Hardtune block / tab – TC-Helicon VoiceLive 3 - Reference Manual User Manual
Page 60
Editing the Vocal layer
VoiceLive 3 – Reference manual (2014-03-29) 58
HardTune block / tab
This effect has become very, very common in
recent years. Most people remember when Cher
released the song “Believe”, featuring the first
commercially represented use of heavy and ro-
botic-sounding pitch correction.
Since the release of “Believe”, there have been
many advances in pitch correction technology,
allowing both extreme and subtle or transparent
vocal correction. It’s a misnomer to only equate
vocal pitch correction with AutoTune™ and T-
Pain™. Subtle use of pitch correction is a staple
of almost every recording, and many live perfor-
mances too.
A neat little bit of music history: The Beatles
used pitch correction on their albums! How?
Back then, a control called “VariSpeed” on their
tape recorders was used to manipulate the play-
back speed – and therefore the pitch of recorded
material. Often, it was done for effect, but Va-
riSpeed was used for all sorts of purposes.
It’s fun to keep that fact in mind when people
disparage modern music for its use of pitch cor-
rection or any other effect or recording tech-
nique. The Beatles used every tool available to
them at the time, just like today’s musicians do!
Here is an interesting article about the Beatles
and their use of VariSpeed:
Tips and tricks for working
with the HardTune effect
– When you want the “HardTune” sound, choose
the “Pop” style.
– It takes some practice to sing the right way
and get the most out of HardTune. Practice
sliding and gliding from note to note, in order
to emphasize the jumps in pitch provided by
the “Pop” setting. After a while, you will be
able to enhance the effect as you sing.
– When you are using HardTune with a wedge
monitor or in-ear monitors (IEMs), it’s totally
normal to hear some “phasing” type sounds
as your natural voice interacts with the cor-
rected voice output from VoiceLive 3.
Check out this Craig’s Corner video for more
about phasing:
– If you would like subtle correction that still re-
spects any key/scale you have set for Harmo-
ny, try the “Correct Natural” style.
– To emulate some of the effects used on the
Beatles recordings, try the “Gender Bender”
style and turn the Gender control down a few
clicks to slightly lower the sound of your voice.
– Any time the HardTune effect is active, Global
Pitch Correction settings in the Setup menu
are temporarily overwritten. When the Hard-
Tune effect is turned off, any settings from
Global Pitch Correction will reactivate.