In this free extract from Ill Factor Start To Finish from PureMix we see how a producer and artist can collaborate and refine improvised vocal ideas in the studio. The producer, rather than directing the vocalist or singing ideas back to the artist, can use a tuning plugin and a MIDI keyboard to manipulate the pitch of a take in real time.
The video extract is from a point in the production where Jared, the artist, has recorded a number of melodic possibilities for the lead vocal. Ill Factor wants to try out some ideas he has for tweaking some of them, and he uses Waves Tune Real-Time’s MIDI input feature to do so. He points out that you could also use other pitch-correction plug-ins that recognize incoming MIDI—for example, Antares Auto-Tune Pro.
He’s working in Ableton Live, but this technique should work in any DAW, although the setup may differ, depending on the program. The idea is to route MIDI input into the pitch-correction plug-in, which you’ve inserted on the vocal track.
In Live, Ill Factor creates a MIDI track and sets its output to the track called Ruff Vox, and once he does, the inputs for Waves Tune Real-Time show up right underneath, and he selects the Channel 1 input.
To read more about this technique head over to the PureMix Blog.
Watch as ill Factor and Jared Evan:
Introduce Jared Evan and give their backstory with Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Douglass, and Interscope records
Discuss the main idea of the song
Breaks down the vocal recording chain and process
Talk about not using a vocal booth
Record the initial rough vocal ideas as they flow, capturing every thought for further exploration
Create alternate chord progressions for other portions of the song based on the vocal ideas happening in real-time
How Do I Watch Ill Factor Start To Finish
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