Poll: Your view on auto-tune

[Ham_authority95]

I imagine these modern rappers would get decimated in a singing contest against people like Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, The Bee Gees, etc if auto-tune wasn't there.

Of course rappers will loosing in a singing contest, because they are rappers, not singers. People like T-pain only use it as an effect, not to make themselves seem like actual singers, but if they wanted to, they wouldn't turn the pitch correction all the way up(which I will address below).

The Auto-tune device isn't anything new, its been used for decades and was an industry secret until Cher released the following song:
After that song, it more and more people started to like the effect.

The Auto-tune device doesn't even naturally sound like that(which is how the industry kept it a secret for so long), its just that people have started to turn the "correction" all the way up to 90%, which makes it "snap" to the nearest pitch, making the robotic effect we all know.

 

[Lyx]

I have only ever heard one single song with autotuned vocals, that i actually liked. And that was because it was used specifically for that single song to amplify the meaning and feel of it (the group never used it for any other song). And that was from a time when it wasn't popular yet.

So yeah, shoot it, then cut it to pieces with a chainsaw, then shoot it some more, then kill it again with fire, and then put the remains into a toxic waste dumb.

 

[Joe Deadman]

This just about makes up for the horrible sins of auto-tune:

Spoiler: Glorious Dawn

Otherwise though yeah it sucks.

 

[dfphetteplace]

I really hate that it is used by people who cannot sing and use it to make it sound like they can sing. I don't mind vocoders, as they sound interesting when used correctly and by the right people. Cynic comes to mind, as they are incredibly awesome.

 

[joe90]

It seems to have come from a generation of music listeners using their terrible mobile phone speakers to listen to dance music. It won't be around forever, as once a sound becomes over-commercialised, new artists will release music that sounds different, until their sound becomes the norm, and they change again.

 

[Idiotastic]

Yeah,I'll go with the die with fire option.
But I'm sure it'll eventually start to lose appeal to most mainstream listeners.
[small] Or at least I hope so. [/small]

 

[black_omega2]

Eh, I guess it can be used well from time to time, but it's way too overused nowadays.
What we need to do is use more vocoders.
vocoders vocoders vocoders
Man vocoders are awesome. :3

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

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I just see it as a tool for artists to use. So long as they use it creatively then its good useful. Sure it can be used to create crap, but then of course the same can be said for any other instruments used in music (guitars, distortion, drums, microphones, samplings, etc.).

Looking over the responses so far, I think people seem to forget that... Blame the user, not the tool.

 

[TheLiham]

My view on the subject. If you can't make music without the aid of computers. Don't make fucking music! Unluckily there is barely anyone on the radio who do play their own instruments and now they aren't even using their voices ¬¬

 

[josemlopes]

It is ok if used properly. Most of the times it isnt...

 

[Jackhorse]

Auto tune is a tool that can be used for the same banal merchandisable crap that is assured to sell well or it can be used to add layers to a singers voie for greater effect. The key word with it is refinement, if the artist uses it to enhance the song but not merely as the be all and end all of the ditty I have no objection to it.

 

[Eumersian]

I don't mind it if it's used as a special effect or something. Vocoders can be very handy, and auto tuning a voice can sound interesting. But special effects lose all of their charm when they become overused and thus, no longer special.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Singers really need to stop using it, it's annoying. It just masks the fact that you can't bloody sing, and I do realize that some singers that use it can sing just fine, but stop. It's a cheap gimmick and it just makes the music sound boring, cheap, and uninteresting. /rant

That said, I do love me some auto-tune the news, that's just hilarious stuff. Build a turtle fence!

 

[AwesomeExpress]

I'm pretty sure htat I don't like any of it, but maybe there's a techno song that uses it that I like the song.. but I can't think of anyone that I like that uses it, so I'm going to say that until I hear a song that I like that uses it, that I don't like it.

 

[Zeekar]

Don't care. I can think of at least one artist that uses it where I am a tentative fan, so it can be ok, i guess. In most cases, though, it's a crutch rather than an "instrument".

I will say that it makes me yearn for the days when people actually singing meant something.

 

[CrashBang]

Autotuning is interesting because it's caused already fairly poor pop music to become simply 100% awful pop music. However, combine it with clever instrumentals and song structures and you get a song/band which turns ordinary rock on it's head. Enter Shikari are my prime example, they use synths and autotuning to spice up music which is already well-made and fun. Bring Me The Horizon used it on their newest album as well and it sounds great

So it's both good and evil...
It's good because it's another tool which smart musicians can use to spice up their sound
It's evil because it has become the new generic sound for pop, meaning the pop music industry can now churn out more and more awful generic music because the singers no longer need to even be gifted at singing. It's also used extremely unimaginatively and is completely relied upon all of the time

 

[newwiseman]

Like everything else, It's only a good thing when used in moderation.

 

[Outright Villainy]

It has its uses.


As well as auto tune the news and the like.

Would I give those up if it meant getting rid of it completely though?
Fuck yes. It's just a crutch for poor musicians these days, and even when used subtly, it just makes it sound way too artificial and polished.

And don't get me started on the monstrosity that is ke-dollar-ha.

 

[Something Amyss]

It's a tool. It's not inherrently evil, it's just used for evil most of the time.

 

[Taldeer]

Some people use it or things like it in a very creative way. I'm thinking Imogen Heap and especially Laurie Anderson (who invented an equivalent, the so-called Talking Stick, back in the day). But then again, Laurie is not so much a singer as a performance artist, artist being the operative word. Bottom line, it's a tool just like any other. Some are very good with it and have figured out exactly what should be done with its help, others... not so much.

But think about it this way: in the 70s punks didn't tune their guitars and basses and coined that as a cool thing to do, replacing musical skill and talent with attitude and ferocity. How many people must've said what they're doing is an abomination? As an avant-guarde phenomenon, it was bound to be thoroughly detested, but given time, people started to build on it, and we got The Cure and R.E.M.. I'm not trying to say that Ke$ha or whatever her name is spelled like is a torchbearer of musical genius, I just think that, eventually, there's a chance some smart, creative, wonderful people will come along and nail it for all of our enjoyment!