Lil Wayne voice effect on Lollipop, more than just autotune?

[Caesar]

Im trying to recreate that effect on two bars of a particular 16 bar verse because it fits the context of what is being said and I am having serious trouble achieving it.

It seems to me that once the artist is rapping (although stretching the words) the normal t-pain autotune effects are not as effective as they are on rnb vocals.

However when Lil Wayne does it while he is rapping it comes out fine, is he using more than autotune or are my settings off? I just followed one of the million tutorials on the net.

I really want the effect to stand out, as its only on two bars, I need the listener to know what it is straight away.

[Left Headphone]

Its probably a talk box.

[DivineMusic]

i just did a mixtape for some and they used this track. i got the sound with just autotune 5... just gotta set the settings right

[mix-it-well]

Just Autotunes I guess.

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by Caesar

Im trying to recreate that effect on two bars of a particular 16 bar verse because it fits the context of what is being said and I am having serious trouble achieving it.

It seems to me that once the artist is rapping (although stretching the words) the normal t-pain autotune effects are not as effective as they are on rnb vocals.

However when Lil Wayne does it while he is rapping it comes out fine, is he using more than autotune or are my settings off? I just followed one of the million tutorials on the net.

I really want the effect to stand out, as its only on two bars, I need the listener to know what it is straight away.

My brother just delt with a guy with this same complaint.

For some strange reason, ppl are not realizing that Lil Wayne is actually SINGING on this track (or at least putting his best effort into it). He's not rapping at all. Auto-tune reacts best to "musical" pitch change. If there is no "musical" pitch change then there's nothing to react to.

If you simply record yourself talking and slap Auto-tune on it, you'll get an effect, but not what you're looking for. Just sing the words. Simple as that...

NOTE: you have to at least be in the right key AND be in the ballpark of the right notes. Auto-tune (set to automatic) will simply correct your pitch to the nearest note which may or may not be the note you want.

[themaestro]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

My brother just delt with a guy with this same complaint.

For some strange reason, ppl are not realizing that Lil Wayne is actually SINGING on this track (or at least putting his best effort into it). He's not rapping at all. Auto-tune reacts best to "musical" pitch change. If there is no "musical" pitch change then there's nothing to react to.

If you simply record yourself talking and slap Auto-tune on it, you'll get an effect, but not what you're looking for. Just sing the words. Simple as that...

NOTE: you have to at least be in the right key AND be in the ballpark of the right notes. Auto-tune (set to automatic) will simply correct your pitch to the nearest note which may or may not be the note you want.

yup, he's definitely singing

[WhyBe]

I think for Autotune to sound *right* (the radio sound) you need to be singing through it in realtime as opposed to playing a standard prerecorded vocal track through it and expecting the vocal to turn into TPain's or Weezy's style.

Using Autotune in realtime, the vocalist can practice all of the fluctuations and intonations to get the effect right. Not only is Weezy singing, his singing is specifically performed for Autotune (TPain's too). IOW, that same vocal track without Autotune would probably sound weird as hell.

[PettyCash]

You dont necessairly need to do it in realtime if you know HOW you have to sing in order to get it bending the way you want it. In other words, you gotta know how to actually hit some notes and/or know something about singing in order to use the plug to its fullest potential. Using it in realtime may be able to help teach you how to sing with it through trial and error though. Either way some you will be in for some practice and learning to get things sounding right. In order for a note to bend it has to be off to a certain degree. How off it is, and how you tweak the settings will determine how it bends. Pretty simple.

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by WhyBe

Using Autotune in realtime, the vocalist can practice all of the fluctuations and intonations to get the effect right. Not only is Weezy singing, his singing is specifically performed for Autotune (TPain's too). IOW, that same vocal track without Autotune would probably sound weird as hell.

lol not weird as hell, but maybe too sharp or too flate on some notes. I got an artist who likes using the autotune effect for specific parts of her singing. When autotune is off, it just sounds a bit off. Thats just her though so I cant really speak for anybody else lol.

[Rukas]

Originally Posted by PettyCash

In other words, you gotta know how to actually hit some notes and/or know something about singing

Wow so all the hate T Pain is getting for not even knowing how to sing is unwarrented lol. dfegad

Ive heard a couple tracks where Wayne is rapping and just stretching his words (a la Tupac "Dear Maaaaaama") with a similar effect on it but I think he is actually using a flanger.

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by Rukas

Wow so all the hate T Pain is getting for not even knowing how to sing is unwarrented lol. dfegad

Lol yea it is. Dude knows how to sing. That doesnt mean he is going to win any praise or awards for what he can do without Autotune, but at the same time just because he doesnt sound like Usher doesnt mean he doesnt know anything about singing in key.

The key to doing what T-Pain does with Autotune is knowing just how off you have to be in order to get it sounding the way you want at a particular moment, so not everything can be off key. You still have to have good control over your voice to manipulate it properly and on demand, at least from my usage and experience with implementing Autotune. Bad singers have little to no control over their voice what so ever. If you actually had enough experience using the Plugin in this way you would know all this already, but its all cool, it doesnt really matter, its an over used effect by now anyway.

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by Rukas

Ive heard a couple tracks where Wayne is rapping and just stretching his words (a la Tupac "Dear Maaaaaama") with a similar effect on it but I think he is actually using a flanger.

He probably does have some flange on his voice as well, but if so its definitely not flange alone.

[illynoise]

sounds like logic's voice transformer plug inserted after pitch corrector.

Theres some other ones, maybe throat plug or something?

[Rukas]

Which Flange plug in would you guys recommend? Id like to play around with this effect in Pro Tools for fun and see what I can come up with. Im in a strange experimenting mood lately.

[christopherchav]

try to run it through a guitar effect plug in like amp farm.

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by Rukas

Which Flange plug in would you guys recommend? Id like to play around with this effect in Pro Tools for fun and see what I can come up with. Im in a strange experimenting mood lately.

The Digirack flanger should be decent enough to be worth a try. Personally I'd try using Waves metaflanger. I have been able to get some great sounding results on vocal tracks using that plugin. Although its worth noting that metaflanger was not the only or first plugin in my FX chain. Plain old flanger alone on vocals has never really appealed to me. Metaflanger is worth a shot if you feel like experimenting

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by WhyBe

I think for Autotune to sound *right* (the radio sound) you need to be singing through it in realtime as opposed to playing a standard prerecorded vocal track through it and expecting the vocal to turn into TPain's or Weezy's style.

Using Autotune in realtime, the vocalist can practice all of the fluctuations and intonations to get the effect right. Not only is Weezy singing, his singing is specifically performed for Autotune (TPain's too). IOW, that same vocal track without Autotune would probably sound weird as hell.

Put Autotune on an aux input,, adjust the formant and amplitude, set in to '0" ,bus it to an audio track and VOILA

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by PettyCash

You dont necessairly need to do it in realtime if you know HOW you have to sing in order to get it bending the way you want it. In other words, you gotta know how to actually hit some notes and/or know something about singing in order to use the plug to its fullest potential. Using it in realtime may be able to help teach you how to sing with it through trial and error though. Either way some you will be in for some practice and learning to get things sounding right. In order for a note to bend it has to be off to a certain degree. How off it is, and how you tweak the settings will determine how it bends. Pretty simple.

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

Put Autotune on an aux input,, adjust the formant and amplitude, set in to '0" ,bus it to an audio track and VOILA

+1

And I can't emphasise enough how important it is to at LEAST be in the ballpark with your singing. Wayne is no "sanger" but he's definately not the worst vocalist I've heard. "...now gone getcha money little duffle bag boy!" There was no Auto-tune on that song...

[CRYSCO]

wow

[themaestro]

Originally Posted by dirty1

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

chill with that buddy, you'll get the thread shut down talking bout selling plugs etc

[themaestro]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

+1

And I can't emphasise enough how important it is to at LEAST be in the ballpark with your singing. Wayne is no "sanger" but he's definately not the worst vocalist I've heard. "...now gone getcha money little duffle bag boy!" There was no Auto-tune on that song...

exactly, my song PROSTITUTE was the first joint that weezy sang on...wayne is definitely not the worst singer i've heard! i'd pay to hear wayne sing instead of some of the fake wannabe r&b chicks that have come thru! funny thing is, i had an influx of horrible singers after prostitutes dropped, they actually thought that I made wayne sound good and wanted me to replicate my special technique on them...we didnt use any autotune on there, but the version that leaked has flange on his vox

[Rukas]

Originally Posted by themaestro

exactly, my song PROSTITUTE was the first joint that weezy sang on...wayne is definitely not the worst singer i've heard! i'd pay to hear wayne sing instead of some of the fake wannabe r&b chicks that have come thru! funny thing is, i had an influx of horrible singers after prostitutes dropped, they actually thought that I made wayne sound good and wanted me to replicate my special technique on them...we didnt use any autotune on there, but the version that leaked has flange on his vox

Yeah I thought it was Flange. Which plug did you use and I dont supposed you'd care to share the settings? Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer that.

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by themaestro

exactly, my song PROSTITUTE was the first joint that weezy sang on...wayne is definitely not the worst singer i've heard! i'd pay to hear wayne sing instead of some of the fake wannabe r&b chicks that have come thru! funny thing is, i had an influx of horrible singers after prostitutes dropped, they actually thought that I made wayne sound good and wanted me to replicate my special technique on them...we didnt use any autotune on there, but the version that leaked has flange on his vox

Yea...ppl assume that because Wayne is a gangsta rapper that he can't possibly hold a tune.

Then there's that group of ppl who think "well I feel like if I had a million dollar studio then I'd sound just like any other super-artist out there cause that's the only reason they sound that way. they put that 'computer' on their voices to make 'em sound good..."

Question tho. How did you handle the clients who were obviously dissappointed when they heard how terrible they sounded after recording?

[themaestro]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

Yea...ppl assume that because Wayne is a gangsta rapper that he can't possibly hold a tune.

Then there's that group of ppl who think "well I feel like if I had a million dollar studio then I'd sound just like any other super-artist out there cause that's the only reason they sound that way. they put that 'computer' on their voices to make 'em sound good..."

Question tho. How did you handle the clients who were obviously dissappointed when they heard how terrible they sounded after recording?

i keep it G with everybody, so i dont bite my tongue with wack clients or wack artist who do wack songs to my tracks. Nevertheless, i know how to do a little graphical editing in autotune and waves soundshifting on the pitch if there's some good pus$y in the deal, lol...or should i say "i'll try to make it sound good in order to preserve a good relationship"

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by themaestro

i keep it G with everybody, so i dont bite my tongue with wack clients or wack artist who do wack songs to my tracks. Nevertheless, i know how to do a little graphical editing in autotune and waves soundshifting on the pitch if there's some good pus$y in the deal, lol...or should i say "i'll try to make it sound good in order to preserve a good relationship"

lmao...I got u!

[Rukas]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

lmao...I got u!

Im a rapper first and foremost, I dont produce, but I learned to engineer and mix for my own needs. But locally word soon spread of my shit and when people asked who did the mixing and I said me they'd want to pay for me to mix em. So I used to make some extra change doing it and still do every now and then.

Anyway, one time I had this RNB chick ask me to record and mix her shit and because I was feeling her (hadnt heard her music at this point understand) I said Id do it at a discount, she said no problem. So we got to mine and did a track, shes no Alicia Keyes but shes alright. We banged it out, then kicked it.

Mixed the track in a couple days and it came out pretty good.

So the next couple days I get a call asking to mix down another couple tracks she recorded elsewhere, she just wanted me to mix them and add my "magic and touch" as she put it. But when I got the sessions, fu.ck, whoever tracked it did the WORST job ever!

I did the best I could, really, but it turned out bad. I sent her the tracks and the next day got a voice mail cussing me out saying I put no effort into these ones because Id gotten what I wanted the other time blah blah blah. Total f'ing mess. "I never wanna see you again"s like I had just cheated on her with her best friend or sister!

Girl has talent, but whoever tracked it should have his gear taken, really. I offered to rerecord the tracks for her for free sometime but it never eventuated.

She's a check out chick at a grocery store now.

Random rant I know, but I mean, she was accusing me of shit like "you didnt want to waste your plugins on this verse" blah blah blah like they were some one use type deals that I short changed her with this time around or something. And ****ed up thing is I learned how to use melodyne for this bitch, Id never used it on my own shit.

/end rant

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by Rukas

Im a rapper first and foremost, I dont produce, but I learned to engineer and mix for my own needs. But locally word soon spread of my shit and when people asked who did the mixing and I said me they'd want to pay for me to mix em. So I used to make some extra change doing it and still do every now and then.

Anyway, one time I had this RNB chick ask me to record and mix her shit and because I was feeling her (hadnt heard her music at this point understand) I said Id do it at a discount, she said no problem. So we got to mine and did a track, shes no Alicia Keyes but shes alright. We banged it out, then kicked it.

Mixed the track in a couple days and it came out pretty good.

So the next couple days I get a call asking to mix down another couple tracks she recorded elsewhere, she just wanted me to mix them and add my "magic and touch" as she put it. But when I got the sessions, fu.ck, whoever tracked it did the WORST job ever!

I did the best I could, really, but it turned out bad. I sent her the tracks and the next day got a voice mail cussing me out saying I put no effort into these ones because Id gotten what I wanted the other time blah blah blah. Total f'ing mess. "I never wanna see you again"s like I had just cheated on her with her best friend or sister!

Girl has talent, but whoever tracked it should have his gear taken, really. I offered to rerecord the tracks for her for free sometime but it never eventuated.

She's a check out chick at a grocery store now.

Random rant I know, but I mean, she was accusing me of shit like "you didnt want to waste your plugins on this verse" blah blah blah like they were some one use type deals that I short changed her with this time around or something. And ****ed up thing is I learned how to use melodyne for this bitch, Id never used it on my own shit.

/end rant

I think u should've told her from the jump that the tracking was messed up - and I mean before you touched a thing. Probably wouldn't have eliminated the accusations but would've at least given you SOME leverage, which may not have made much difference. Ah well...that's life...lol

They always say to be very careful mixing business with pleasure...actually they say not to do it at all...tutt

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

I think u should've told her from the jump that the tracking was messed up - and I mean before you touched a thing. Probably wouldn't have eliminated the accusations but would've at least given you SOME leverage, which may not have made much difference. Ah well...that's life...lol

They always say to be very careful mixing business with pleasure...actually they say not to do it at all...tutt

Tru dat..fo rill yo

[MarkusColeman]

Originally Posted by Trell Blaze

They always say to be very careful mixing business with pleasure...actually they say not to do it at all...tutt

there goes my dream of becoming a porn star

[Trell Blaze]

Originally Posted by MarkusColeman

there goes my dream of becoming a porn star

lol...ok u got me on that one.

With the exception of the porn industry, it's a bad idea to mix business with pleasure...