The Autotune Thread

[guitarfool2002]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9QAA1RP4Tw&feature=relmfu

49 seconds in...WTF?! Now THAT right there is pitch correction of some sorts. Holy balls

Nah, that's clearly Brian showing of his kickass ability to sing vibrato!

That was Brian impersonating Grace Slick.

What we haven't been told is that Grace is secretly doubling Brian on this tour, she has been backstage at each show with her own mike and has gotten a little carried away at times resulting in the 'robo-Brian'.

Judging from that bit heard at :49 into the video...I wouldn't be surprised.

[Craig Feldspar]

I'm really hoping that they will either tone it down or it will be be not audible from the audience by the time they play in the hollywood bowl. Seems like they made some adjustments in the last few shows. I'm ok with a little teeny bit of auto-tune, so long as its not TURNED way up like it has been in the first leg of gigs.

[Jay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9QAA1RP4Tw&feature=relmfu

49 seconds in...WTF?! Now THAT right there is pitch correction of some sorts. Holy balls

Nah, that's clearly Brian showing of his kickass ability to sing vibrato!

I've listened to that bit over and over again and I can't hear anything. It's been obvious to me on many other occasions, but not here.


That was Brian impersonating Grace Slick.

What we haven't been told is that Grace is secretly doubling Brian on this tour, she has been backstage at each show with her own mike and has gotten a little carried away at times resulting in the 'robo-Brian'.

Judging from that bit heard at :49 into the video...I wouldn't be surprised.

[Ron]

Alright, so just to summarize what has happened so far. 


1.  People hear crappy recordings from live shows recorded on cell phones and then uploaded to Youtube... and hear "Autotune" as they call it on only certain notes that only Brian is singing.  Brian is clearly singing off key, even on the notes people claim they hear Autotune on.

2.  People that go to the concerts, (Oh... thousands of people who have commented) don't hear Autotune on anything.

3.  A few people who went to the concert, claim that they heard 'just a little bit' of Autotune on 'just a few notes' that Brian sang.  He's stil singing off key, like he has for 40 years.

4.  No reporters have mentioned autotune at all. 

5.  Finally, the Beach Boys play live, in high definition, on Jimmy Fallon last night.... sound great, nobody can hear any autotune, and Brian sings off key, like he has for 40 years, like he has the entire tour, like he will the rest of his life.























Conclusion:  There is no live autotune being used, at all.  What people who should know better think they are hearing is a combination of two different people doubling Brian live, instruments doubling Brian while he sings the melody, and Iphones and Youtube dropping the quality just enough to blur the lines.  When you hear it live, he's fine, and when you see it in high definition, there's obviously no autotune. 

[ontor pertawst]

Nah. It's a rackmount voice processing unit rounding his pitches off, some people don't notice the artifacts too well. Voice processing gear isn't smart enough to always make sure you're on key because unless you go in note by note or have a MIDI signal telling it exactly what to hit, it doesn't know what the heck the song is if you're just dialing in a scale or whatnot. I wasn't quite sure based on the audio from the first night, but once all the other performances flooded in -- um, yeah. Kind of hard to miss across dozens of boots.

Voice doubling isn't going to cause crazy fluctuations between notes or that glide effect as in the Sail on Sailor videos. Neither will codec compression, cheap device mics, bad audience sound, etc.

They didn't use it on the Fallon appearance. I'm not sure where the exit poll data on concertgoers is kept, either.

That said, all of this Auto-tune talk has me firing up various plugins and having fun crooning Beach Boys tunes through it over the past week. Ha! Fun! And totally cheesy and alien-sounding. It's ridiculously fun on "Surfer Girl," tho. Take that, harmonies!

[Lowbacca]

Alright, so just to summarize what has happened so far. 


1.  People hear crappy recordings from live shows recorded on cell phones and then uploaded to Youtube... and hear "Autotune" as they call it on only certain notes that only Brian is singing.  Brian is clearly singing off key, even on the notes people claim they hear Autotune on.

2.  People that go to the concerts, (Oh... thousands of people who have commented) don't hear Autotune on anything.

3.  A few people who went to the concert, claim that they heard 'just a little bit' of Autotune on 'just a few notes' that Brian sang.  He's stil singing off key, like he has for 40 years.

4.  No reporters have mentioned autotune at all. 

5.  Finally, the Beach Boys play live, in high definition, on Jimmy Fallon last night.... sound great, nobody can hear any autotune, and Brian sings off key, like he has for 40 years, like he has the entire tour, like he will the rest of his life.























Conclusion:  There is no live autotune being used, at all.  What people who should know better think they are hearing is a combination of two different people doubling Brian live, instruments doubling Brian while he sings the melody, and Iphones and Youtube dropping the quality just enough to blur the lines.  When you hear it live, he's fine, and when you see it in high definition, there's obviously no autotune. 

You make Brian's singing in the past 40 year sound worse than it was / is.

Also, his live vocals so far (at the reunion gigs) have obviously been somewhat processed, even if it isn't the so-called "autotune".

[37!ws]

FWIW, David Beard says Brian's not Auto-Tuned. But a coupla things to consider:

1) That doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't some OTHER pitch-correction or other digital effect on his voice.
2) His source was one of the musicians, to whom he talked backstage. I'd never put my full trust in what one of the musicians would say to the editor of a widely popular fan-zine, especially if it was the same musician who once claimed that Brian's teleprompter only shows him the set list.

[runnersdialzero]

Alright, so just to summarize what has happened so far.  


1.  People hear crappy recordings from live shows recorded on cell phones and then uploaded to Youtube... and hear "Autotune" as they call it on only certain notes that only Brian is singing.  Brian is clearly singing off key, even on the notes people claim they hear Autotune on.

2.  People that go to the concerts, (Oh... thousands of people who have commented) don't hear Autotune on anything.

3.  A few people who went to the concert, claim that they heard 'just a little bit' of Autotune on 'just a few notes' that Brian sang.  He's stil singing off key, like he has for 40 years.

4.  No reporters have mentioned autotune at all.  

5.  Finally, the Beach Boys play live, in high definition, on Jimmy Fallon last night.... sound great, nobody can hear any autotune, and Brian sings off key, like he has for 40 years, like he has the entire tour, like he will the rest of his life.























Conclusion:  There is no live autotune being used, at all.  What people who should know better think they are hearing is a combination of two different people doubling Brian live, instruments doubling Brian while he sings the melody, and Iphones and Youtube dropping the quality just enough to blur the lines.  When you hear it live, he's fine, and when you see it in high definition, there's obviously no autotune.  

lolololololol

Edit: Just wanted to add that aside from everything else you've said, which has been debunked several times over, the sound team who does Fallon is not the same people at all who do sound for the Beach Boys. So again, it means nothing.

Also, again, Jesus fucking help you if this is how Brian sounds to you normally.

[I. Spaceman]

It still blows my mind that everyone assumes that every recording that has been done of this tour was captured from an iPhone.

[LostArt]

Have the folks that recorded these shows disclosed what kinds of devices were used to record them?  

[Wirestone]

It still blows my mind that everyone assumes that every recording that has been done of this tour was captured from an iPhone.

Indeed. Having now heard much higher quality audio from many more shows, it really is indisputable. But I can also see why some people don't hear it -- depending on the venue, it can be mixed so that if you're not paying attention, you wouldn't necessarily think anything was going on. And I suspect that the less Brian is off -- and some songs, he pretty much nails -- the less digital wobble you get.

[Ron]

folie à plusieurs -


mental disorder affecting several people who share the same delusions; formally classified as shared psychotic disorder.

Shared Psychotic Disorder -

a delusional system that develops in one or more persons as a result of a close relationship with someone who already has a psychotic disorder with prominent delusions.

[seltaeb1012002]

folie à plusieurs -


mental disorder affecting several people who share the same delusions; formally classified as shared psychotic disorder.

Shared Psychotic Disorder -

a delusional system that develops in one or more persons as a result of a close relationship with someone who already has a psychotic disorder with prominent delusions.

Man, as much bad energy as I've spit out in regards to THE OBVIOUS USE OF PITCH CORRECTION ON BRIAN'S VOCALS ON THIS TOUR....

Nothing tops this guy on the bad energy meter.

Dude, when will you realize that many audio professionals (myself included) have commented on the subject, and even a bunch of casual listeners are able to hear the autotune?

You talk a great game, but you're wrong when you say that no one at the shows has heard it. People have posted ON THIS BOARD saying that they heard the autotune. At the venues. Seek and ye shall find.

In the meantime, just know that you're wrong, and it's extremely offensive to imply that we're all nuts. No one needs that sh*t man.

[Ron]

Just saying that could be a possibility.  Calm down sugar. 

It's fine for people like you, and Wirestone to say that it's 'indesputable' because you're an audio professional, but it's not alright for me to say maybe you're delusional? 


You're saying I'm delusional, right?  I don't hear things.  I say you hear things. 

No big deal.  don't get so offended, if the shoe doesn't fit, maybe there's some other explanation for why you hear sh*t that isn't there. 

[Ron]

Groupthink -

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints.

The primary socially negative cost of groupthink is the loss of individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking.


---------------------------------------------------------

Folks like you present yourself as 'audio professionals' when I've been hearing with the same ears you have since I was born.  My opinion is just as valid as yours, and when members of the band say there is no autotune, and I hear no autotune, I'm not afraid to disagree with YOU, or anybody else, who tells me I'm wrong. 

So you have your opinion, and I'll have mine, but don't tell me you're an audio professional and know better.  You know no better than I do what I hear with my ears. 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

So you have your opinion, and I'll have mine, but don't tell me you're an audio professional and know better.  You know no better than I do what I hear with my ears. 

Ears can be trained - the mere fact that we all have ears does not put us automatically on equal footing for hearing things. And the fact that ears can be trained to pick out particular nuances that untrained ears can't undermines your "either you're delusional or you're not" dichotomy.

[Craig Feldspar]

Ron- you don't secretly work for the Beach Boys touring sound staff do you? Your fervent denial is starting to sound like it... but Its too late, we've caught on!    

[ontor pertawst]

It's certainly an opinion, but to claim it's just as valid as an expert's I think you'll find won't wash anywhere but, say -- a 24 hour news channel where despite simple reporting that could sort things out, The Facts and A Delusional Yet Strongly Held Opinion are portrayed as somehow the same.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

It's certainly an opinion, but to claim it's just as valid as an expert's I think you'll find won't wash anywhere but, say -- a 24 hour news channel where despite simple reporting that could sort things out, The Facts and A Delusional Yet Strongly Held Opinion are portrayed as somehow the same.

 

Absolutely. It's the myth of objectivity.

[Ron]

No, I don't...




Just remember folks: I'm not the side trying to tell you what to think.  I'm being ridiculed for having the audacity to disagree with people who claim they hear better than you or I.  

Please believe every nerd who hears AutoTune has posted on this thread.  Thousands who attended the concert and didn't, haven't posted because they're NORMAL PEOPLE without psychotic issues.  LOL

But, back to why I'm wrong: My ears (and thousands of other stupid people) just haven't evolved like yours because you're an audio professional.  Riiiiiiiight.  




Facts:  

1.  Everybody agrees the high def footage on t.v. last night wasn't autotuned.

2. Everybody but a hand full of weirdos agrees that none of the vocals were autotuned in the concerts

3. The strangeloves who think that autotune was used, can only point to a couple notes in each song that they think sound funny.  So we're talking about .1 percent of the people who have heard the boots hear anything, and then those people hear something on .1 percent of the vocals.  

4. The band says no autotune.  

5. No review, even by casual attendees the band didn't know were there, has mentioned Autotune.  (In case you think big brother cracked down on them and won't let them mention the dirty little secret).

6. All the autotune 'evidence' has been sketchy recordings.

7. The grammy event wasn't autotuned, by all accounts.  

8. The Autotuned notes skeptics point to aren't even the tough notes.  

9.  Brian sings the whole thing off key anyways, despite accusations that he's using pitch correction.  

10. He clearly doens't need autotune, because on the 'not autotuned' vocals on In My Room last night, he's caught singing a complex song, in fine form.  


-----------------

The evidence for the other side is:

"Ron, I know better than you becuase I downloaded Pro Tools on my mom's computer and played around recording a copy of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and I can make my voice sound funny.  Therefore I hear it in this youtube video, but only when he goes "Bom Bom Dit Dit" on the third verse.  Listen really close"


.... And i'm the crazy one.  

[Ron]

It's certainly an opinion, but to claim it's just as valid as an expert's I think you'll find won't wash anywhere but, say -- a 24 hour news channel where despite simple reporting that could sort things out, The Facts and A Delusional Yet Strongly Held Opinion are portrayed as somehow the same.

Delusional, right?  I say you're delusional for hearing it, what are your credentials?  Why is your opinion better than mine and the thousands who attended the concerts and heard nothing?

[ontor pertawst]

I think you'll find that when you're in an argument and actually have to SAY "and I'm the crazy one," you tend to be the crazy one. Look back at your post and try not to detect a bit of foam! Still, isn't this great!?!? We're arguing about Beach Boys shows! AIEIfjwo04gjoqig4onh46oinhoinh!

I could care less if they put Brian in an iron mask and only have him sing though a ring modulator on the chorus of Shortnin' Bread, this is amazing stuff!

Anyway, you'll get your definitive answer soon enough I'm sure about the exact "revolutionary live voice processing system" that isn't Antares Auto-tune, I betcha... let's just blame the oily hand of Joe Thomas on all this, or perhaps a spot of bad mustard... an undercooked potato...

You should keep claiming you're on the side of thousands of concert-goers, tho. That's a great technique against any kind of "informed opinion" crap.

[hypehat]

For the love of God, Ron, stop drinking.

[Ron]

For the love of God, Ron, stop drinking.

Maybe I should start!  Perhaps I'd start hearing things. 

[Chocolate Shake Man]

No, I don't...




Just remember folks: I'm not the side trying to tell you what to think.  I'm being ridiculed for having the audacity to disagree with people who claim they hear better than you or I.  

Please believe every nerd who hears AutoTune has posted on this thread.  Thousands who attended the concert and didn't, haven't posted because they're NORMAL PEOPLE without psychotic issues.  LOL

But, back to why I'm wrong: My ears (and thousands of other stupid people) just haven't evolved like yours because you're an audio professional.  Riiiiiiiight.  




Facts:  

1.  Everybody agrees the high def footage on t.v. last night wasn't autotuned.

2. Everybody but a hand full of weirdos agrees that none of the vocals were autotuned in the concerts

3. The strangeloves who think that autotune was used, can only point to a couple notes in each song that they think sound funny.  So we're talking about .1 percent of the people who have heard the boots hear anything, and then those people hear something on .1 percent of the vocals.  

4. The band says no autotune.  

5. No review, even by casual attendees the band didn't know were there, has mentioned Autotune.  (In case you think big brother cracked down on them and won't let them mention the dirty little secret).

6. All the autotune 'evidence' has been sketchy recordings.

7. The grammy event wasn't autotuned, by all accounts.  

8. The Autotuned notes skeptics point to aren't even the tough notes.  

9.  Brian sings the whole thing off key anyways, despite accusations that he's using pitch correction.  

10. He clearly doens't need autotune, because on the 'not autotuned' vocals on In My Room last night, he's caught singing a complex song, in fine form.  


-----------------

The evidence for the other side is:

"Ron, I know better than you becuase I downloaded Pro Tools on my mom's computer and played around recording a copy of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and I can make my voice sound funny.  Therefore I hear it in this youtube video, but only when he goes "Bom Bom Dit Dit" on the third verse.  Listen really close"


.... And i'm the crazy one.  

I don't have a position on this issue either way, but I can say that your position is thoroughly unconvincing.