Never should have told my client about Auto-Tune

[Ryan Silva]

Had a 'Creed' style singer/songwriter wanting to record some acoustic numbers, pretty standard stuff. Good singer (if your into the kind of stuff) a little pitchy, nothing that a little focus and sobriety couldn't fix. After doing a few of these sessions over the course of a month or so we settled into a process of recording Acoustic and Vocals at the same time and if he couldn't make a good pass we would do them separately. So he walks into the studio one day and hears me messing with a scratch track of my own vocals, and asks what plug-in I?m messing with(auto-tune) I show him how it works and laugh about how it can really suck the human out of a Lead Vocal track.
And to make a long story short (to late) he now comes in half as practiced and twice as drunk because of this little tutorial. As a result we have gotten consistently weaker performances, track after track. I'm thinking of telling him that the plug in was only a trial version, and has now expired. Damn you auto-tune!!!!

[JGriffin]

Yeah, I was really not all that disappointed actually when the license for my autotune-esque plugin vanished in the upgrade to HD.

[chris harris]

just make him sound like cher and explain that there are limits to the usefulness of plugs like that.

[Girl Toes]

Tell him I disapprove.

[lsn110]

That's just weak.

You could try and change the scale to Mixylodian or some such while he's not looking. When it starts jumping around wildly, explain to him that it's "not taking well" to his voice and it would probably just be better to get the performance right.

Not ethical, but probably more ethical than Autotune.

:P

[drumsound]

Auto tune, like copy paste editing, often make musicians lazy.

[thearnicasync]

Had a 'Creed' style singer/songwriter wanting to record some acoustic numbers, pretty standard stuff. Good singer (if your into the kind of stuff) a little pitchy, nothing that a little focus and sobriety couldn't fix. After doing a few of these sessions over the course of a month or so we settled into a process of recording Acoustic and Vocals at the same time and if he couldn't make a good pass we would do them separately. So he walks into the studio one day and hears me messing with a scratch track of my own vocals, and asks what plug-in I?m messing with(auto-tune) I show him how it works and laugh about how it can really suck the human out of a Lead Vocal track.
And to make a long story short (to late) he now comes in half as practiced and twice as drunk because of this little tutorial. As a result we have gotten consistently weaker performances, track after track. I'm thinking of telling him that the plug in was only a trial version, and has now expired. Damn you auto-tune!!!!

My girlfriend and I literally crying on the floor right now.

[thearnicasync]

That's just weak.

explain to him that it's "not taking well" to his voice and it would probably just be better to get the performance right.

Not ethical, but probably more ethical than Autotune.

Oh wait, my girlfriend and I are crying on the floor again.

[thearnicasync]

just make him sound like cher and explain that there are limits to the usefulness of plugs like that.

Seriously. I needed this tonight. I thank you all from the botom of my heart!

[joel hamilton]

I would just make it sound good, and not even think twice about what I was using to get it there.

I bet the guy will be ten times happier with the final product. That is important.

The word "ethics" gets tossed around a lot when it comes to pitch correction.

I look at it this way:

If a person has something wrong (pitch, the flu, a limp, pain, a headache), and I have something that can make it better (medicine, auto tune, a hand up the stairs, a ride to work, a smile, aspirin): I will use it.

[Mark Alan Miller]

I would just make it sound good, and not even think twice about what I was using to get it there.

I bet the guy will be ten times happier with the final product. That is important.

The word "ethics" gets tossed around a lot when it comes to pitch correction.

I look at it this way:

If a person has something wrong (pitch, the flu, a limp, pain, a headache), and I have something that can make it better (medicine, auto tune, a hand up the stairs, a ride to work, a smile, aspirin): I will use it.

Thank you, Joel. You saved me from a mini-rant.

[lsn110]

Yes... it does matter that he's happy with the end result...

And yr. right to call me on the ethics thing. It is just about getting the job done. I've come to a point many times where the only thing that might save the day (mostly on my tuneless vocals) is a bit of selective tuning. It's about doing your best, both as a performer and an engineer.

If a person has something wrong (pitch, the flu, a limp, pain, a headache), and I have something that can make it better (medicine, auto tune, a hand up the stairs, a ride to work, a smile, aspirin): I will use it.

Still, it sounds like this guy isn't trying as hard because he knows he can fix it later. Just because it's easier for him (and possibly the engineer) to phone it in and fix it later doesn't make it right. I think the key is that he can do better without the tools. But when all is said and done, he is the customer and he should get exactly what he wants. I'd just encourage him to use his skills before mine.

[herodotus]

Is it just me, or is autotune nothing like a transparent effect at this stage?

It seems that I hear it ALL THE TIME, and it is always blatantly obvious that it is there. Is this on purpose ("ooh, look see how we can sound like that wretched Cher song"), or is it just the nature of the beast?

[Red Rockets Glare]

I sure wouldn't want to develop a reputation as an engineer that let folks get off that easy, I think folks like working with me because I push most of them them really hard to get the take out of them that might be in there. Or maybe they just like the bourbon and soft lighting.

Drummers ask me if I can "fix things" in the computer a lot, and I just try to make sure they have given their best performace before I result to time-consuming things like moving kicks and snares ect.

I am all about making the client happy, but I'm more of a life-coach than a fucking barber.
I'd rather they leave a better singer than a happy, auto-tuned quitter.
I'd rather sit there with an acoustic guitar and map out their vocal melody and practice it with them than use a plug-in.

I can hear the negative artifacts of auto tune, CAN'T YOU?

[joel hamilton]

I sure wouldn't want to develop a reputation as an engineer that let folks get off that easy, I think folks like working with me because I push most of them them really hard to get the take out of them that might be in there. Or maybe they just like the bourbon and soft lighting.

Drummers ask me if I can "fix things" in the computer a lot, and I just try to make sure they have given their best performace before I result to time-consuming things like moving kicks and snares ect.

I am all about making the client happy, but I'm more of a life-coach than a fucking barber.
I'd rather they leave a better singer than a happy, auto-tuned quitter.
I'd rather sit there with an acoustic guitar and map out their vocal melody and practice it with them than use a plug-in.

I can hear the negative artifacts of auto tune, CAN'T YOU?

I can hear autotune when it is used poorly. I can hear bad mastering. i can hear shitty mixes. i can hear shitty songs. I can hear idiotic ideas that should never even be recorded. i can hear shitty equipment. i can hear badly tuned instruments. i can hear fucked up performances. i can hear beat detective. I can hear great performances. I can hear awesome loops. i can hear amazing songs. i can hear great equipment. i can hear creativity. i can hear insecurity. I can hear great productions. i can hear all these things leading to a shitty record. I can hear all these things adding up to an AMAZING recording.

I can hear decisions. I can hear lack of committment. I can hear the sound of people trying to hold on to outdated techniques as a front for lack of fundamental recording skills. I can hear a lot of BS on the internet about "ethical" choices made for an end result that is not even worth listening to under any circumstance, even in an "ethics" class.

I can hear the sound of things changing in the world and people being reticent to embrace technology available, and make creative choices based on the plethora of tools we now have at our disposal.....

CANT YOU?