A long time has passed since the original 1997 Auto-Tune plugin, so we’re going to take a look at the best autotune plugins you can buy for subtle and extreme pitch correction.
Since its inception, pitch correction plugins have undergone huge transformations, adding new features and effects whilst improving algorithms for even more flexibility. Whilst this is the most obvious and noticeable use of pitch correction, almost every record you hear has gone through pitch correction to polish performances to meet the standards of modern productions. This track helped popularise the extreme use of the tool, giving vocals the classic hard-tuned effect that we know so well in modern pop. Though it was originally developed for the subtle nudging of pitches, it’s most famously recognised from Cher’s blockbuster hit “Believe”, released in 1998.
Colloquially adopted into mainstream conversation, autotune is used interchangeably to mean pitch correction software.Īutotune works by utilising phase vocoders, pitch detection algorithms, and pitch-shifting algorithms, which allow you to manually or automatically adjust the pitch of individual notes in a performance. Invented by Dr Andy Hildebrand and debuted at the 1997 NAMM show, the term “autotune” actually refers to the first version of the Antares Auto-Tune software that he developed. The term “autotune” is one of the few musical phrases which has become a household word.
