Learn how to set up Waves Tune, Waves Tune LT and Waves Tune Real-Time as AU MIDI-controlled effects in Logic Pro X, so you can trigger pitch corrections and manipulate recorded tracks with a MIDI keyboard.
Auto-Tune is one of the most widely used plug-ins in music production. This tutorial shows you the power within this amazing audio processor.
In the 22 years since it’s inception (1997), Auto-Tune has been the industry standard for tuning vocals, and for good reason. From my own personal experience, it’s still my go-to tuning software, as it can keep up with my own workflow, and does exactly what I need it to do. There are many other tuning softwares available, but none have the proven to me better. In the past 20 years, I’ve never had a single negative comment, or even anyone notice that I’ve used a tuning software, which is exactly as it should be. There are many people out there wanting to lay blame on the tools for their work sounding robotic, or unnatural. I may take some heat for saying so, but this doesn’t have to be the case if you learn how to use your tools properly; pay attention to what the settings do. If something doesn’t sound right, keep tweaking until it does. It’s as simple as that. Now I must say though, there is a limit to how much tuning or editing you CAN do to a less than perfect performance. A common saying in the industry comes to mind - “You can’t polish a turd”. I could probably write an entire book on tuning vocals, but the intent here is to give you an inside look at the most commonly used parameters and how to use Auto-Tune in a more effective way….
The Correction Modes In Auto-Tune
- When it comes to recording a song you can encounter certain problems with the tone and the tempo of a voice or instrument, and as a consequence of this it may be necessary to record it all several times until it is perfect, or at least that was what happened until Antares Auto-Tune was launched, a program that combines perfectly with Pro Tools to fix these problems automatically or manually.
- The autotune function is invoked by either the autotune button in the tool bar, or by the shortcut of ctrl-t. Tuning a vehicle using the autotune function can be difficult, that is why the autofunction uses the boundaries specified in the lambda overlay settings.
- Auto-Tune is available as a plug-in for digital audio workstations used in a studio setting and as a stand-alone, rack-mounted unit for live performance processing. The processor slightly shifts pitches to the nearest true, correct semitone (to the exact pitch of the nearest note in traditional equal temperament).Auto-Tune can also be used as an effect to distort the human voice when.
There are two correction modes and ways to use Auto-Tune. There’s Auto Mode, also know as “lazy mode”, and Graphical Mode, also known as “Auto-Tune”. Auto Mode basically runs in real-time, and analyzes the audio as it passes through. It then determines what to do to the audio, as it passes through. Adjusting your settings can help it to do a better job of tuning, but nothing replaces your own ears on what needs to be tuned, and what does not. The only time I personally use Auto Mode is when I have several songs that need to be mixed in a very short amount of time, and there simply is not enough time, or budget, to properly tune the tracks. Graphic Mode is a bit more involved, but yields MUCH better results! Graphic Mode basically works like this: You capture (track pitch) the performance once into the plug-in, so it can be analyzed, displayed and edited. (Same for most other professional tuning software) Then, you choose which notes are to be tuned, and how, and which are to be left alone. This is far superior to every single bit of audio being automatically adjusted. By the way, if what you are trying to achieve with Auto-Tune is the T-Pain, or CHER effect, use Auto Mode with a very fast Retune Speed, and you can skip the rest of this article.
Auto Mode
Auto Mode is the default mode when opening Auto-Tune. It is designed to automatically analyze audio as it passes through, and tune up or down to the nearest note everything that passes through. With that being said, there are some very important things to pay attention to, as they will help you get much better results. Paying attention to a few of these settings following, you can minimize Auto-Tune attempting to tune things that should not be, such as vibrato and notes that are intentionally slurred from one note to another.
Input Type: This basic setting help Auto-Tune focus on specific frequency ranges and types based upon the type of content you are trying to tune. Always start here!
- Soprano -For high or female voices
- Alto/Tenor -For normal voices
- Low Male -For Barry White
- Instrument -For violins, violas, and other types of monophonic instruments
- Bass Inst -For lower pitched instruments, and yes, it is quite common to tune a bass guitar.
Scale: Setting the scale to the actual key of your song will most certainly help minimize errors in automatically tuning. Chromatic is the default scale, and probably most popular, but setting the proper key of your song will narrow down the choices of tuning from eleven notes down to the seven within a given key. For example, you have a song in the key of “C”, which has no sharps or flats. A singer sings a little bit sharp on a trying to sing a “C”. If the note sang is closer to “C#”, Auto-Tune will try to tune the note up to “C#”, resulting in an improperly tuned note. When setting the scale to C Major in this same scenario, the singer would have to sing past “C#” for it to create and error and try to correct to a “D”. This is another great starting point for Auto Mode usage. As you can see from the picture to the right, there are many other scales to choose from, and yes, Auto-Tune is used world wide, and there are many other scales available to those around the world using alternate tuning and scales.
Retune Speed: This is one of the most important settings to pay attention to, as it sets how fast Auto-Tune will tune a note, similar to a glide or fade time from non-tuned to fully tuned processing. Setting a very fast time will remove any variations in pitch, but can yield some very unnatural results. But then again, this is a big part of creating the T-Pain/Cher effect. If this is what you are looking for, absolutely start here with a very fast time!
Humanize: This allows sustained notes to have a slower Retune speed than the shorter duration notes. Typically you would start a setting of 0 while setting the Retune speed, making sure all notes that need tuning are being tuned, then adjusting the Humanize will help with sustained notes from not sounding overly tuned, while still being fast enough to tune shorter duration notes.
Natural Vibrato: This is independent of your pitch settings and is used solely to tame natural vibrato of a performance. Leaving it at it’s default setting of 0, will not affect the original vibrato, but adjusting will minimize the amount of vibrato allowed. Once again, this is independent of pitch controls.
Targeting Ignores Vibrato: Turning this on can help with what Auto tuning tries to tune and what it ignores. If you have a track with a lot of vibrato, try turning this on and see if it helps. This is something that would typically be used with a lead type of vocal, allowing the natural vibrato to be ignored. Backing vocals typically shouldn’t have as much vibrato, therefore, minimizing vibrato is preferred.
Target Notes Via MIDI: This is quite fun to play with, along with fast Retune speeds. When engaging, Auto-Tune does nothing until a MIDI note is present from a keyboard or MIDI track, then it tunes to the MIDI notes present. You can then play in a melody from a MIDI device, and the track will be tuned to what you play.
Graphic Mode
Graphic Mode is the mode you will use the most often when quality is the primary concern. The advantage: Graphic mode allows you to specify which notes are to be tuned, and which are not, along with independent settings for each note to be tuned, instead of the global settings to be used for every note passing through in Auto Mode. Ready to get started?
Correction Mode to Graph: Pretty self-explanatory, slide or click the correction mode from Auto to Graph.
Options
Click on the options button next to correction mode to get here:
Enter buffer seconds: The default here is 240 seconds, which is 4 minutes at 44.1k or 48k sample rate, based upon your session settings. A minute song would require 300 seconds. There’s no need to set a really high buffer amount, as it uses much more RAM from your system. The max setting of 14400 would yield 4 hours on one track! If any of you actually need that much, I’d like to know what project you are working on.
Default Retune speeds: After learning a bit about retune speed from Auto Mode, you can set the default retune speeds for various tune settings in which I will discuss shortly here, but this is where you set your defaults.
Track Pitch in Autotune
The first thing we need to do is capture, or “Track Pitch”, our audio track into Auto-Tune so that it can analyze it, draw a graphic representation of the audio pitches, and respond appropriately. This allows Auto-Tune the time to not only respond quickly, but also to ramp in tuning before a note needs to be tuned, which is impossible in Auto Mode, as it is only running in real-time. So to get started:
- Click on the “Track Pitch” button: It will turn “Red” when enabled to track pitch.
- Play the track: Play your song from beginning to end, or section by section. As long as all the information that needs to be tuned is tracked in, you can then proceed.
- Turn off the “Track Pitch” button: Self-explanatory, but necessary to start tuning.
Decisions decisions!
You have two options now for tuning. You can draw or auto-create lines/curves or notes. The difference is that notes are typically easier to work with and treat an area of audio as a block, or note, and a line or curve allows you to treat bends in between specific notes with a little more intent.
The Tools
There are a few tools to start with here and I’ll describe them briefly from left to right.
- The Line Tool is used to draw multi-segment lines on the pitch graph. It is typically used when you want to hold a straight pitch, or bend evenly from one pitch to another.
- The Curve Tool is used when you would like to free-hand draw in pitch correction. I personally find this one quite difficult to use.
- The Note Tool is used to draw notes. These are constrained to specific pitches and cannot vary off of them. I tend to use these more often than the line tool.
- The Arrow Tool is the most commonly used tool, as it is how you select and edit existing lines or notes.
- The Scissors Tool is used to cut existing lines or notes into separate pieces for individual editing. I typically use this when notes or lines have been generated automatically, and need to be separated. We’ll take a look at automatically generating lines or notes shortly.
- The Magnifying Glass is used for zooming. Simply click and drag a box around what you would like to zoom into, and release to zoom.
- The I-Beam Tool is used to select an area of time to be used edit with in, or generate data between. This is also a commonly used tool.
- The Hand Tool is used to move the display. Click and hold on an area of the screen, and then drag the screen to an area you would like to see. I find the scrolling functions on apple mice work quite nicely for this same purpose, so this one doesn’t get used much.
Manual Editing/Drawing of Lines and Notes in Auto-Tune
In this example above, after capturing (Track Pitch) a vocal into Auto-Tune, I selected the Line Tool, and then clicked on “Snap to Note” which forces any segments of a line to snap to a specific note. Upon clicking the last segment, it must be double-clicked to end the line. After drawing this line, it is still selected, and retune speed can be set for this line independently of other lines. If it is not selected for some reason, using the Arrow Tool, click on the line to re-select it, and then you can adjust the retuning speed. The advantage of using the Line tool is that, as shown, the bend from one note to another can be drawn in as well.
In this example to the below, I selected the Note Tool, and then drew in some notes. I’ve found that drawing notes from where they are on key, or crossing through the desired key, on the beginning and end of a note give the best results. The advantage of the working with Notes is that Notes can be moved from one pitch to another much easier than trying to move a line.
Automatically creating Lines and Notes in Auto-Tune
Select an area: Using the I-Beam Tool, select an area that you wish to generate notes or Lines/Curves> Personally, I like to select the duration of the entire song, and then fix the points that are not created to my satisfaction, rather than manually create each event, one by one.
Down at the bottom of the plug-in next to “Track Pitch” are the option for “Make Curve” and “Make Notes”, which are how we can auto-create “Notes” or “Line Curves”.
Make Curve: Clicking the Make Curve button will automatically draw a curved line, matching exactly the pitches captured in from the Track Pitch function earlier. As you can see to the right, there are green lines overlapping the detected pitches, and anchor points on either side of each detected event. These anchor points can be moved independently by clicking on, and dragging each anchor point up or down. This is particularly useful is in key, but starts drifting sharp or flat as a note is being held out. You need to use the Arrow Tool to manipulate these points.
In the example below, an area was first selected using the I-Beam Tool, then using the Arrow Tool, the Curves were moved up together to another pitch, keeping all the bending between notes still intact. If only part of a curve or line is to be moved, the line can be separated into two segments by clicking at the desired split point using the Scissors Tool. Now the segments can be individually manipulated.
In the example below, the “Make Notes” button was pressed after selecting the same area as described above. The advantage with working this way is that the only things being tuned, or manipulated are the notes that are being sustained, and the bending in-between notes is left alone. I find it particularly advantageous to modify these notes using the Arrow Tool. What I’ve found to give the best results is to drag the edges of each note to a crossing point, where the original audio is on, or crossing through, the correct pitch. By starting and stopping the tuning process on these points that are already in tune, I’ve found that I have much more transparent tuning, and less “T-Pain” sounding tuning.
Hopefully this is enough to get you started in Auto-Tuning, and has shed some light onto the mysterious world of tuning. Honestly, Auto-Tune has saved so many projects from bankrupting, and allowed thousands of productions to keep amazing performances, that in the past would have been performed over, and over, and over, and over again, until finally in key. Did anyone happen to think about the feeling, or emotion, left in a recording that an artist just finished singing for the 150th time? Yes, it may finally be perfectly in tune, but is the emotion of the singer still representing the initial idea of the song, and convincing all the listeners that this is a happy song. I think Elvis left the building about 145 takes back…. My point is, if a take sounds and feels great, but has a little pitch problems here and there, it’s worth tuning vs. beating the life out of a part until it is performed technically correct.
Until next time, happy tuning!
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How to use Auto Tune Basic, Auto Tune PRO, & Target Tune Auto Tune with Dynojet Power Vision PV-1 and PV-2
Choose Tune to enable Auto Tune
- Turn Ignition switch and Run switch to ON position. Engine not running
- From main screen select PROGRAM VEHICLE then touch ACCEPT
- Choose AUTOTUNE to to enter the main Auto Tune screen
- To enable Auto Tune select ENABLE AT which brings up the Tune Manager
- Choose the tune you would like to Auto Tune; touch to highlight the tune and then press SELECT. In most cases you will select the Fuel Moto tune we supplied.
- Next choose the appropriate Auto Tune mode. Touch and SELECT either BASIC if you are using the factory narrowband O2 sensors, PRO if you are using the optional Auto Tune Pro kit with wideband O2 sensors, or if you have the optional Target Tune kit select TARGET TUNE WIDEBAND KIT
- Select CONTINUE to enable and flash the ECM for Auto Tune operation. The Power Vision sets up the tune in a temporary state for maximum data collection and correction generation.
- Once tune has flashed to your ECM select OK and turn the ignition switch to the off position for 10 seconds.
- Auto Tune is now enabled and you are ready to start your first Auto Tune session.
Initiating Auto Tune
- It is best to first get the bike to full operating temperature
- Start motorcycle
- Once motor is running go to PROGRAM VEHICLE>ACCEPT>AUTOTUNE
- To start your Auto Tune session select DATALOG. This will bring you to the green histogram screen. From this screen the default screen is “hits” which will show how many times data is populated for a given cell. We generally want 10 or more hits for each cell (they will change color as they are generated). If you select the mode screen this will show you various tables, most helpful is front & rear correction which shows you the specific % fuel correction that has been generated. Note: you will not be able to reach all areas of the tune, this is normal.
- You can now ride your bike, we generally recommend 20 minute tune sessions of mixed riding, try to hit as many RPM & load areas as possible. Note if your session is cut short you can restart the bike and go back to the Auto Tune green screen, select Datalog and continue where you left off. Correction data is stored until it is either exported or a different map is flashed to the ECM.
Saving & Applying Auto Tune corrections
- Once you have completed your Auto Tune session before you shut the bike off select EXIT and then select EXPORT LEARNED. This step creates a new Auto Tuned map and allows you to place it in the Tune Manager. Do no overwrite the previous tune you were using, select a different slot. You now have an Auto Tune “corrected” tune in the tune manager. Note: Auto Tune maps are labeled in sequence. If you shut your bike off before you Export Learned that is OK as Auto Tune data is automatically save every 3 minutes.
- To flash your Auto Tuned map go to PROGRAM VEHICLE>LOAD TUNE>CUSTOM TUNES and select the appropriate tune from the Tune Manager and press OK. When prompted “would you like to clear learned fuel trims” select YES. Once flash is complete turn off ignition switch for 10 seconds. You can now ride with your updated map.
TUNING TIPS:
Data & corrections are best generated in a steady state, try to be as smooth with the throttle as possible and get to as many RPM and load areas allowed. We generally recommend starting with three, 20 minute Auto Tune session for most applications. Between each Auto Tune session EXPORT LEARNED, then for the following session enable Auto Tune using the map you just created. This way you are always working forward with your corrections. It is also recommended to start the tuning process with the tune your bike runs best.
If you are using Auto Tune Basic understand it is using closed loop @ 14.6 AF, this is best suited to mild or moderate loads; a limitation of the factory narrowband sensors. If you are using Auto Tune Pro or Target Tune you can generate tune corrections over the entire operating range.
It is recommended with most combinations to set the minimum MAP pressure to 30KPA under SETTINGS as shown in the video below. This prevents overcorrection of the decel and transient region of the tune.
After you have finished your Auto Tune session you need to either flash the new tune or your previous tune from the Tune Manager. DO NOT select Disable Auto Tune or leave the bike in Auto Tune mode as the tune is setup for optimal data collection rather than drivability.
AUTO TUNE QUESTION & ANSWER:
Auto Tune Pro Shortcuts Cheat
Q) How does Power Vision Auto Tune work?
A) Power Vision Auto Tune is an easy to use application within the product that automatically populates tune corrections to the VE tables in your Power Vision calibration. This process is done with the PV device while riding your bike, after an Auto Tune session the corrections are then exported and a new fuel map is created.
Q) what is the difference between Auto Tune Basic, Auto Tune Pro, and Target Tune?
A) There are several variations of Power Vision. Auto Tune Basic uses the factory O2 sensors on OEM O2 sensor equipped bikes, upon enabling Auto Tune Basic mode Power Vision setups up several parameters in the tune for maximum learning including setting the entire AF/Lambda table for closed loop operation. Auto Tune Basic works best for populating corrections in the light/mid load regions of the tune, Auto Tune Basic also populates corrections in the upper RPM/higher load regions as well, however due to the limitations of the factory O2 sensors which can only measure within the range of 14.3-15.0 AFR caution must be used when doing so. One advantage of Auto Tune Basic is that you are populating correction using the same sensors the ECM uses for closed loop. Auto Tune Pro uses Bosch 18mm wideband sensors and a dual channel Dynojet O2 controller, there are Auto Tune Pro kits for all models including bikes that are not equipped with factory O2 sensors. AT-Pro populates tune correction in open loop which are then exported back to your base tune. The Wideband O2 sensors can accurately measure 10.0-18.0 AFR and data is populated quickly over the entire RPM & load range of the calibration you are tuning. This works well with more extensive modifications as well as dyno tuning. In most cases with Auto Tune Pro when the tune is finished you will re-install your factory O2 sensors for closed loop or run both sets of sensors if you exhaust system allows such. Target Tune is the most powerful of the Auto Tune products, it uses a dual channel O2 controller with Wideband sensors, it is supported on bikes that originally came with factory O2 sensors. Target Tune uses 18mm sensors, the difference between Target Tune and Auto Tune Pro is that Target Tune is incorporated into the Delphi ECM and the system runs live closed loop using the wideband O2 sensors offering full time fuel control. There is also a Target Tune-Auto Tune application that allows you to populate measured tune corrections and apply them back to the base tune you are using. Fuel Moto EFI Store
Q) which Auto Tune application will work best for my application?
How To Open Autotune
A) Choosing which Auto Tune application which would be best depends on your specific bike and modifications. Auto Tune Basic works best for mildly modified combinations, many have had great success tuning for cams and more extensive modifications, it really comes down to the accuracy of the base map. Auto Tune Pro works on bikes that did & did not not originally have factory O2 sensors and is capable of populating tune corrections for extensive modifications. Target Tune allows users to generate tune corrections using Bosch wideband sensors and also gives the big advantage of running live closed loop off these same sensors which are incorporated into the factory O2 harness.
Q) How many Auto Tune sessions are required to get an accurate tune?
A) It depends on the combination and overall accuracy of the base map. We generally recommend on starting with three, 20 minute tune sessions. Between each session you will export learned, create a new map in the Tune manager. For the following session enable this new map so you are working forward with the latest corrections.
Q) What do the various screens/modes do in Auto Tune?
A) The default screen represents Hits for a given cell and will display 0-99+, the second set of screens is the front/rear VE tables, the third set of screens are Corrected front/rear VE tables, the fourth and in many cases most helpful set of screens is front/rear VE +/- fuel % correction which represents the amount of fuel correction requested by Auto Tune that has been populated. You will generally want to get this within 5%, however this will vary based on relative conditions, fuel, etc. The final AT mode screen is hits screen that zooms in on the specific cells that are being populated.
Q) How do I know when Auto Tune is completed?
A)The biggest consideration is running quality and overall performance. For VE you will want to run Auto Tune or manually tune until the VE corrections and/or AFF/CLI values are within 5-7%, this can be determined within the Auto Tune Correction screen which can be accessed by selecting Mode or you can also put the maps in WinPv and compare the deltas. If you are within 5-7% this tells us that closed loop is only leaning on the O2 sensors for minimal adjustments. On the spark side of things you will look for minimal knock events in your logs or by monitoring your gauges, some light knock activity is generally normal. You however want to eliminate large areas on knock retard or if it is continually picking up knock activity in a certain area. You want your timing tables to work within the limitations on knock retard, remember the ion discharge knock system does not sense actual detonation, it senses the sudden increased in cylinder pressure that are generally associated with detonation.
Q)What is Cap or Scale and what should I select?
A) When you export your learned corrections with Auto Tune and it asks you to cap or scale this means that there is a cell or cells in the VE tables that are at or have exceeded the high limit of the VE table of 127.5. If you select Cap it will “cap” the cell(s) at 127.5 and correct the rest of the VE tables based on your Auto Tune data. If you select Scale it will raise the displacement constant (cubic inch) within the calibration and then normalize (lower) the VE tables. Choosing Cap or Scale will depend on not only the amount of cells that are maxed at 127.5 but also the load range they are located. If you have only a single cell or small cluster at 127.5 in most cases we would recommend capping, especially if the cells are in the lighter load or decel area. If you have a large cluster of cells that are maxed or of they are in the higher load or WOT areas you may need to select Scale. Some important considerations when scaling; you will want to have as much data as possible before selecting scale as the entire VE table will be changed and normalized for the difference in displacement. In some cases depending on the amount of correction and the data itself it may scale excessively, this can result in an abnormally high displacement constant and abnormally low VE tables. Generally speaking, most scaled maps on mildly modified motors should be within 10-15 CI of the actual engine displacement, however it not uncommon on extensively modified motors to end up the CI in the 140-150 range.
Q) What do I do when I am done using Auto Tune, can I just leave the bike in Auto Tune mode?
A) Auto Tune is an application designed to populate maximum data for tune correction, because various tables are changed and features are altered to better permit data collection it is not recommended to run in Auto Tune mode full time. When you are not doing an Auto Tune run session or when your tune is finished you will flash the final map and the ECM will operate normally. Also note you will not want to simply disable Auto Tune, you want to make sure you flash the map to the ECM.