', 'Trumpets' and 'Want To Want ..read more.Such a talentless man, I mean, I remember listening to 'It girl' in 2011 and that sounded good, but nowadays.. Damn, it is really really bad and each time worse. All that I can ask is how somebody like this has even been called to sing live at BBC's Live Lounge for exemple.
He can actually sing without it and sounds much better so it's a shame that he uses it so much. - DaWyteNight
The Contenders
11Eric BellingerEric Bellinger, Jr., born March 26, 1986, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California.All of his songs sound the same
This gon be your (least) favorite song! - DaWyteNight
12Selena GomezSelena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for songs like 'Come & Get It', 'Good For You', 'Same Old Love', and 'It Ain't Me'. Selena Gomez's voice is mezzo-soprano but she usually sings in alto. She is best known for her role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place.She is one of the worst vocalists of our generation, she is just whispering. - DaisyandRosalina
'Without autotune, Selena Gomez sounds like she's trying to teach a goat how to talk'
She already sounds good with her real voice but for some reason she ruins it by using autotune lol
She can't sing without autotune - ElSherlock
13Lil MeerkatAmeeer Pipi, better known by his stage name Lil Meerkat is a Canadian rapper and singer-songwriter. He is known for his infamous remix of the popular Queen song 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. He released his debut studio album 'Weeaboo Paradise, Vol. 1' in November 2018.Just listen to his Bohemian Rhapsody remix - ShrekTheGoat
Another joke artist - ElSherlock
14Miley CyrusMiley Ray Hemsworth (born Destiny Hope Cyrus), known as Miley Cyrus, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus. Her voice type is Mezzo-Soprano and has 4 octaves. She became a teen idol starring as the ..read more.Why does Miley Cyrus use such terrible autotune in her songs? She actually has a very talented voice, yet she wastes it for a fabricated media image and an uncontrollable butt and tongue as well as some alien-like autotune. - DCfnaf
She used too much autotune. Please, do not waste your talent. - MChkflaguard_Yt
She stopped using it - ElSherlock
Autotuned? Yes. But with too much autotune? No, she still can sing live. - DaisyandRosalina
She can sing, the problem is she covers her singing voice with the tech and that makes her sound like an alien. - DCfnaf
15QuavoQuavious Keyate Marshall, known professionally as Quavo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as a member of the rap trio Migos.Is Quavo even a human?
To be honest he should be #1.
He’s a robot
16Nicki MinajOnika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj (born December 8, 1982) is a Trinidadian/American rapper / pop music artist. Minaj is most known for her songs such as 'Anaconda', 'Super Bass', 'Starships' and her feature on 'Bang Bang'. ..read more.If her voice makes my ears bleed, then isn't that a sign that she is using autotune? During her live performances, she has very questionable control with her singing voice. - DCfnaf
She sometimes uses autotune - ElSherlock
17Flo RidaTramar Lacel Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida is an American rapper and pop music artist from Carol City, Florida. He is known for songs such as 'Low', 'Right Round', 'Sugar', 'Club Can't Handel Me', 'Good Feeling', 'Whistle', 'Wild Ones', 'My House' and 'GDFR.'He uses loads of autotune and that's one reason why pretty much all of his songs are awful his only descent song is Got Me Runnin Around but that's with Nickelback and their part in the song is the good part the Flo Rida part is awful and ruins the song - christangrant
18Chris BrownChristopher Maurice 'Chris' Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He is most well known for his physical assault towards the singer Rihanna in ..read more.How is Mr. Clown so low on this list? He should definitely be in top 10! - DaWyteNight
Who wouldn't know that this guy uses autotune? - ElSherlock
Dis *cencored*drowned in autotune
19T-PainFaheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American recording artist and music producer from Tallahassee, Florida.T-Pain is the king of autotune, and uses it so much in his songs that he sounds like a robot.
Believe it or not, T-Pain sounds amazing without Auto-Tune. I can assume he wasted his talent with Auto-Tune. - Mumbizz01
He sounds better without autotune - ElSherlock
He is the king of autotune. He is so autotuned that his voice sounds unrealistic. He can actually sing without autotune, I saw a performance of him without it and he sounds better.
20Katy PerryKatheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known by her stage name Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress and an ambassador on one of the most popular companies of now, UNICEF. ..read more.She is so squeaky at live performances
Sounds horrible with and without auto-tune. - DaWyteNight
She sounds a bit good without autotune - ElSherlock
21Dahvie VanityDavid Jesus Torres, better known by his stage name Dahvie Vanity, is an American singer-songwriter and rapper born on September 5, 1984, who is best known as one half of Crunkcore duo Blood on the Dance Floor and as the face and creative mind behind Industrial project Sinners are Winners. He is also ..read more.How is this autotune abuser not in the top 10? Makes Kesha sounding like a natural singer. - Userguy44
He sounds terrible with autotune and he is an already awful singer - ElSherlock
Of all singers, why wouldn't I think to add Dahvie Vanity? - DCfnaf
Sound like what happened if emos used autotune. - AlphaQ
22RihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian-American pop singer. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning ..read more.Rihanna's voice isn't great to begin with, but when she uses autotune it's even worse. Just listen to the chorus of Live Your Life by T.I. or Disturbia if you want to give your ears a punishment. - DaWyteNight
Listen to Disturbia - ElSherlock
She sounds horrible. the end
23Rebecca BlackRebecca Black is a YouTube personality and singer who's infamous for her single 'Friday,' which was once the most disliked video on YouTube. She has also released other songs, including 'My Moment' and 'Saturday'.Only in Friday - ElSherlock
HOW IS SHE NOT NUMBER ONE - THICCBOI
24Dua LipaDua Lipa (born 22 August 1995) is an English singer and songwriter. Dua Lipa was born in Westminster, London, to Albanian parents.Have you heard her voice? In all her songs, her voice has this flat robotness to it. You can hear the autotune in her voice.
She overuses it - ElSherlock
25HalseyAshley Nicolette Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. She was born on September 29, 1994 in New Jersey. She started her career by releasing songs on SoundCloud, and now she is a well-known pop singer with hits like Bad at Love, and Now or Never. She had originated ..read more.Listen to Without Me, autotune is fie but this girl is untalented. - AlphaQ
The way she sings isn't natural and too robotic.
Listen to Without Me. - Userguy44
Her voice sounds too robotic with autotune - ElSherlock
27Danielle Bregoli100% Stupid Teenager which does not deserve to be famous!
Talentless singer - ElSherlock
28Lady GagaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. ..read more.Similar to Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, who has a talented singing voice, chooses to use autotune and a fabricated media image to win people over. She's still got a great voice nonetheless. - DCfnaf
Her sounds good without autotune - ElSherlock
See Miley. - DaisyandRosalina
29Kanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, songwriter, and fashion designer. He was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. After West's parents divorced, him and his single mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 10, West temporarily moved to Nanjing, China, because his mother was teaching ..read more.Not sure if he uses autotune - ElSherlock
In 'Jam' she doesn't even sing like a human. - DCfnaf
She isn't a singer - ElSherlock
She's a singer? :(
32Amy LeeAmy Lynn Hartzler, known professionally as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter, classically trained pianist and composer. She is also the lead singer to the Arkansas band Evanescence.On Fallen and in some parts of the self-titled album she used Autotune, however in The Open Door the vocals were not Autotuned or pitch corrected at all, there was an interview with the producer where he confirmed that. On Synthesis some pitch correction was used but no actual Autotune was used.
The reason she sounds different live than on the albums is because she actually sings live- most singers lip sync to a backing track instead of actually singing live, but Amy's live performances are actually live hence why they sound different, and not as good as in the studio.
She used some pitches but her voice is generally natural in her songs. - AlphaQ
Auto-tune all over, plus a bunch of other electronic effects and enhancements. Her real voice is not that great.
She doesn't use autotune. - Userguy44
Listen to Whats My Name, then you'll see she uses way too much auto tune.
You guys are insufferable. Autotune does not equate to having a terrible live-singing voice and sounding decent on the studio version. This is a huge misconception. Studio vocals are filtered whereas live vocals are not. So it's filtration that's the issue, not autotune. The only people on this list who identifiably use autotune are Kesha, Will.i.am, and T-Pain. In the case of Kesha it's often used for effect.
I have Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus on the list, they use autotune, and they can sing. - DCfnaf
35Sabrina CarpenterSabrina Ann Lynn Carpenter is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She stars as the young version of Chloe Goodwin in The Goodwin Games and as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. She plays Jenny Parker in the Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting . (She) ..read more.She doesn't use autotune - ElSherlock
She barely uses autotune
She doesn't look like a singer - ElSherlock
Beauty and the Beast haters?
Either way, does have autotune. - DCfnaf
BRUH HER MUSIC HELLA LITðŸ'¥ðŸ'¥ðŸ'¥ðŸ'¥
Lol I'm kidding but she was pitch corrected in B&TB(2017). Good remake movie though
If you listen to 'Powerful Emotions' you don't need to dig ANY deeper you can already hear how much auto tune was put in.
41Lil PumpGazzy Garcia (known professionally as Lil Pump, born August 17th, 2000) is an American rapper, producer and songwriter. Gazzy began his career in 2016 with a collaboration freestyle with Smokepurpp, which was eventually posted in Soundcloud to popular success. He broke out to mainstream the following ..read more.'I Love It' lol more like I hate it - B1ueNew
Listen to his song 'I Love It' - ElSherlock
I don't even like him and baby sounds cheesy
He used autotune a few years ago - ElSherlock
DISGUSTING.
The transparent time correction features let you to quickly touch up timing errors in an otherwise perfect performance, or creatively rework the timing of your track without having to re-record it.The included Auto-Key plug-in is designed to enhance your workflow and save valuable time in the studio. Extensive pitch editing tools allow for precise control of individual notes and pitch curves, so you can apply pitch correction only where it’s needed. I auto tune my cat. Auto-Key automatically detects the key and scale of your music and sends it to all instances of Auto-Tune in your project. Auto Mode includes two unique screen views: Basic View gives you quick and easy access to the core features of Auto Mode, and Advanced View unlocks the powerful MIDI, scale editing and Vibrato Control features.Graph Mode gives you detailed control over every nuance of a vocal performance.
45Taylor SwiftTaylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. ..read more.Without editing of her voice she can't sing or sustain higher notes. She runs out of breath way too fast - THICCBOI
She sometimes doesn't use autotune - ElSherlock
46Ariana GrandeAriana Grande-Butera, known professionally as Ariana Grande, is an American singer and actress. She was born on June 26th 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida to Joan Grande and Edward Butera. She is best known for her role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious and its spin-off show Sam & Cat. ..read more.She sounds so much better without autotune since her vocals sound really good - ElSherlock
YT has videos with the autotune removed from her songs, and there is a huge difference.
There are mic feeds and there are clearly no signs of editing. If she edits her voice its not more than the standard which is as low as possible - THICCBOI
In my opinion she doesn't use auto tune.
Listen to 'Girls Just Gotta Have Fun' - ElSherlock
49CherCher is an American singer and actress. Her song Believe was the first song to use autotune. Described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry, she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety ..read more.She made autotune - ElSherlock
She invented it. - Userguy44
She was the first singer to make a massive hit song with it but she did not invent it. - Powell
Related Lists
Top Ten Singers that Use Autotune but Can Sing Without ItTop Ten Pop Singers that Sound Better Without AutotuneTop 10 Singers That Talk Too Much CrapTop 10 Female Singers that Get Too Much AttentionTop 10 Singers of the 21st Century that Get Too Much AttentionList Stats
Top Remixes (7)
2. Future
3. Ke$ha
DCfnaf
2. Eric Bellinger
3. Quavo
DaWyteNight
2. Jacob Sartorius
3. Kim Kardashian
DaisyandRosalina
View All 7
Error Reporting
What I find most fascinating about Antares Auto-Tune is that everyone and their mother knows what it is, despite the fact that it's just another digital audio plugin used in bedroom and professional studios alike. Even people who have no clue what an EQ or compressor does somehow at least know of the word 'Auto-Tune' and even the general effect it has on the human voice.
But even though Auto-Tune has evolved to become this cultural phenomenon, very few artists or producers truly understand how to get it to sound like the way it sounds on major records.
In case you don't know what it is, Auto-Tune, in a nutshell, is a pitch correction software that allows the user to set the key signature of the song so that the pitch of the incoming signal will be corrected to the closest note in that key (and does so in real time). There are other pitch correction programs out there that do similar functions: Waves Tune, Waves Tune Real-Time, and Melodyne (which is pitch correction, but not in real time), but Auto-Tune seems to have won the standard for real-time pitch correction.
Auto-Tune traditionally is used on vocals, although in some cases can be used on certain instruments. For the sake of this article we will be discussing Auto-Tune and its effect on the human voice. Listen to this early example from the 'King of Auto-Tune,' the one artist who did more to popularize its effect than any other, T-Pain.
Working as a full-time engineer here at Studio 11 in Chicago, we deal with Auto-Tune on a daily basis. Whether it's people requesting that we put it on their voice, something we do naturally to correct pitch, or even for a specific creative effect. It's just a part of our arsenal that we use everyday, so over the years we have really gotten to know the ins and outs of the program—from its benefits to limitations.
So let's delve further into what this software really is and can do, and in the process debunk certain myths around what the public or people who are new to Auto-Tune may think. If you were ever wondering why your Auto-Tune at home doesn't sound like the Auto-Tune you hear from your favorite artists, this is the article for you.
To set the record straight, as I do get asked this a lot of times from clients and inquiring home producers, there really are no different 'types' of Auto-Tune. Antares makes many different versions of Auto-Tune—Auto-Tune EFX, Auto-Tune Live, and Auto-Tune Pro—that have various options and different interfaces, but any of those can give you the effect you're after. Auto-Tune Pro does have a lot of cool features and updates, but you don't need 'Pro' to sound pro.
I wanted to debunk this first, as some people come to me asking about the 'the Lil Durk Auto-Tune,' or perhaps that classic 'T-Pain Auto-Tune.' That effect is made from the same plugin—the outcome of the sound that you hear depends on how you set the settings within the program and the pitch of the incoming signal.
So if your Auto-Tune at home sounds different from what you hear on the radio, it's because of these factors, not because they have a magic version of Auto-Tune that works better than yours at home. You can achieve the exact same results.
In modern music Auto-Tune is really used with two different intentions. The first is to use it as a tool in a transparent manner, to correct someone's pitch. In this situation, the artist doesn't want to hear the effect work, they just want to hit the right notes. The second intent is to use it as an audible effect for the robotic vocals you can now hear all over the pop and rap charts.
But regardless of the intent, in order for Auto-Tune to sound its best, there are three main things that need to be set correctly.
The correct key of the song. This is the most important part of the process and honestly where most people fail. Bedroom producers, and even some engineers at professional studios who might lack certain music theory fundamentals, have all fallen into the trap of setting Auto-Tune in the wrong key. If a song is in C major, it will not work in D major, E major, etc.—though it will work in C major's relative minor, A minor. No other key will work correctly. It helps to educate yourself a bit about music theory, and how to find the key of a song.
The input type. You have the option to choose from Bass Instrument, Instrument, Low Male, Alto/Tenor, and Soprano. Bass Instrument and Instrument are, of course, for instruments, so ignore them if you're going for a vocal effect. Low Male would be selected if the singer is singing in a very low octave (think Barry White). Alto/Tenor will be for the most common vocal ranges, and soprano is for very high-pitched vocalists. Setting the input type correctly helps Auto-Tune narrow down which octaves it will focus on—and you'll get a more accurate result.
Retune speed. This knob, while important, is really all dependent on the pitch of the input source, which I will discuss next. Generally speaking, the higher the knob, the faster it will tune each note. A lower speed will have the effect be a bit more relaxed, letting some natural vibrato through without affecting a vocalist's pitch as quickly. Some view it as a 'amount of Auto-Tune knob,' which isn't technically true. The amount of correction you hear is based off the original pitch, but you will hear more effects of the Auto-Tune the faster it's set.
So let's say you have all of these set correctly. You have the right key, you choose the right range for the singer, and the retune speed is at its medium default of 20ms. You apply it on the singer expecting it to come out just like the pros. And while their voice does seem to be somewhat corrected, it's still not quite corrected to the right pitch.
Here's why your Auto-Tune doesn't sound like the pros:
The pitch of the vocalist prior to Auto-Tune processing must be close enough to a note in the scale of the key of the song for Auto-Tune to work its best. In other words, the singer has to be at least near the right note for it to sound pleasing to the ears.
Whether you're going for a natural correction or the T-Pain warble, this point still stands. If the note the singer originally sings is nowhere near the correct note in the key, Auto-Tune will try to calculate as best it can and round up or down, depending on what note is closest. And that's when you get undesirable artifacts and hear notes you weren't expecting to hear. (Here is an example of how it sounds when the incoming pitch isn't close enough to the scale, resulting in an oddly corrected pitch.)
So if you put Auto-Tune on a voice and some areas sound good, some sound too robotic and a bit off, those are the areas that the singer needs to work on. Sometimes it can be difficult for non-singers to hear slight sharp or flat notes, or notes that aren't in the scale of the song, so Auto-Tune in many cases can actually help point out the problem areas.
This is why major artists who use Auto-Tune sound really good, because chances are they can sing pretty well before Auto-Tune is even applied. The Weeknd is a great example of this—he is obviously a very talented singer that has no problem hitting notes—and yet his go-to mixer, Illangelo, has said before that he always uses at least a little bit of Auto-Tune on the vocals.
If you or the singer in your studio is no Weeknd, you can correct the pitch manually beforehand with a program like Melodyne, or even with built-in pitch correction tools in your DAW, where you can actually go in and change the pitch of each syllable manually. So if you find yourself in a situation where you or an artist you are working with really want Auto-Tune on their vocals, but it's not sounding right after following all the steps, look into correcting the pitch before you run it through Auto-Tune.
If you get the notes closer to the scale, you'll find the tuning of Auto-Tune to be much more pleasing to the ears. For good reason, T-Pain is brought up a lot when discussing Auto-Tune. Do you want to know why he sounds so good? It's not a special Auto-Tune they are using, its because he can really sing without it. Check it out:
Hopefully this helps further assist you in your understanding and use of Antares Auto-Tune, and debunk some of the myths around it. Spend some time learning some basic music theory to help train the ear to identity keys of songs, find which notes are flat and which notes are sharp. Once you do, you'll find you'll want to use Auto-Tune on every song, because let's face it—nearly a decade after Jay-Z declared the death of Auto-Tune on 'D.O.A.'—it still sounds cool.
We understand the importance of online privacy and are committed to complying with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. To reflect our commitment, we updated our terms and conditions. By continuing to use Reverb, you agree to these updates, and to our cookie policy. Learn More