The history of pitch correction?

Elof · 13th January 2006

I´ve searched gearslutz and the internet on this and I can´t seem to find anything good, so I´ll try to ask...

When did ppl start using it on records "for real"?
When could you consider it "invented"?

I would very much like to know about early methods trying to detect and correct pitch and intonation "problems".

Charles Dye · 13th January 2006

First, God created singers who couldn't sing. The rest is history...

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Try the Eventide site. They invented harmonizers + in fact own the trademark on the word "harmonizer". The company was founded in 1971.

Hope this helps.

84K · 13th January 2006

Its funny, the constant abuse and further developments in pitch correction has made me appreciate vocals that are a little out. When ever we hear things a little shakey, it is usually chalked up as a performance of the moment from the artist. I can't wait for the day (and believe me, its coming) when out of tune vocals are considered 'cool' and 'more emotional/expressive'

Charles Dye · 13th January 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84K

Its funny, the constant abuse and further developments in pitch correction has made me appreciate vocals that are a little out. When ever we hear things a little shakey, it is usually chalked up as a performance of the moment from the artist. I can't wait for the day (and believe me, its coming) when out of tune vocals are considered 'cool' and 'more emotional/expressive'

It's baaaaacccckkk...

Listen to alt rock. Some of those bands do NOT tune vox.

It's intentional + they pull it off. Sounds quite cool.

Off-key notes 'n all.

Jamz · 13th January 2006

Used to use Sound Tools. Load the vocal in and using the Pitch plug in to tune and then blowing it back to tape.

Eventide H3000 was useful although you ran the risk of random "bubble" artifacts.
Just run the vocal through the pitch program and and turn the knob for cents untill you were satisfied. You also could lock it to your sequencer and run it via MIDI.

Sometime just ran a vocal through an SPX 90 Pitch Shift C or H3000 for a little overall harmonizer kind of tuning.

Lots of doing it over and punching in until satisfied.

Jules · 14th January 2006

Someone please tell the story of the Nem Whipper.. (my fingers are tired and I don't know it fully myself)

jerry123 · 14th January 2006

I believe it started when the technique of vibrato was first used to cover up pitch issues when singers sustained long notes.

M25OrbitalParty · 14th January 2006

Emotion vs Performance

How's that for a production technique. Dunno if that is difficult to grasp. Seems for the public it might be.

My expeience - AKAI s900 with a MIDI pitch bend modulation mapp. 1989 N all that. Before that, the Fairlight N Synclavier.

Enjoy

M25

T_R_S · 14th January 2006

I could not afford a Synclav back in the 80's we used an Emu EIII for pitch correction we would sync a sequencer for the automation then record it down slow and painfull compared to Autotune. This was a poorman's way of doing it.

Bob Olhsson · 14th January 2006

In the '50s people used to hook up an amplifier driven by an oscillator to the capstan of an analog tape machine, adjust the frequency for the tape speed they wanted, make a copy at the desired pitch and then splice the "pitched" copy back into the master tape. In the '60s you copied the track onto a mono machine, cued it up and then punched it into the vocal track. There was also the German ELTRO rotating head device which worked very much like a digital pitch shifter. We had one for a while at Motown.

The "revolution" was the Eventide Harmonizer in the mid '70s. This was what Auto-Tune replaced which put a Pro Tools system in every major studio control room in the world.

joeq · 14th January 2006

A place I worked at had a Harmonizer in the early 80's - it had an unheard of 10 presets. If you were lucky preset number two might fix mistake number two and mistake number eleven, so you could fix more than 10 bad notes in the same mix.

the other cool thing at the time was to send a guitar through it at no pitch shift, just to get that 'digital sound'!

sedohr · 14th January 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeq

the other cool thing at the time was to send a guitar through it at no pitch shift, just to get that 'digital sound'!

13th January 2006	#1
Elof Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2005 Location: London Posts: 241 Thread Starter	The history of pitch correction? I´ve searched gearslutz and the internet on this and I can´t seem to find anything good, so I´ll try to ask... When did ppl start using it on records "for real"? When could you consider it "invented"? I would very much like to know about early methods trying to detect and correct pitch and intonation "problems".

13th January 2006	#2
Charles Dye FX smörgåsbord user Joined: Oct 2002 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 881	First, God created singers who couldn't sing. The rest is history... Sorry, couldn't resist. Try the Eventide site. They invented harmonizers + in fact own the trademark on the word "harmonizer". The company was founded in 1971. Hope this helps. __________________ Facebook \| MySpace \| Auraleo \| eSession

13th January 2006	#5
Jamz Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2002 Location: Bucks County/Philly, PA Posts: 2,344	Used to use Sound Tools. Load the vocal in and using the Pitch plug in to tune and then blowing it back to tape. Eventide H3000 was useful although you ran the risk of random "bubble" artifacts. Just run the vocal through the pitch program and and turn the knob for cents untill you were satisfied. You also could lock it to your sequencer and run it via MIDI. Sometime just ran a vocal through an SPX 90 Pitch Shift C or H3000 for a little overall harmonizer kind of tuning. Lots of doing it over and punching in until satisfied. __________________ Jim Salamone http://cambridgesoundstudios.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newtow...9272438?ref=ts http://www.reverbnation.com/cambridgesoundstudios

14th January 2006	#6
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Joined: Apr 2002 Location: A Yank in London, UK Posts: 17,810 1 Review written	Someone please tell the story of the Nem Whipper.. (my fingers are tired and I don't know it fully myself) __________________ Jules Add your reviews to the new reviews area! Gearslutz on Facebook Follow my GS picks on Twitter

14th January 2006	#9
T_R_S Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Canuk Posts: 5,278	I could not afford a Synclav back in the 80's we used an Emu EIII for pitch correction we would sync a sequencer for the automation then record it down slow and painfull compared to Autotune. This was a poorman's way of doing it. __________________ FB Page ========== Surplus Sale

13th January 2006	#3
84K Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2004 Location: right coast Posts: 3,857	Its funny, the constant abuse and further developments in pitch correction has made me appreciate vocals that are a little out. When ever we hear things a little shakey, it is usually chalked up as a performance of the moment from the artist. I can't wait for the day (and believe me, its coming) when out of tune vocals are considered 'cool' and 'more emotional/expressive'

14th January 2006	#7
jerry123 Gear nut Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 128	I believe it started when the technique of vibrato was first used to cover up pitch issues when singers sustained long notes.

14th January 2006	#8
M25OrbitalParty Gear interested Joined: Jan 2006 Location: London Posts: 15	Emotion vs Performance How's that for a production technique. Dunno if that is difficult to grasp. Seems for the public it might be. My expeience - AKAI s900 with a MIDI pitch bend modulation mapp. 1989 N all that. Before that, the Fairlight N Synclavier. Enjoy M25

14th January 2006	#10
Bob Olhsson Motown legend Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Songwriter Gulch, Nashville TN Posts: 10,879	In the '50s people used to hook up an amplifier driven by an oscillator to the capstan of an analog tape machine, adjust the frequency for the tape speed they wanted, make a copy at the desired pitch and then splice the "pitched" copy back into the master tape. In the '60s you copied the track onto a mono machine, cued it up and then punched it into the vocal track. There was also the German ELTRO rotating head device which worked very much like a digital pitch shifter. We had one for a while at Motown. The "revolution" was the Eventide Harmonizer in the mid '70s. This was what Auto-Tune replaced which put a Pro Tools system in every major studio control room in the world. __________________ Bob's room 615 562-4346 Georgetown Masters 615 254-3233 Music Industry 2.0 Interview

14th January 2006	#11
joeq Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 9,927	A place I worked at had a Harmonizer in the early 80's - it had an unheard of 10 presets. If you were lucky preset number two might fix mistake number two and mistake number eleven, so you could fix more than 10 bad notes in the same mix. the other cool thing at the time was to send a guitar through it at no pitch shift, just to get that 'digital sound'!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Pitch Correction	Farfensound	So much gear, so little time!	16	27th June 2006 03:35 AM
PCM 81 Pitch Correction?	woods	High end	8	23rd April 2006 10:37 PM
pitch correction	theom	Q&A with Michael H. Brauer	1	24th September 2005 10:44 PM
Making Decisions Re: Pitch Correction...	JohnDavisNYC	Q&A with Michael H. Brauer	1	21st September 2005 12:19 PM
If pitch correction devices DIDN'T exist?	chessparov	So much gear, so little time!	38	10th September 2005 06:09 AM