There are various versions that provide different levels of sophistication. Now Auto-Tune is available as a DAW plug-in and it is used widely by all sorts of vocalists and musicians. It was used as on the Cher song as a vocal effect rather than for pitch-correction. Cher Really Got Things StartedĪuto-Tune was introduced in 1997 and within a year it came to the world’s attention after being used (as everyone knows) on the Cher track “Believe”. It was originally built into hardware effects units and was designed to analyse audio signals and correct inaccurate pitches. It was invented by a former oil company engineer who had been using sound waves to detect underground oil deposits. What is Auto-Tune?Īuto-tune has become the generic term for any type of pitch-correction, and the effect might actually be produced by one of a range of devices.Īuto-Tune (with a capital “A” and “T”) is the brand name of the best-known pitch-correction system produced by Antares.Īntares Auto-Tune was the first effective pitch-correction device. Also, much of the time it’s not actually being used for pitch-correction. Auto-tune is a studio tool like many others that can help to make a track sound better. It’s as if you are suggesting their pitch is bad and needs correcting. Vocalists can also sometimes react badly if you suggest using auto-tune, or if they find out that you did use it on their vocal track. You will probably have heard people respond to a great vocal performance with, “yeah, but they’ve used auto-tune”, as if that’s cheating. There often seems to be some stigma attached to its use. The phrase “auto-tune” can have some negativity associated with it.