However, I could swear there was another open source auto-tune project too, but either my google-fu isn’t strong enough today, or I was dreaming.
What I want to do particularly is to send MIDI notes to the plugin, so that the autotuner plays (sings?) the exact notes I direct it to. This MIDI-control feature was on the TODO list in this other autotuner project, if I remember correctly.
This LV2 plugin is derived from Autotalent, but claims to have MIDI input, along with some other enhancements.
Also, I’m not sure if my statement about the limitations of Zita-at1 are really accurate, after reading some admiring comments from the VocProc author. I don’t mean to besmirch anybody’s hard work and contributions to free software.
Vocorders sound extremely robotic. Autotuners can preserve the natural sound of your voice, but with an altered pitch.
Have you HEARD most of the modern ‘pop’ music out there? They definitely do NOT sound natural, especially when you get to dramatic pitch shifting, the only thing that will is tracking yourself multiple times singing the harmony if that is what you want. And yes I am referring to both when the plugin is used for effect as well as when it is just used for correction, the latter of which is far smaller and less noticable than the rather drastic changes you are looking for.
So, I’m currently borrowing a friend’s TC Helicon Voice Live, which is a standalone effects stomp-box for singers, and it can do autotuning. In one configuration, I can hook my MIDI keyboard to it, play a chord, sing into the mic, and a chorus of my voices sing the notes I’m playing.
I can do a similar thing with a vocorder plugin. However, the TC Helicon sounds vastly different, and in my opinion, much closer to “natural”. Of course when the notes of the chord are far from my source pitch, it sounds less natural, but it still doesn’t sound like any vocorder effect I’ve heard.
I was assuming that the algorithms employed in autotuning were fundamentally different than the ones employed in vocording. Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe it’s just the particular examples I’ve heard that’s biasing my opinion?
… by the way, I should mention the application of this is live performance, not recording. (I know Ardour is geared for recording, so I’m busted for asking audio plugin q’s on an Ardour forum. But the community here is so knowledgeable and nice, I couldn’t resist.)
Ok if talking about live performance, I would strongly suggest you pick up the TC Helicon you are borrowing, honestly. What I have heard from it is impressive certainly, and yes a vocoder and a pitch shifting effect are very different things you are correct.
However despite my endorsement, do not mistake what I am saying to mean that the TC will sound ‘natural’. If you think this I challenge you to record the output of the TC, and then track yourself multiple times and see if there is a difference in sound, I can pretty well guarantee there will be. I will also say the TC is likely doing more than just pitch shifting, I would have to have one to analyze though to be certain, my guess is that a very slight amount of detuning and delaying is also happening.
Yes, the TCHelicon does do more processing of the voices than just the pitch shifting, some of these aspects are configurable (for ex. you can add varying amounts of vibrato to the output voices).
I never meant to imply that autotuning would ever sound as natural as multi-tracked vocals, it obviously doesn’t. Even when you try to get the TCH to sound as natural as possible, it’s easy to tell the voices are artificial.
Now in my case, I happen to like this sound, it’s kinda what I’m going for. I don’t mix it in very prominently, it just adds some tasteful, slightly ethereal fullness to the songs in certain spots. Does it sound “natural”? Perhaps not, but it doesn’t sound nearly as unnatural as a backing chorus of Cylon raiders.
I’ll eventually have to return the TCH, so I was just looking for something free to possibly replace it with. I’ll have to try a couple of these plugins and do some a vs b comparisons, and see how far off the plugins are from the TCH.
@peder - thanks for the tip on the Digitech Vocalist. I played with the original one at a music store some years ago, it was cool as heck, I’ve wanted one ever since. My friend said the TCH trumps it in quality (I’ve never compared side by side so I don’t know). I’m sure the newer models have improved.
one ugly (but the best in terms of sound) solution is to run Antares Autotune EVO VST in ardourvst with a no dongle crack .it works 100%, but I’m not sure that cracking it is legal even if you buy the original software…
