I’m looking for a good (preferably free) VST plugin for pitch correction. I’m interested in making semi-robotic sounds, sort of like Rihanna in “Disturbia”, or Cher in “Believe”.
Anything out there like this? Thanks!
That wasn’t pitch changing, exactly, that was a Vocoder. It makes your voice take on the characteristics of a musical instrument. It was also used in a Geico commercial a while ago. If the musical instrument happens to be a single tone sax, then you get robot sounds. The plugin takes two inputs, not just one.
Google VST, Plugin, Audacity, Vocoder.
Koz
Actually Koz, that effect is caused by Antare’s Auto-Tune VST plugin, not a Vocoder. Apparently the producers originally said it was from a Vocoder in order to protect their secret effect, but it was Auto-Tune all along (Read the “STOP PRESS!” section in atomic yellow and red):
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb99/articles/tracks661.htm
robert,
Audacity can’t use effects like that one since it doesn’t do effects in real-time. The only way you could do that is if you had a way to route the output of Audacity to a second program that can host real-time VST effects and then record the output of the second program. I can do this because I have a fancy sound card, but if you have a limited amount of inputs/outputs then you’re out of luck.
Also, I’ve never heard of a free VST plugin that can do this, though I wouldn’t be too surprised if one existed. You’d probably also need a MIDI keyboard in addition to a vocal clip in order to control the effect in real-time (though you could probably use a MIDI sequencer to automate it if you have the patience).
If you had an insane amount of patience you could probably zoom way in and use a pitch-change effect to do that, but I doubt Audacity’s basic pitch change effect would be up to task.
<<<that effect is caused by Antare’s Auto-Tune VST plugin>>>
But the Geico commercial was a vocoder–or vocoder-like effect.
<<<it doesn’t do effects in real-time.>>>
In spite of thousands of people trying to make it so. “Can I use Audacity equalize my voice as I’m performing to my PodCast?”
No.
Koz
Actually you can achieve that effect with Auto Tune and Audacity. I assume you meant you wanted to do this? → http://media.putfile.com/Auto-Tune-Disturbia-Test
But again, you do need to have auto tune vst plugin. It takes some tweaking but the cher effect is possible without real time. (now mind you, it’s helpful to actually sing on key before you use the effect, because you get a much cleaner result, such as mine in that link)
sfox8,
I already said it wasn’t possible, why did you have to go and do it? 
How exactly does that process work? Does the auto-tune plugin have a general setting to analyze the audio and jump it to the nearest scale note? That would alleviate the need for real-time control.
I have one more question, not related to Audacity. When you use that plugin in real time can you plug in a MIDI keyboard and tell it to jump to altered audio to the note that you’re playing?
haha sorry, just thought i’d set the record straight, and i know that a lot of people wanted to get this effect in audacity because they didn’t have fl studio or because fl studio was too complicated (which I agree with. to this day, i still can’t get my fl studio to record and playback all at once).
But anyway, no, there is no “general” setting. In fact, the Auto Tune set up in Audacity is pretty sloppy and confusing. It consists of the usual Audacity sliders and number boxes, but there are lots of different settings available for you to tweak and so it gets pretty difficult to find which ones you need to change to get the desired effect. With the right settings Auto Tune will jump to the correct note in the key that you specify (and again, it consists only of numbers and sliders so you can’t even enter “C” or “B flat” or something. That’s what makes it difficult.
However, I have come up with a sure fire way to always get that digital T-Pain-like effect. As long as you set the Detune and Auto Retune all the way to the top and play around with the Key slider until it’s in the right pitch, you should be good to go. The downside to not having a real time process is that you have to apply the effect to your vocals every time you want to hear it (or use the preview button) and if it’s not what you want, you have to undo and go back to the auto tune settings to tweak.
It doesn’t take that long though. Auto Tune works pretty well.
I do wish that there was a way to make the auto tune interface in audacity more… user friendly, though.
I do wish that there was a way to make the auto tune interface in audacity more… user friendly, though.
Well… it is possible.
After dinner I’ll write up a FAQ and post it as a sticky topic in this forum on how to use a separate piece of hardware to host VST effects and route them back to Audacity. But I’ll warn you right now that it requires the right kind of hardware (basically, 2 stereo outputs and 2 stereo inputs, which is not standard computer hardware).