If you like to play in Logic Pro X, one of the most important things you can do is know how to autotune!
You simply insert the pitch correction plug-in on the audio track, make a couple of quick settings, and hit play. The grandfather of realtime auto-correction, was, of course, Auto-Tune, but it’s now been joined by many other plug-ins, including DAW built-ins like Logic’s Pitch Corrector plug-in.
Are your vocal performances coming out a little pitchy? Struggling to hit that high note? Maybe you captured the ultimate performance with loads of soul and feeling, but it’s not quite fitting in the mix due to some slight pitch issues.
- I've done a LOT of vocal tuning for major producers using the Time and Pitch machine and the Pitch correction plug-in alone. When I asked the producer if he had any 3rd party pitch correction plugs he answered: 'No, I feel like the ones in Logic do the job just fine'.
- Logic's Pitch Correction plug-in: you can modify scales by selecting and deselecting notes from the keyboard in the centre of the window, or choose from the presets in the drop-down menu. Automatic tuning is synonymous with many things, good and bad. We take a look at Logic 's Pitch Correction and then examine what Auto-Tune can add.
- Logic Pro X Flex Pitch VOCALS Beginner Tutorial Pitch Correction Tutorial. A friend was asking me to do a tutorial in logic pro x on flex pitch for his voc.
- Using flex pitch correction in logic pro x and using reverb.Please Subscribe.
Or, maybe you just want to be the next T-Pain, and apply some crazy pitch effects to your vocal recordings.
Whatever the case, learning how to auto-tune in Logic Pro X is not only easy, but will become an invaluable tool in perfecting your vocal recordings, and taking your production to the next level!
Let’s continue these logic pro tutorials with an expose on Auto-tune!
What Is Auto-tune?
Technically speaking, Auto-Tune is a piece of software created by Antares, but the effect has become so popularised in mainstream music that the name has kind of stuck. Typically, when producers, artists or listeners use the term auto tune, what they are talking about is pitch correction.
This step is best performed after you have added some plugins to your other tracks, and have started getting the song whipped into shape!
Pitch correction is a program or plugin used to correct off notes in vocals. Depending on the software, this can be done automatically or manually. You’ll learn about some different options for using in auto tune in Logic soon.
It can also be used as a creative effect, such is the case in a lot of modern hip-hop and RnB music, often dubbed the “T-Pain effect”.
After you get the auto-tune nailed, you will be ready to go on and mix your tracks in Logic Pro X!
Alright. Let’s get started…
When And Why To Use Auto-tune
This might seem obvious, but there are actually a few reasons you might want to use auto tune.
To Fix An Out Of Tune Vocal Recording
Probably the most common use for auto-tune is to correct any off notes in a vocal performance. It may seem like cheating to some, but actually this is an incredibly common technique.
Just about every singer you hear on record these days (especially in pop music) has some form of pitch correction applied, and we’ve become so adapted to hearing perfectly sung melodies that it can even sound strange hearing an unprocessed vocalist!
To Create A Specific Vocal Effect
Popular in modern hip-hop and RnB, heavily autotuned vocals have become a regular feature used by rappers and vocalists in these genres.
Popularised by T-Pain in the early 2000s, the sound is often referred to as the “T-Pain Effect”, so much so that iZotope has released a pitch correction tool that is literally called The T-Pain Effect.
The goal here is to apply auto tune to a vocal performance that is far out of pitch (or even monotonous), with the parameters at such extreme settings that the effects of the pitch correction plug-in are exceedingly obvious. You’ll learn just how to do this very soon as well.
To Create A Vocal Harmony
A little known use for pitch correction is to take the original vocal recording (which may already have had auto tune applied), and create a vocal harmony by changing the pitch of each note sung.
This achieves an effect that is not anywhere near as natural as a sung harmony, but natural isn’t always what we are going for!
Use Auto Tune To Level Up Your Music Production Skills
Given the wide variety of situations that pitch correction can be applied to, you can see why it’s an extremely vital skill to master.
Not only will you be able to fix bung notes (or seemingly unsalvageable performances) to deliver a higher quality end result, but you’ll also be able to apply the effect more creatively to diversify the sound of your audio productions, and bang out tunes that sound just like your favourite artists!
Does Logic Pro X Have Pitch Correction?
This is why we love Logic Pro X, and why you should too: the suite of audio processing tools that come with the program as standard cover all the bases, and they are extremely effective. (That means yes, yes it does).
There are actually a couple of different tools in Logic Pro that you can use for vocal pitch correction, depending on your desired outcome.
How Do You Autotune Vocals In Logic?
- Pitch Correction Tool – An intuitive and simple way to bring vocals in-tune
- Flex Pitch – A slightly more manual approach that gives you the ability to fine-tune a performance
- External plug-ins (such as The T-Pain Effect, or Antares Auto-Tune)
We’re going to focus on using the first two options in Logic Pro X, and how you can get using auto-tune to create pro level tracks.
Pitch Correction Plug-In
Does Logic Pro Have Pitch Correction
Step 1:
On the desired audio track, head over to the left hand side and click on a free Audio FX slot. You’ll find Logic’s Pitch Correction plug-in under ‘Pitch’ – funny that.
Step 2:
The plug-in GUI is admittedly a little dated, and kind of looks like something out of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it does the trick. Rather well in fact.
The first thing you’ll want to do is the key/scale by using the Root and Scale drop down menus.
Step 3:
You’ll then want to select Normal or Low depending on the range of the sources. As a general rule, select Normal for female vocals and Low for male vocals.
But have a play around with the two options and see what sounds best to you!
Step 4:
Now play the track back, and use the Response and Detune sliders to achieve the perfect auto tune effect.
Response is a time based control, the lower the time, the faster the plug-in will react to incorrect pitches, and therefore the more noticeable the effect will be. Too fast, and the effect will be a robotic vocal sound.
Too slow, and Logic may miss some fleeting out of tune notes. Season to taste.
Detune should be adjusted if the track is consistently below or above the the centre of the bottom display. Again, adjust til you find the sweet spot.
Flex Pitch
Flex Pitch is a tool in Logic Pro X that allows you to adjust the pitch of a vocal performance note by note. That means you can select individual off notes to correct, rather than applying an effect over an entire track. This is a great idea if you are trying to get a more natural tone overall.
Step 1:
You’ll want to start by hitting the flex button in the edit window (Command+F).
Step 2:
From the drop down menu, select Flex Pitch. It might take a couple of seconds to initialize.
Step 3:
Zoom in on the vocal track, and you’ll see that Logic Pro has added some little blue boxes to the audio recording. These denote the pitch of each note.
Step 4:
From here, you can literally drag each of the blue boxes in your audio region to the desired pitch!
How Do I Record Auto Tune In Logic Pro X?
The Pitch Correction plug-in in Logic Pro can be used in realtime, if you have a need to auto-tune vocals on the way in.
Unfortunately the Flex Pitch function is a more manual approach, so if you like using correction on the way in, and Logic’s in built tool isn’t doing the trick, try some of these third-party plugins and see if they get you where you want to be.
Logic Pro X Vocal Pitch Correction Tool
- Antares Auto-Tune
- iZotope The T-Pain Effect
- Waves Tune
- Celemony Melodyne
Conclusion
So, now you’ve learned how to use Logic’s Pitch Correction tool to automatically alter a vocal performance, and the Flex Pitch function for a more manual, fine-tuned approach.
Now it’s up to you, get experimenting and start auto-tuning some vocal tracks!
Please follow these instructions to control Auto-Tune Pro or Auto-Tune Artist's pitch correction with a MIDI track in Logic Pro X:
- Logic Pro X Tutorial - AutoTune Mitchel Pigsley How to get auto-tuned vocals with the LPX Flex-Pitch tool and the Pitch Correction plugin. Thanks for watching! Want to choose my next video!?
- How To Instantly Pitch / Tune Any Audio in Logic Pro X Darren Burgos on Tue, September 5th 1 comments Logic Pro X has more tools for pitching and tuning audio than you may have realised, and it works just as flexibly as editing MIDI pitch does.
- Oct 17, 2017 Auto tune 8 Low latency mode + Logic X Low latency mode + Input monitoring + 32 buffer (RME UFX) = Pretty good. I don't remeber the exact number but I know its under 8ms roundtrip. Yeah, it's way way better on the RME interface I use in my home studio. The Orion 32 just doesn't work for this.
- In this tutorial, you'll learn how to get started and begin Auto-Tuning in Logic Pro X. Auto-Tuning Explained. According to the Google dictionary, 'Auto-Tuning is the process of using a device or facility for tuning something automatically, especially a piece of computer software which enables the correction of an out-of-tune vocal performance.'
So here’s how to Auto Tune your vocals in Logic Pro X (For Free): The principles that I’m going to teach you are applicable to all pitch correction software e.g Melodyne, Autotune etc. The most common mistake I see people making with Auto Tune or pitch correction is that they select the plug-in and think the work is done without changing.
1. If you intend to use a MIDI keyboard, connect it to your computer, start Logic Pro, and make a new session.
2. Create an audio track and software instrument track. Record or import an audio recording onto the audio track.
Vocal Pitch Correction Pedal
Setting Up Auto Tune In Logic Problems
3. Set the output of the audio track to 'No Output.'
4. Load Auto-Tune Pro (or Auto-Tune Artist) as the 'Instrument' input on the software instrument track. (It's available under: AU MIDI-controlled Effects > Antares)
5. In the Auto-Tune plug-in window, click on the 'Side Chain' drop-down menu in the upper right corner and select the audio track you created in step 2 (for example, 'Audio 1').
6. Click on the 'Advanced' view button and then the 'Target Notes' MIDI button to enable MIDI note control of Auto-Tune's target pitches.
7. Select the software instrument track and click on the red 'R' button to record enable it.
8. Start playback (or recording) and perform on your MIDI controller to pitch correct your audio recording in real time. Alternatively, you can import a MIDI file onto your software instrument track and use this instead.
If you plan on recording audio from a microphone or an instrument, you’ll need a way to get the audio into Logic Pro. Your Mac probably has a built-in line in or microphone. Although these may work in a pinch, professional recordings need higher-quality input devices. The documentation of most professional hardware will show you how to set it up with Logic Pro.
Choose your input and output device
After your hardware is set up and connected to your computer, you must select the hardware in Logic Pro Preferences. To choose your audio input and output devices:
Choose Logic Pro X→Preferences→Audio.
Click the Devices tab.
On the Input Device and Output Device drop-down menus, make your selections.
You can choose separate input and output devices. You may want to record a guitar by using a mobile guitar interface and monitoring through the computer speakers or headphones. In this case, you select the audio interface as the input and select Built-in Output as the output.
Click the Apply Changes button.
Logic Pro will now begin using your selected input and output device for audio.
Set your I/O buffer size and reduce latency
Setting Up Auto Tune In Logic Pro Version
Latency refers to the delay between your audio input and audio output. This delay is unavoidable in software because your sound source must be converted to digital audio and processed before it can be heard. In many cases, latency is negligible and won’t be noticeable. However, latency can become an issue when a track has lots of plug-ins that require significant processing.
It’s a good idea to record most of your tracks before you begin adding lots of plug-ins. The more plug-ins you add, the more processing power required, and the more latency you can introduce into the system. If you record without a lot of plug-ins, latency probably won’t be an issue.
Setting Up Auto Tune In Logic Pro Download
When you record, latency can be a hindrance if you can’t hear what you’re playing exactly when you’re playing it. Fortunately, you can adjust the latency as follows:
Choose Logic Pro X→Preferences→Audio.
Click the Devices tab.
On the I/O Buffer Size drop-down menu, make your selections.
Note that a smaller buffer size will reduce latency.
A smaller buffer size requires more processing power. If you set the buffer size too low, you can introduce clicks and pops in your audio. Experiment with the buffer size until you find a setting that minimizes latency but doesn’t introduce unwanted audio artifacts.
Click the Apply Changes button.
Logic Pro will begin using your selected I/O buffer size.
Monitor signals through your hardware or software
Some audio interfaces have built-in monitoring capabilities. This means you can listen to the source material you’re recording through your hardware instead of through the Logic Pro X software. Monitoring through your hardware is useful if the software introduces too much latency.
By default, Logic Pro monitors audio through the software. To turn software monitoring off, follow these steps:
Choose Logic Pro X→Preferences→Audio.
Click the Devices tab.
Deselect the Software Monitoring check box.
If no hardware is connected, the check box will appear dimmed and will be unavailable.
The Software Monitoring check box is available only if Show Advanced Tools is selected in the Advanced pane of Logic Pro X Preferences.
Click the Apply Changes button.
Audio will no longer be monitored through Logic Pro.