New version of Melodyne RAWKS

[Frodo]

I just got Melodyne (Editor) for the first time last week, thought I've used it before a few times.
It sounds better than DP's, which often creates grainy artifacts.

DP's is convenient to use, as it will follow edits and employs modifier keys (which from what I've gathered Melodyne only does in stand alone mode).

As usual, you said it better than I could.

[HCMarkus]

A way with the language Tim. In a word: Succinct. No grainy artifacts. No Frodoan slips or Markus messes.

[Frodo]

A way with the language Tim. In a word: Succinct. No grainy artifacts. No Frodoan slips or Markus messes.

[jloeb]

Been using the Melodyne update for a bit and really enjoying it. Smooth. It seems to handle "close calls" in terms of note assignment decisions a little better than before; more analysis of context perhaps? Still looking forward to seeing Adjust Pitch Seg feature implemented, but its first guesses seem better.

I just like to keep people aware, though, of the very powerful pitch editing features that DP comes with. There are occasional complaints about the quality of DP's algorithm, but I (and some others who have posted on this topic) have never had any problem with it. If you just need to adjust pitch for a singer who's a little sharp or flat, DP has you very well-covered.

DP's pitch molding is quite hands on and does require a little bit of practice to get perfect. I was able to get better results (i.e. flawless) quickly when I realized that it works best when close attention is paid to the underlying pitch curve of the material: When you work with it instead of against it, you won't go wrong.

As I've become more aggressive in my pitch-shifting practices in the last several months or so (i.e., more of actually rearranging melodies and harmonies to be substantially different from the source), i've come to appreciate Melodyne more, both for its monophonic and polyphonic capabilities.

I guess I would summarize my opinion this way:

- If all you want to do is correct pitchy singers (i.e. change pitches by a few cents, or anything less than roughly a whole tone), or shift the occasional bass guitar note, you do not need to get Melodyne as a DP owner. A little practice with it and you definitely have all the pitch editing capability you need for that task in 99% of cases.

- If you want to do polyphonic or substantial monophonic editing (e.g., greater than whole tone pitch shifting, melodic rearrangement), then Melodyne is well worth it, and it's getting better with each update.

[Killahurts]

I guess I would summarize my opinion this way:

- If all you want to do is correct pitchy singers (i.e. change pitches by a few cents, or anything less than roughly a whole tone), or shift the occasional bass guitar note, you do not need to get Melodyne as a DP owner. A little practice with it and you definitely have all the pitch editing capability you need for that task in 99% of cases.

- If you want to do polyphonic or substantial monophonic editing (e.g., greater than whole tone pitch shifting, melodic rearrangement), then Melodyne is well worth it, and it's getting better with each update.

Perfect. Thanks for that!

[mhschmieder]

It's funny, to keep hearing about pitch correction of singers, as that is the furthest thing from my mind when I think of Melodyne.

A stray bass note here and there, maybe making a minor chord major or vice-versa, and if I'm lucky, MIDI extraction of legacy files that were recorded using really cheesy 90's "synths", that I want to do over but prefer to maintain the highly expressive playing and articulation of the original performance...

[Frodo]

It's funny, to keep hearing about pitch correction of singers, as that is the furthest thing from my mind when I think of Melodyne.

A stray bass note here and there, maybe making a minor chord major or vice-versa, and if I'm lucky, MIDI extraction of legacy files that were recorded using really cheesy 90's "synths", that I want to do over but prefer to maintain the highly expressive playing and articulation of the original performance...

Excellent point, mh. You may have just summed up the purpose of Melodyne as opposed to other similar utilities. If other utilities are now showing similar functionality, then they are clearly following in Celemony's footsteps.

Melodyne has opened a new door with these kinds of plugins to the point that I'm not sure that term pitch "correction" is a fair or accurate description any more. Being able to change actual chords suddenly becomes a creative decision--even if what was originally recorded was perfectly in tune-- and I'm not talking about vocals. It now feels more like the process of editing a MIDI track. We edit MIDI note choices all the time not necessarily because what is there is "wrong", but because choosing between a raised 9th and a flatted 9th or between a major triad vs a minor triad are decisions arrangers make all the time-- even with pencil and paper.

Melodyne increasingly feels more like a real tool rather than a mere apology for the inadequacies of live performers.

To that extent, there was something on cable within the past couple of days in which some comic made fun of a vocal track. He actually said that it was "autotuned" and made fun of it. I felt kind of bad for Antares to have heard the name of their product re-applied in such a negative connotation. But the comic could have just as easily have said the track was "melodyned"!!

Maybe Celemony was spared the cliché name association with how pitch adjustment software has been used and abused in the past, but I believe that Melodyne has the potential to redefine the possibilities.

[David Polich]

Just spent several hours using Melodyne to fix - what else - some vocals.

Definitely, the sound is improved..it's smoother, not as much of that "jaggedy" edge that characterized the previous version. Analysis following
transfer is much faster, as is doing a "select all" and then correcting
pitch and pitch drift (and I'm on a G5 running 10.4.11).

Thumbs way up.

[Killahurts]

I felt kind of bad for Antares to have heard the name of their product re-applied in such a negative connotation. But the comic could have just as easily have said the track was "melodyned"!!

Well but remember, Autotune was the first, by years. And, Autotune was the first to be abused as an effect, like that Cher song "Do You Believe".

OTOH, in certain genres like dance and modern pop, the "Autotune Effect" is not only accepted, it's actually expected. The kids don't think anything of it, except that it's cool.
I use pitch correction mainly for instruments, especially ethnic flutes and such, which might have the perfect sound but have that one note that's awful.

[Frodo]

Well but remember, Autotune was the first, by years. And, Autotune was the first to be abused as an effect, like that Cher song "Do You Believe".

You know, I wrote a vomaciously long post citing Cher and Milli Vanilli and deleted the references. (So, here I be defeating the purpose to make another point.)

Yeah, AT was first and got the up-front blame and praise for how people USED it-- or abused it. By the same token (for you youngsters out there), there was a fascinating Vocoder craze in the 70s. Few thought it was a bad thing back then, but 40 years later the use of AT and Melodyne or DP's Pitch Automation suddenly becomes a politically incorrect topic.

Techno has it's own history, and the robotic pitch filters are a huge part of that, whether the whole genre is to your liking or not. I'm not a fan of it at all, but I can't deny the context.

Still, I felt bad when I saw a product name being used in a negative context like that. Why? Because we all-too-easily morph terms into negative iconography-- and because of a certain lack of attention span, we get tired of those terms just as quickly without any appreciation of historical importance or context.

In fact, the description that any pitch editor could be legit-ly included under the moniker of being "autotuned" turns the technology itself into something akin to a crime when Grammys have to be given back because of user abuse at the expense of its technical innovation being ignored.

Face it folks-- we are MUSICIANS. Not everyone can say that. We are also DP users. Way fewer people can say THAT. That we are also Mac users means that we're in an even smaller minority.

Snobbery is way too easy. The most convincing arguments will ALWAYS be the most musical ones.

[jloeb]

+1

[cloudsplitter]

"Be sure to remove your Melodyne Editor
component and VST/RTAS plug-ins from their respective folders before
installing the update."

I did not do this...is that a bad thing...???? I don't use VST or RTAS just AU
Thanks..!

[mhschmieder]

Nope... see my earlier note. But if I had seen that advice beforehand, I would have followed it -- it wasn't until after installing that I noticed it deleted Editor and replaced it with Singletrack.

[Frodo]

Hey folks:

This is not AT ALL a swipe at DP's great pitch correction, but check it out:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 92#p371092" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[KEVORKIAN]

Thanks for the report, David. I had been holding off on updating, but it looks like I need to apply this one asap!