DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by dpg4macman »

Guitar Gaz wrote:
James Steele wrote:You're not alone. Some years ago EM did a pitch correction shoot out and completely missed DP's pitch correction feature, showing the spectral effects window instead. :roll: They offered some lame excuse when called out on it too.
Its actually pretty amazing - I have never used Auto Tune but can't believe it is easier than DP. So easy to use for tweaking tuning - I have not used it as an effect so can't compare it with Auto Tune but I imagine if you want that type of effect DP is just as good for mono sources. I suppose my point is that Motu should make more of this - it is almost worth buying DP for this feature alone.

And with customisation of Themes things can get seriously out of hand......
I feel the same - The MasterWorks Tools (Leveler, EQ, ProVerb, etc) and Pitch correction all make DP well worth the investment.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by happymoogman »

happymoogman wrote:
666 wrote:
happymoogman wrote: I saw Sean do something I've never seen before. With some combination of keys and the cursor, he DECREASED the size of a vibrato with a quick flick of the wrist! Awesome. How does one DO THAT?
It's a very cool feature. Page 855 in the DP7 User Guide.
THANK you!
>>

OOh, I just tried this, and it only SMOOTHS out the lines of the vibrato (sine wave) - it doesn't decrease the SIZE of the sine wave. There's gotta be a way....

-dc
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by amplidood »

Because of certain production worlds I'm getting involved in, I'll be checking out Melodyne again. This is only because what I hear done in that software is very smooth and undetectable. However, the few times that I've tried it still left me frustrated as compared to the ease and results of my DP pitch experience. Yes, you have to be careful and listen closely to make sure the high end distortion and artifacts don't take over the sound of the vocal. Creatively, however, no other method of pitch manipulation comes close to what I can do in DP. I'm very curious to try out the new ATA system of Melodyne, with basically tries to make the pitch editing work in every app like DP does.

I doubt it will sound as good as DP pitch for drawing and transposing vocals, but I won't know till I try it.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by dpg4macman »

Thanks Sean,

I've found DP's pitch correction tool so useful I almost never use Melodyne anymore. The thing I like most about using DP's pitch correction tool vs. Melodyne is after making a pitch correction if I should have to nudge the track (like you demonstrated) the correction stays locked to the track - unlike Melodyne.

Nice video - Thanks again,

mvh
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by trackology »

happymoogman wrote:
happymoogman wrote: Is there a way to 'even out' bad pitch on a note with the pencil tool, AND make the line somewhat squiggly, without having to totally 'freehand' it? What I mean is, is there a tool sort of like the 'flat line' pencil option, with a TINY bit of randomness to it? It would be more natural-sounding to have a small amount of imperfections in the line -- like a natural human voice. Even if I could take a straight line and 'rough it up' with some tool, it would help.
I'm SURE that someone out there has an answer for this dilemma!
Help?
- Dana
Actually, Melodyne wins it big on this point. It's called the "pitch drift" tool. I "WISH" DP would implement this!
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by trackology »

OOh, I just tried this, and it only SMOOTHS out the lines of the vibrato (sine wave) - it doesn't decrease the SIZE of the sine wave. There's gotta be a way....

-dc[/quote]

There is a way - but it's in Melodyne! :)
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by toodamnhip »

DP as a company really needs work on it;s promotional skills, really man. There is no other program that one could work so fast as is demonstrated in the 1st video. But are there any AD campaigns that mention this?..no!!! Why?...

I may like the sound of melodyne and sometimes Antares 7 better for large movements, but for reasonable pitch correction, DP has SOOOOO MUCH CONTROL.
Look at how you can grab a little end of a note and just pull it up or down. Try that with other programs.
How about adjusting individual vibratos...DP breaks those into segments for you.
If I were MOTU , I’d advertise every cool aspect of DP as it;s own AD campaign. and I;d even consider breaking out the pitch correction (if possible), as it;s own plug in. They started to get it right by breaking out their plug ins as their own bundle. More of the same MOTU.
Advertise your strong points boys!
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by toodamnhip »

happymoogman wrote:
Lastly, a tip.

Sometimes, when I don't like the vibrato of a certain vocal line, I'll copy (option + drag) a section of vibrato that I DO like, then paste THAT over the offending vibrato. I maybe have to a little pitch-shifting to get the note to be where it was originally, but the trick works beautifully.
Let’s see other Pitch programs do that!..
Advertise MOTU.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by wylie1 »

Thanks for the vid and making it look so easy.
Just got a boost of confidence.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by Sean Kenny »

wylie1 wrote:Thanks for the vid and making it look so easy.
Just got a boost of confidence.
Your welcome and thanks for mentioning it. I will be doing a few other videos when I get a chance, on various other cool features in DP. I have to agree with 'toodamnhip' about Motu's lack of marketing, at least from a UK perspective.

DP is such a great program. Take for example when pitch automation was first released in v4.6 (from my fading memory). This upgrade couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. I was working with a somewhat "intonationally challenged" singer at the time, coupled with a producer who expected miracles and I knew it was gonna be a tough week of "Autotuning".

I was reading SOS's "News of things to come" section over a strong morning coffee and noticed in a tiny paragraph mention from Motu that the new 4.6 update included a new pitch-automation layer. In the split second it took me to realise what this might be I almost choked on my coffee. I was like a dog with two "bones?" when I downloaded it and started to play with it!

Expecting a great fanfare review and buzz about this unrivaled feature .... there followed a great silence (about 7 years thus far... and counting). Was Kent (England), home to some unique genealogical cluster of wailing banshees or did nobody care about pitchy vocals anymore. Certainly it was a good few years before Melodyne arrived on the scene giving Motu plenty of time to shout it from the rooftops.

Since purchasing Protools and Logic a few years ago (due to client pressure) the more I get to know these platforms in spite of their infrequent use (about 5% of my time) the more I realise what a great platform DP is.

Why on earth Motu don't do more (or indeed ..something!) about marketing this is beyond me.

Product..... 10 out of 10
Marketing...... a big fat zero!!!
Fan? 100%!
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by toodamnhip »

You tell em bro!!

So many times I am considered a hard ass around here because I don;t kiss_______ and say MOTU is perfect!
It will be nice to have more members like you joining me on encouraging DP to separate the plethora of features in their products into ad campaigns. And also, BE MORE OPEN>
Publish a damn BUG list. Have a “bugs fixed” lis too.
Sometimes This company feels like it is being run by ma and Pa Kettle. I like that we get to know the guys and they are personable, great, but sometimes I think MOTU is being stubborn about staying small.
Too insulated, in many ways, not just promoting but when serious users like myself offer to help them beta and liaise between all the other companies we work and beta for, to help fix their automation issues and tempo sync issues, etc... no go. can’t get into the inner circle.

But the issue of promotion is getting to be NOT FUNNY.
When users are seeing Berkeley not include DP as a format in ads, and when all the other hip ads don’t include DP, when the industry moves away from DP and when DP goes broke, or when companies stop giving a damn about getting their software to work with DP because it’s too small a market share, we will all be left without our fav platform.

It makes no sense and I do think these bad habits ARE the business of all of us serious users of the product.
We want MOTU strong and healthy and thought of as at least #2 in the DAW world.
Read my lips MOTU: An AD campaign for each MAIN, special feature:
Pitch Correction---User definable Key Commands---whatever....there are many.
I will end on a positive note:
DP is GREAT at the NAMM show with Magic Dave and their big ol’ giant MOTU STATION in the middle of it all.
If all the trades had the same degree of exposure as NAMM, we’d be #2 in the DAW world for sure.
Simplistic am I?..maybe, let’s here other’s opinions.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by Sean Kenny »


OOh, I just tried this, and it only SMOOTHS out the lines of the vibrato (sine wave) - it doesn't decrease the SIZE of the sine wave. There's gotta be a way....

-dc
Not sure if anyone has answered this, so just in case.

Make sure that the vibrato section is all within one pitch segment. If it isn't then heal the segmentation by holding down the 'M' key and clicking on the segment divisions

Here is an example of the problem
Image

and this is how the segmentation should be

Image

Now simply hover over the segment, hold down the 'alt/option' key and drag downwards to decrease the vibrato or upwards to increase the vibrato.

Here is the same line with a reduced vibrato

Image

A word of caution vibrato is a combination and pitch and amplitude modulation; trying to add a vibrato where there was none previously (ie where there is no amplitude modulation) will probably sound fake.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Sean
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by Sean Kenny »

toodamnhip wrote:You tell em bro!!
Thanks for the support. I think any criticism from a constructive and supportive point of view has to be positive. It's only because the program is so damn good that I am happy to waste my time typing this;..... and I speak not just from the (possibly) more qualified stand point of someone who owns 3 daw platforms and uses all 3 (from time to time and not if I can help it!), but simply on the basis of fact...

.... where are the adverts? ..... where are the reviews? ..... where is the market awareness? ... such that (as an earlier contributor pointed out) EM, in an article "roundup" of the all the suitable vocal pitching options out there, failed to even mention DP's pitch automation. WOW what an omission!

I sincerely hope that Motu really push the fact that DP is now available for the PC platform. This is a real opportunity to put DP on the map. Some say that Motu were too late to the table, I disagree strongly. More and more of my clients are daw users themselves and it never ceases to amaze me how "wow'ed" they are by the things that DP can do, such that a healthy percentage of them have since switched to DP.

Having experienced some of the more entrenched alternatives available it's not surprising.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by toodamnhip »

There are as many tips to be shared about pitch correction as there are vocals I have correcte,d That is because each time, you learn something new.
here’s a cool one.

And, another reason why I implore MOTU to promote their damn product better..lol

Having all the pitch correction programs, I know their features. No other program can be set to make a separate pitch event for each vibration of a singer’s vibrato. Only DP does this.

I am working on one particularly obnoxious vibrato now and here’s the tip:
When you first tackle the note, don;t worry so much about putting it into the EXACT CORRECT PITCH.
Instead, follow these steps:
1) even it out the relative pitch of the vocal note TO ITSELF. i.e. play with the highs and lows of the individual vibratos so that the note is not shifting and bending itself out of tune as time goes by. In other words, even it out to the degree you can that remains musical.
2) Use the pitch segment adjustment slider to create one continuous pitch event.
3) AT THAT TIME ONLY do you pull the whole note into pitch.
4) sweeten to taste by pulling it a bit high or low, don;t count on DP to be your ears for you, listen, don;t just put it on the pitch grid.
5) Possibly consider breaking the newly pitched not into your own segments at this point of part of it are not in the sweet zone. Use the scissors tool for this. 6) Pitch those newly created segments separately from each other. 6) remerge into one pitch event again if needed and repeat from step 3 as needed.
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Re: DP: Tuning Vocals Using DP's Pitch Automation

Post by Sean Kenny »

Just found a fix for vocals that exhibit high frequency graining when tuned

See this post if you're interested

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 26&t=55890

Regards

Sean
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