Bieber on Autotune and Melodyne

Bogey Man

Justin Bieber has confessed record producers use vocal-tuning software to adjust his singing.

The Baby hitmaker is adamant he refuses to use Auto-Tune - the popular audio processor utilized by other stars including Britney Spears - but reveals recording studio engineers correct the pitch of his singing with Melodyne software.

He tells Q magazine, "I don't use Auto-Tune. They tune my vocals - they use Melodyne. But every artist uses Melodyne. Not every artist, but 99 per cent of artists. I like the sound, the perfectness of tuning in the record. No one has completely perfect pitch."

Am I wrong, or is this complete garbage?

mfc2006

he's an idiot. scratch that.

he's an idiot that can't sing.

DewieCox

Eh, not the first and not the last pop star to use it. Much more disappointing when people suspect it of bands you don't expect, like PJ.

Nami

money drives everything

Drowned Out

DewieCox wrote:

Eh, not the first and not the last pop star to use it. Much more disappointing when people suspect it of bands you don't expect, like PJ.

Have people accused Ed of this?
I assume pop stars use it, so no surprise there..I don't take exception to the '99% of artists use it' figure....I do, however, take exception to the use of the word 'artist'.

mookeywrench

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zeLKMHxbN8

Pretty amazing software. Vocal processing starts at 3:30

DewieCox

Drowned Out wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

Eh, not the first and not the last pop star to use it. Much more disappointing when people suspect it of bands you don't expect, like PJ.

Have people accused Ed of this?
I assume pop stars use it, so no surprise there..I don't take exception to the '99% of artists use it' figure....I do, however, take exception to the use of the word 'artist'.

I've definitely read some accusations here or the rm board. I don't necessarily hear it, but I've heard the quality of EV's voice change through the years so I wouldn't be totally shocked to find out that he did it to get the spot on intonation in the studio.

I'd say 99% of the stuff you hear on the radio has some fixes whether it's vox, guitars, or replacing a drum beat. Even "good" bands probably do alot of "creative editing" these days just to make things a little less tedious.

Tough to say where to draw the line. I like to think that my favorite music is the product of a band gettin in the studio and hammering it out, whether it's instrument by instrument or a live in the studio take, I just realize that's not how things are done these days.

Stardog3..

I HATE when people use the "well everyone does it" excuse, like that makes it okay or something. I think that technology can do some really interesting, innovative things with music, but when people are just using it to get the perfect pitch because they suck in real life....ew.

jjflash

DewieCox wrote:

Tough to say where to draw the line. I like to think that my favorite music is the product of a band gettin in the studio and hammering it out, whether it's instrument by instrument or a live in the studio take

= more reason to appreciate the music Chris Robinson Brotherhood is putting out . Zero smoke and mirrors. 100% the real deal.

cincybearcat

It's kinda funny the hate for one of the people actually willing to admit it.

Personally, I have more respect for him now....though, to be fair, that wasn't very hard to accomplish.

musicismylife78

i personally dont see the controversy. In terms of music considered groundbreaking and cutting edge in 2012, Bon Iver and Kanye west are both artists who use autotune. And both have put out some of the most critically acclaimed and best albums of the last few years. Ben Folds does. Sounds like Imogen Heap does. Sufjan has used it. Vampire Weekend. The Dixie Chicks.

All of those artists have created incredible music with the aid of autotune. I personally like autotune.

mookeywrench

There's times when it's better to put authenticity aside.

Say you're paying for studio time...usually you've got the chops to get the note right, but for some reason you're having an off day, maybe you're hung over, maybe the tech assistant has a shitty headphone mix going, or you get nervous in the studio and you can't recreate what you can do live.

Do you spend the time($$$) to take several takes or do you just do one take and let Melodyne get things right for you?

Or another scenario could be that you really felt the music in the first vocal takes, although the take was really passionate and lively, they were a bit sharp. Do you do a retake and lose the spirit of the first take?

Or in JBeibs case,he knows his main audience isn't after technical talent and skills, why should he waste studio time getting things perfect? People who care about authenticity weren't spending money on him before and they more than likely aren't about to buy them anytime soon.

DewieCox

musicismylife78 wrote:

i personally dont see the controversy. In terms of music considered groundbreaking and cutting edge in 2012, Bon Iver and Kanye west are both artists who use autotune. And both have put out some of the most critically acclaimed and best albums of the last few years. Ben Folds does. Sounds like Imogen Heap does. Sufjan has used it. Vampire Weekend. The Dixie Chicks.

All of those artists have created incredible music with the aid of autotune. I personally like autotune.

IMO, there's a difference between using it artistically, as most of your examples have done, and using it as a tool b/c the ability just isn't there. I have no problem with artists using as an effect, but I can totally see what people have against it to correct mistakes, b/c where do you draw the line. Music is an art, but it's also a skill that's to be developed and nurtured and performers that aren't willing to put in the time to try and improve don't care enough about what they're putting out there, so why should I care what they have to say.