By Ismael AbduSalaam
Instead of scrambling to dismiss Jay-Z’s claims on “Death of AutoTune,” the technology’s creator Antares Audio is using the superstar’s stance for product advertisement.
Dubbed the “next generation” of professional pitch correction, Antares Audio has created Auto-Tune Evo.
The new technology immediately deciphers the pitch of any inputted information, and finds the closest match in the scale the user specifies for pitch correction.
Included are minor, major, chromatic, and 26 other historical and microtonal scales.
Other new features for the product are real-time pitch shifting, throat modeling (vocal character modification), a redesigned user interface, and many more.
Hailed as a breakthrough upon its 1997 release, the Auto-Tune primarily was utilized to correct pitch and phrasing mistakes made by singers in their vocal performances.
Through other settings, the device can also be used to create dramatic distortions of the human voice such as echoing, and the now-famous computerized vocal effect first heard on Cher’s 1998 hit “I Believe.”
In recent years, the device has come to dominate the charts after prominent use from hit songwriter T-Pain and Kanye West on his multi-platinum album 808s & Heartbreak.
The Auto-Tune is often confused with its predecessor the talkbox (used by Roger Troutman, Peter Frampton, and Bon Jovi).
That device modifies the sound of instruments when a musician uses different speech sounds via a tube inserted in their mouths.
Jay-Z has stated his new single was created due to the Auto-Tune’s oversaturation, culminating with the mogul hearing the effect used in a Wendy’s commercial.
In a new press release, their new product is dubbed the “unequivocal response” to Jay-Z’s claims, asserting the Auto-Tune effect will remain a staple of the music industry.
However, the company does not address whether their creation will continue to have a future as a robotic vocal effect, or simply return to its original use of pitch correction.
At press time, Jay-Z could not be reached for comment.