The best autotune software

Auto-tune is often seen as a 'lifeline' for those with weak voices. It helps vocal performers to highlight their vocals. Some people may argue that it "kills" natural talent. However, in most cases, it simply allows manufacturers to overcome a number of individual issues. Too many instruments are digitally tuned and can produce a strange sound, not in harmony with other sounds.

The fact that adjusting the voice during post-production has become a normal and widely accepted thing. It saves a lot of time and money. The voice adjustment is almost unrecognizable because the current technology allows vocal processing to get a specific sound. This technology also allows to remake melodies and change music at a certain range, which was previously only possible by recording the entire music track again. Auto-Tune is a useful tool, a great creative process that makes everything better!

Auto-Tune is a software plug-in and audio processor made by Antares, but it is now equated with the vocal editing tool from Cher's "Believe" in 1998. Because So, the term "Auto-Tune" can also include a wide range of products from many manufacturers. Here are the best auto-tune software to handle your vocal problems.

Antares Auto-tune

Reference price:

1. Auto-Tune EFX - $ 99 / 2.300.000VND (at the time of writing)
2. Auto-Tune Live - $ 199 / VND 4,650,000 (at the time of writing)
3. Auto-Tune Pro - $ 399 / 9.300.000VND (at the time of writing)

The fact that Antares Auto-tune is considered "world standard in high pitch correction and vocal processing" is the first thing to mention. Antares introduced a completely new version called Auto-Tune Pro, replacing the high-end version 8. It acts as a plug-in inserted into the voice track and handles live audio playback. Voice is the most concerned thing and the development of Pro version has brought many new tools and improvements to ensure the most natural results possible.

The power of this software is in Auto Mode, where you only need to set a few parameters, key and tolerance, then Auto-Tune will do the rest. It has a graphical mode that allows direct editing on each note in a vocal line. One of the new features of the Pro version is that it supports the ARA protocol (Audio Random Access), allowing for better integration and exchange of information between music and plug-ins. This means you can apply to edit parts of a track without having to run the entire content through the plug-in.

Auto-Tune can not only handle pitches, but also other factors such as Formant Correction, Throat Modeling and Flex-tune. These features ensure that elevation changes remain completely reliable and adjustable. You can change the length of the sound emitted from the throat to change the tone of the sound. Flex-tune will retain the expression in a singer's voice while still giving the listener a perfect tune. After that, the Humanize function will adjust the voice so that it is natural and makes each note more clear.

In Low Latency mode , Auto-Tune becomes the perfect 'companion', whether on stage or in the studio. Your tone will not have any lag or lag phenomenon.

Of course, all these things are aimed at overcoming and perfecting the vocals. On the other hand, Auto-Tune is also mentioned in wider areas like quantizing (sound rounding), vocal mangling (non-standard vocals) and retuning (remixes). There's even an Auto-Tune Classic mode (used to simulate sound in version 5) that produces frequently processed sounds that are also associated with this product.

Auto-Tune is undoubtedly the number one voice adjustment tool and has three versions. EFX has almost everything you need to control your voice. The Live version is designed to suit what you need when performing live and the Pro version has all of this (and more) for highly-editable plug-ins.

Celemony Melodyne

Reference price:

1. Melodyne 4 Essential (Volume adjustment and mono pitch): $ 99 (at the time of writing)
2. Melodyne 4 Assistant (Adjusting mono pitch, formant control, vibrato / vibrato): $ 199 (at the time of writing)
3. Melodyne 4 Editor (Edit polyphonic pitch, single track): $ 399 (at the time of writing)
4. Melodyne 4 Studio (Edit polyphonic altitude, multiple tracks and harmonize editing): $ 699 / 16,300,000 VND (at the time of writing)

Melodyne has a pitch adjustment in a completely different way. It has the ability to act with emotional intelligence and music. The Celebration algorithm has evolved, allowing it to achieve fidelity sound. And this is not necessarily the voice. It can also be just monophonic and polyphonic instruments.

It's quite interesting to learn how Melodyne works. You give it a sound clip and it draws notes to an editor to manipulate. The results were quite impressive with a monophonic melody and the same thing happened with polyphonic instruments. With Melodyne, you can now edit a single note in an orderly chord. It makes everything possible and is dubbed 'Photoshop software for sound'.

Melodyne recognizes digital audio as music (as opposed to simple data processing). So when you edit notes, the properties are retained and the emotional elements are handled skillfully. You can move and refine the notes, then add vibrations, increase expression, deepen emotions, increase intensity and change the structure. Melodyne speaks the language of music.

The graphical interface of this software feels somewhat outdated. But dotted data with high altitudes gives you all the information you need about that note's characteristics. The vibrato is not lost when you change everything, it adapts to the new position or you can redesign it. Overtones can be accessed at the same time, giving you full control over the tone and emotion of the sound.

Melodyne invented the ARA protocol with PreSonus which is now supported by Auto-Tune. It allows you to use Melodyne completely on parts of the music you want to edit. It also allows you to view and edit multiple tracks at the same time.

What it can't do is handle real-time performance in real time. Melodyne is an offline process in the post-production part. It gives the manufacturer a great range of features to tweak, shape or even rewrite the music, not only for the vocals, but also for all the instruments.

Waves Tune

Reference price:

1. Waves Tune Real-Time - $ 29 / 680,000 VND (at the time of writing)
2. Waves Tune LT - $ 29 (at the time of writing)
3. Waves Tune - $ 69 / 1.600.000VND (formerly $ 249) (at the time of writing)

Waves create a series of plug-ins and are therefore not surprised that it has some editing tools available. Waves Tune is a plug-in that provides both automatic and graphical modes, designed to make the whole process easy and accurate. You can simply turn on scaling mode and the software will quantify notes according to the level you choose. Or you can correct each note correctly in graphics mode.

This interface looks pretty bad and has not been edited for many years. However, the natural voice editing feature is a huge plus and has a lot of powerful options for you to use. There is a "lighter" version than a convenient plug-in. You just need to activate it and you're done. The only weakness is that this plug-in has a bit of lag and therefore can only be used during post-production. However, there is a newer Real-Time version, eliminating all editing capabilities for quick processing in real time.

If your budget is a bit tight, Waves Tune is definitely a reasonable choice you should consider. Although the retail price is $ 249, it is currently being offered for only $ 69. The LT (light) and Real-Time versions only cost $ 29.

Steinberg Cubase Variaudio

Reference price:

1. Cubase Elements (pitch correction only) - $ 99 (at the time of writing)
2. Cubase Artist 9.5 (high-level editing only) - $ 329 (at the time of writing)
3. Cubase Pro 9.5 (high-level editing and VariAudio only) - $ 579 / 13.500.000VND (at the time of writing)

Despite full support of plug-ins such as Auto-Tune and Melodyne, Steinberg decided to integrate his own high-end editing software directly into their DAW Cubase. VariAudio provides a Melodyne-style interface that can work directly on mono recordings. Just open the audio clip in the template editor and adjust the intonation and tone information, just like you would any other tool. It integrates with the Chord Track to ensure your voice is harmonious.

If you want something a little more automated and in real time, Cubase also has a PitchCorrect plug-in that works like Auto-Tune or Real-Time Wave Tune. Simply load it onto your voice monitor and let PitchCorrect perform the rest.

VariAudio and PitchCorrect are not available separately. They only appear in Cubase's DAW products. PitchCorrect can be found in all versions of Cubase, while VariAudio is only available in the Pro version.

Auto-Tune and Melodyne are the two most popular software. They have very different approaches to height adjustment. Auto-Tune is the easiest to use software and will bring you great results. Melodyne will be more suitable for a musician, or a smart, alert and serious person. With both of these software, you can completely remake the melody, vocal part and intonation without anyone knowing. That's great, isn't it?

See more:

1. 8 free audio editing software
2. 15 digital audio tricks
3. How to adjust video audio on Camtasia Studio