Aug 27, 2018  A Retune Speed control lets you match the retune rate to virtually any performance style as well as create the iconic Auto-Tune Vocal Effect. For meticulous pitch and time editing, Auto-Tune 7's Graphical Mode displays the performance's detected pitch envelope and allows you to modify pitch and timing with a variety of easy-to-use graphics tools.

(Last Updated On: April 4, 2020)

Some of the popular musicians are using auto-tune in the industry. This helps to correct the pitch of the singer’s voice. It can be used to make a good singer sound better. But when it is overused, it may cause some issues. In this article, you will learn how to auto-tune in Logic Pro X.

Auto-tuning

Autotune is software that was created by the Antares, and the name has been in use since the software was launched. Auto tuning is pitch correction. This process is simple in Logic Pro X. auto tuning can be done in three ways: Pitch correction tool, Flex pitch, and external plugins.

Pitch correction tool

This is the simplest method of making vocals sound more on key and in tune. This is Logic’s built-in Pitch correction tool.

How To Auto Tune Logic Pro X

Flex pitch

Flex pitch is an important tool for correcting pitch, one note at a time. You can drag and drop each note to where you want. The tool is flexible and simple to use.

Before you start using flex pitch, you may want to disable the pitch correction tool. This can be done by clicking the power icon next to the audio FX list. You can also click the up-down arrows next to the tool and select no plugin.

Play a track and listen if there is a difference. You will notice a slight improvement in the pitch of the vocals.

How To Use Auto-tune Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X offers different ways to ensure that the vocals are in-pitch, and sound better than before. Though, the fact is, you can’t beat a naturally talented singer.

Most people confuse the Auto-tune term, software made by the Antares. The software is used by professionals to enhance their vocals and make them better. And auto-tuning is the act of pitch correction. As mentioned above, auto-tuning in logic Pro X can be done by using the Pitch Flex or pitch correction tool.

One of the most popular vocal effects plug-ins used over the past couple of years has to be Auto-tune. Listen to T-Pain and Cher and a whole host of other contemporary musicians and you'll probably know what I'm referring to. Yes, it's that warbling pitched effect on vocals that you either love, hate, love to hate... or hate to love.

Auto-Tune was designed to correct intonation and pitch issues without introducing artifacts on solo instruments and vocals. However, like almost every 'correction' based plug-in it's used in a creative way to subtly, or drastically, alter the vocalist's pitch and introduce a synthetic feel to the sound.

Rather than rush out and buy Auto-Tune (which you might like to do anyway), Logic has the tools built-in to emulate this effect. Read on to find out how...

Step 1 - Pick a Sound or Two

For this tutorial I've chosen a couple of Apple Loops included with Logic Studio, Mikal Lyric 41 and Rachel Lyric 01, and placed them on an Audio Track. You can use your own vocal performance or any loop you wish.

Here's what they sound like in their dry unaltered states:

Step 2 - Find the Key

Bear in mind that whatever loop or audio file you use, it's a good idea to know the key it was created in. The Mikal Lyric doesn't have key information as it was designed to be a spoken word loop and the Rachel Lyric loop is sung in the key of C.

Step 3 - Logic's Built-in Auto-Tune

There's really only one plug-in you need to use in Logic to create the basic T-Pain effect. It's called Pitch Correction. Click on an empty Insert slot on the Audio track's channel strip and choose: Pitch > Pitch Correction > Stereo / Mono (depending on whether you are using a mono or stereo audio file).

Step 4 - Pitch Correction Basics

The Pitch Correction plug-in can look a little daunting at first. We don't need to go in to tremendous depth here, but if you want to find out more about it check out videos 24 and 25 from the 'Logic 7 202' tutorial. The plug-in GUI hasn't changed since Logic 7, so it definitely worth a look!

Back to our T-Pain effect... Here is what the default settings on the interface look like:

Like most of Logic's plug-ins it has an input, a middle/filter section and an output area. Focus the left area if the interface (Use Global Tuning). This area determines whether we'll use the current project settings to apply any pitch correction to. We'll leave that unaltered in this tutorial.

• The Scale and Root area allow us to choose the different pitch quantization grids and the root note of the scale respectively.
  
• The Keyboard basically allows us to choose a note we don't want to be pitch-corrected. So you can think of this middle section like a filter area.
  
• The CorrectionAmount display at the bottom of the interface shows how much pitch correction is being applied in real-time.
  
• The Response slider is like the attack setting on a synth. It determines how quickly the pitch correction will be applied to the incoming audio signal.
  
• Finally, the Detune slider then allows us to detune the output by a desired amount.
  

Notice how the audio signal passes from left to right in this plug-in? This is fairly standard across most of Logic's plug-ins and is a good way to figure out the basics of some of Logic's more intimidating plug-in interfaces.

Step 5 - Scale and Root

Previously I mentioned knowing the key of your vocal loop/file. Well, in my case, at least with the Rachel Lyric loop, the key is in C.

Click on the Scale pop-up and choose 'Major Scale'. Next click on the Root pop-up and choose C or whatever key your vocal performance is in.

Step 6 - Response and Detune

To get close to the T-Pain and Cher Auto-Tune effect pull the Response slider right down to 0.00ms. This will cause the pitch correction to kick in immediately.

Play around with the Detune setting. For the loops I'm working with, I found that somewhere between +10 and +20 produces the effect I'm looking for.

This is what the original loops sound like with the Pitch Correction applied:

In the first sample, you can hear a lot of pitch correction being applied to the word 'rhymes'. And the second sample's 'feelit' has a distinct Auto-Tune style effect too. It might be a good idea to reduce the amount the signal that's being detuned and play around with the Root and the Keyboard'sbypass notes to get a more impressive sounding result.

Step 7 - Xtra Tips

Try out these extra tips for more auto-tuning fun:

• Try recording your own vocal performance with some longer sustained words
• Let your vocals purposefully glide slightly lower or higher than intended
• Add Automation to the Detune setting
• Add Logic's Chorus plug-in to the Channel Strip for a fuller sound
• Apply Pitch Correction to drums, percussion and other sounds. Listen to the Synthesizer loop 014 below (dry and then pitch corrected) as an example of how to create some wacky sounds!

Logic Autotune Plugin

Be sure to check out the Logic tutorials here to learn even more.