EQ Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 53)

individually. The grand-daddy of this genre is Celemony’s Melodyne (Example 1); like all other harmonizing programs so far it’s restricted to working with monophonic lines, but a polyphonic version is in the pipeline. Originally, Melodyne was a stand-alone program but it later added a “bridge” program that allowed treating it more like a plug-in for host applications. It’s also possible to ReWire Melodyne into a host, or ReWire clients into Melodyne’s mixer. This is where Melodyne’s ability to act as a stand-alone recorder comes in really handy; for example, if you ReWire Melodyne and Propellerheads’ Reason together, you can record vocals in Melodyne that run in parallel with Reason, but also do all the cool Melodyne editing tricks. Waves’ Tune works by rewiring into a host; all edits are non-destructive, and saved as part of your host’s project, whereas Antares Auto-Tune Evo is a true plug-in. However, your DAW might already have some of those tools built in. For example, Cakewalk Sonar appropriated Roland’s VariPhrase technology in the VVocal processor (Eample 2) bundled with Sonar Producer Edition. Unlike plugins, you first turn a Ex. 1. Melodyne’s “blobs” display audio in a MIDI piano roll clip into a V-Vocal fashion—but these blobs can also be manipulated like MIDI Clip, at which point data. Melodyne is known for unusually high sound quality, the various V-Vocal even when shifting pitch over a considerable range. options for timing, 02/08 issue’s Power App Alley. Howpitch, dynamics, and formant manipulaever, it also lets you draw in pitch tion come into play. As expected, you changes very simply with a pencil tool, can render the V-Vocal clip back into a so it’s easy to make quick fixes without standard audio clip that includes whathaving to go deeper into the program. ever changes you made. Magix Samplitude’s “elastic” window MOTU’s Digital Performer has (Example 4) allows for pitch manipulasophisticated pitch corrections options tion, again by drawing in new curves. as well (Example 3), as detailed in the TC ELECTRONIC VOICESTRIP saves time to be able to jump to an appropriate preset without a lot of fuss. What it does: As with Duende, the EQ is tailored for voice with Lo, Mid, and High gain; only the Lo and Mid stages have frequency controls. There’s also a Saturation switch, and a low cut filter. While the low cut isn’t as effective as the Duende De-Ploser, it helps considerably in reducing unwanted low-frequency energy. The compressor has Input Drive (there’s no threshold control; slamming the input harder gives more compression), Output Drive (makeup gain), Ratio, Attack, Release, and a pre-EQ/post-EQ switch for positioning, while the De-Esser serves up a Threshold and Frequency controls, along with a monitor so you can audition the sidechain signal coming into the De-Esser. The final piece of the puzzle is a noise gate, with Threshold and Intensity (amount of reduction when gated) controls. The EQ and Compressor are claimed to model tube circuits, and I can hear that vibe. Comparing the Duende VocalStrip definitely reveals some differences: Overall, I’d say TC’s sound is more precise and neutral, while Duende isn’t shy about imparting its own character to the sound. Which one is better-suited to a particular task is a subjective call, as it depends mostly on the mic and vocalist. For narration and vocals where detail is important, the scale tips more toward TC. When having a vocal cut through a mix is the overriding concern, I think you’d get there faster with Duende. Cool stuff: VoiceStrip is no slouch when it comes to (CONTINUED) Fig. 3. TC’s VoiceStrip, designed for the PowerCore platform, provides traditional vocal strip functions. TC’s PowerCore platform has a lot of plug-in support, some of which are optional at extra cost, but VoiceStrip (Figure 3) comes bundled with most PowerCore bundles and works with VST, AU, and RTAS. Like any vocal strip, one of the questions is “why bother?” After all, it’s not hard to cobble together a compressor, EQ, and de-esser. However, a strip is convenient because one preset recalls all parameters at once. When you work with different vocalists and different mics, it www.eqmag.com MARCH 2009 EQ 53 http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2009

EQ Magazine - March 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Mr. Scruff Apollo Sunshine Al Schmitt Toolbox Third Eye Blind Kind of Blue Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Ableton Live Vocal Tools Gadgets & Goodies Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - March 2009

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