Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies which uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed many artists to produce more precisely tuned recordings.

Auto-Tune is available as a plug-in for professional audio multi-tracking suites used in a studio setting and as a stand-alone, rackmount unit for live performance processing. Auto-tune has become standard equipment in professional recording studios.

Genericised trademark

While Auto-Tune is a specific product, auto-tune is frequently used in the media as a blanket term to describe any audio processing with a similar effect, perhaps because it was the first product allowing pitch correction in real time.

Use

Auto-Tune was used to prominent effect for Cher's Believe, recorded in 1998. When first interviewed about this, the sound engineers claimed they had used a vocoder, in what Sound on Sound percieves as an attempt to preserve a trade secret. Most recently, R&B singer T-Pain has been accredited to revitalizing the technique in contemporary music by making active use of it in his songs, a style which has since gone on to be imitated by various other R&B, Hip-hop, and Pop artists.

According to the Boston Herald, "Country stars Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have all confessed to using Auto-Tune in performance, claiming it is a safety net that guarantees ticket buyers a good performance.

References

External links

• Antares Auto-Tune 5 Pitch Correcting Plug-In - product home page
• Pitchfork: Neko Case Interview - artistic integrity and Auto-Tune
• Nashville Scene: Pro Tools - Article about country music and Auto-Tune