In The Ring: Trance vs Electro House

It's an all-out popularity contest!

Two intense, pumping genres with designed for repetition and danceability will fight it out in this blog... who will be the winner?

In the red corner; we have the old school standard Trance, bringing its euphoric melodies and immense synths since the early 1990s.

In the blue corner; we have new kid on the block Electro House, trading in euphoria for sexiness with downright slutty basslines and irresistibly catchy hooks.

Let the battle commence!

Roots

Start at the beginning; Trance music evolved from some seriously experimental, melodic Electronica in the 80s, but only began to be referred to as Trance music in the early 90s, when the genres Techno and House crashed into this experimental style.

The result was the start of Acid Trance - where arpeggiated synths had their filter cut-offs and resonance messed with until the producer had Repetitive Strain Injury from turning the knobs on his or her Roland TB-303 Synth.

This was a different take on electronic music, focusing on putting the listener in a - shock horror - trance, from repetitive beats and riffs that were generally more melodic than other conventional electronic music at the time.

Evolution of Trance

By the mid 90s, Trance had begun to go mainstream. The "Intro-break-build-anthem" formula became the convention and immense, unnecessarily epic lead lines joined pretty, often female vocals in defining the new wave of what became known as "Uplifting Trance".

The charts became pelted with trance music from producers such as Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold to name a few, cementing the genre in the mainstream for years to come.

As the 90s came to a close, Trance was no less popular but it was more diverse - it had had babies with Drum and Bass, Gabba (forming Hard Trance) and even metal, since the world had recognised the mass appeal of the genre.

Enter Electro House...

As 2000 began, the precursors to Electro House music were perfecting their technique. DJs such as Benny Benassi made the clubs shake with tracks like his anthemic "Satisfaction", the start of the portemento driven synthlines.

Dirty basslines began more and more to be put on top of the four-on-the-floor beats and by 2005, Electro House had thoroughly emerged.

2006 saw the first massive commercial success when Bodyrox released their single "Yeah Yeah" with vocalist "Luciana", featuring the sexy synth line doubling as the bass and lead and funky shuffling beat.

By about 2008, it was recognisable as one of the most popular genres of dance music, joining Trance music on the bandwagon of electronic music genres that had made it into the mainstream. It merged with Indie Rock Music in some cases and has blurred the lines between dance and alternative rock.

What's Next for them?

Trance Music continues to both diversify and stay in the limelight, with the biggest artists of the genre still selling out arenas and DJs like Calvin Harris taking to producing the Trance Sound.

However, the opposite is true too - DJs as big as Tiesto have decided to attempt the Electro House sound, with his album Kaleidoscope bringing the funky basslines and staccato lead synths in to replace the monolithic trance leads at times, even incorporating guitar into some tracks as is the current trend for Electro House.


Similarities and Differences

Their biggest similarity is their aim - they aim to get people moving to intense music. Pumping beats, painfully catchy synthlines and mainstream popularity link the genres.

The differences begin when you ask how they achieve their aim. Where Trance attempts to take people higher, with soaring sawtooth synths, Electro House takes people down into the gutter with unrelentingly sexy bass and a shuffle that cannot be resisted.

So who wins this fight? Is it the pure, epic Trance or the new, sexy Electro House?

To answer that you need to ask yourself - Do you want to make Music that's pure, epic and intense... or dirty, sexy and wild?

7 Deadly Synths

Every producer has their vices.

Whether it's using the same preset too much, using the same amount of swing on every song (I'm looking at at certain Swedish producer here) or playing russian roulette, there is sure to be something that tarnishes their image.

This article will take a look at the former.   7 of the most overused synth effects in the industry and the culprits that use them.

Here we go - The Seven Deadly Synths.

"Lust" - The PWM Synth

Synthful Sinner: Benny Benassi

What better synth for lust than the sexy sound of Electro House's self-proclaimed Daddy?

Benny Benassi has turned the knob for the Pulse Width Modulation in almost every one of his tunes and used side chain compression to make them pump more dynamically than those girls in his videos.

"Gluttony" - Vocoder

Synthful Sinner: Daft Punk

Daft Punk positively gorge themselves on formants, using their signature vocoded vocals on the vast majority of their hits.

Their bellies must be full of vowel-sounding synths and you can almost hear them throwing up in synth effects like the bass in "Technologic".

"Greed" - Portamento Sine Synth

Synthful Sinner: Dr Dre

Who better to represent greed than the Doctor that insists on hanging tight in the top 10 wealthiest rappers of all time after so many years.

His synth sound is that whiney portamento sine synth (or sometimes saw synth) that punctuates all his dopest beats, positively screaming out how rich he is.

"Sloth" - Detuned Saws

Synthful Sinner: Lil Jon

A million and one producers use this sound in genres from Trance to Hip Hop, but Lil Jon manages to take the title of sloth since he's just so lazy.

One synth riff, then the same riff an octave higher - that'll do for a song.   Hell, that'll do for an album... or even a career.   A couple of sawtooth waves slightly tuned apart to thicken it up and voila - instant powerful synth.

"Wrath" - Hardcore Kick Drum

Synthful Sinner: Angerfist

The nightmare of migraine sufferers the world over - the hardcore Gabba bass drum is so painfully distorted that it actually produces a clear note....

Yet producers like Angerfist insist on using it percussively to drive their tracks harder than Lewis Hamilton.

Your ears are sure to suffer the wrath of this harsh patch!

"Envy" - Echoey Pure lead

Synthful Sinner: Tiesto

How can you help but feel envious about his success?   He's been #1 DJ in the world, he's sold out massive venues and he's talented enough to write absolutely gorgeous trance music.   And it wouldn't be possible without that simple, pure sine lead he uses time and again in songs like "Just Be" and "Adagio for Strings".

"Pride" - Dirty Electro Bass

Synthful Sinner: Justice

I'm sure that having a crucifix as your logo makes you have at least a bit of a god complex.   Justice have ridden their overly distorted bass sound and their slap-bass funky electro house to success; perhaps they have good reason to be proud!

Analog vs. Digital

It's a battle of the recording titans!

Two audio recording types with a score to settle - it's vinyl versus CD - computers versus... uh... not computers.   Who will be the winner?

In the red corner we have Digital audio - the relative newcomer to the scene, appearing in the mid 1970s.   Weighing in with its affordability, versatility and plenty of other words that end in the suffix "-ility", it's sure to be a tough contender.

In the blue corner we have Analog audio - the old school veteran of the audio reproduction world, having existed since about 1860 in the form of the snappily-named "Phonautograph".   Weighing in with its vintage style, warm sound and physically heavy devices, it's not going down without a fight.

So with the introductions out of the way...

Let the battle commence!


In the beginning...

It all started with a clever man called Edouard-Leon Scott.   He got tired of listening to music and decided he wanted to see it - his efforts produced the "Phonautograph".   This was technically the first ever audio recording device, as it transcribed sound, but it was quite a while before anyone got to hear it, since the first play back from the transcription as audio was in 2008!

But as you probably know, there were some advances in technology between 1860 and 2008.   1880 brought about the Phonograph, an evolved version of Edouard's device thanks to all-around-genius Thomas Edison, giving birth to the recording industry.

As gramophone discs took hold in the 1920s, a convenient invention called a "microphone" came to light.   People stopped having to record by shoving their faces into horns which cut directly onto the discs (The good old days, eh?) and also around this time, polyvinyl chloride began to take precedence over Shellac in the production of the discs and Vinyl was born!

From then 'til the 1980s, vinyl reigned supreme, undergoing several improvements such as stereo recording and the advent of High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi) sound systems making things sound more like a quality audio reproduction and less like a piece of crap.

But then disaster struck for Analog...


The first Digital Recording

The first ever digitally recorded album was "Bop Till You Drop" by Ry Cooder, a Blues-y Rock album produced in 1978 on a spectacular 2-track digital recorder.

Popular digital recordings took off in the late 80s, when Compact Discs decided to come along and try to take over Vinyl's hold on the record industry.   At first, the quality of CDs was, to put it bluntly, rubbish.

It was thin and badly distorted, since the recordings often came from vinyl, but as the technology improved and the creases were smoothed out, CD eclipsed Vinyl in popularity since it had none of the clicks and pops and you didn't have to tread lightly when you were near a CD player.

However, some people still insisted, and still insist that Vinyl is better...


The attraction of vintage gear

The most commonly used descriptor is "Warmth".   Analog sound has a warm tone not found in Digital recordings, believed to be a result of signal compression which saturates the audio in a manner pleasing to your average audiophile's ear.

There is also the novelty, of course - Analog recording equipment is big, clunky, ungainly and, as a result, horrendously fun.

In fact, some popular artists insisted on sticking to Analog gear - Lenny Kravitz recorded his tracks on vintage equipment until 1998, when he first succumbed to the siren-like lure of Pro Tools.


Affordability

As the 90s rolled on and electronic equipment became more and more affordable, people found themselves able to record in their own homes for the first time without having to have the word "Baron" in front of their names and have the good fortune of a recently deceased wealthy uncle.

This was the final nail in the coffin for Analog - it just couldn't compete with the size difference; a computer versus a room full of expensive, complex equipment - not a difficult decision.   The affordability lead to accessibility; Digital recording opened up doors to millions of potential musicians, allowing them to produce music in their own time without Lenny Kravitz constantly telling them to hurry up (Quite possibly the biggest pitfall of Analog studios).


Oldies are Goodies...

Tape Saturation is one thing that Digital audio has been struggling to emulate for years - most people don't seem to think any plug in can offer quite the same warmth in the compression that a traditional Analog compressor, but modern digital tape saturation plug-ins such as the brilliantly named "FATSO" by Universal Audio have got pretty damn close.


The Winner...

Popularity-wise, Digital has quite considerably killed the Audio Star... But which side are you on?   Do you embrace the technological revolution and live for high-quality, low-priced, easy-to-use gear?   Or can't you live without the authentic warmth of a vinyl record?

Save Money in a Home Studio

Okay, it's been over a year and the effects of the credit crunch are still around us - people are starving in the street, unemployment is rife... but most importantly it's hard to buy what we need for a professional sounding home studio.

But do we need to buy it?   Here are 10 ways to save money in your home studio...

1. Sampled live kits - Sounds like an oxymoron, right?   Well you'd have to be an oxymoron to ignore how good some plug-ins have got at emulating live drums.   Who needs to spend thousands on drum mics when you can get the same thing for a fraction of the price with the convenience of a plug in?

2. Re-use old computers - A lot of DAWs now allow you to link up your old computer to take some of the processing strain off your main studio workstation - saves buying a new computer and gives you an excuse to reminisce about back in the old days when they had floppy disks!

3. Your girlfriend/mom won't be too pleased... - Who needs a pop shield when you can stretch a pair of tights over a coat hanger?   Adds that lovely rustic touch to a studio, don't ya think?

4. Amp Simulation plug ins - Why bother spending thousands on a quality amp when you can spend about a hundred and get some amazing amp simulations at your fingertips with the bonus of being able to change the tone easily after having recorded it?

5. Acoustics ashmoustics - Don't spend all that money on expensive acoustic treatment, close-miking is the way to go, and then add space with a plug-in on your DAW; Plug-ins sure are the order of the day!

6. Keep things tidy - How many leads have you broken in the past year?   More than you can count?   If so then stop buying a million new ones - invest in some studio-grade storage (some coat-hooks) and keep your leads tidy when you're not using them so you don't end up treading all over them!

7. Low budget mixing and mastering - Can't afford flat-response speakers?   Don't worry - just try your mix on everything you have access to!   It'll probably give you a better idea of how the track sounds anyway.

8. Brrrrr... - Is your computer still struggling with all these plug-ins?   A lot of new producers don't know they can freeze their tracks so the plug ins are written onto the audio, saving valuable processor time when your computer is desperately trying to show you your latest masterpiece!

9. Upgrade, don't replace - If you do need a better computer, try buying a better processor and some more RAM and fitting it yourself - there are video tutorials all over the internet teaching you how!

10. (No) Sound, mate! - If you want to acoustically treat your studio, try the old classic - egg cartons and carpet.   I know a friend who just asked at the local expo centre and got a warehouse's worth of carpet for free - being a bit resourceful can save a lot of money!

Drum n' Bass Drum Loops sample pack review video

Top 10 Hip Hop Production Techniques

Looking for some useful tips and tricks to make your Hip Hop hits hit harder than The Hulk?

Untie your tongue and test out these 10 techniques...

1. Don't afraid to be off the beat

Add some swing and you're sure to turn a conventional robotic drum machine beat into something a bit more bouncy. Remember - Hip Hop has a huge focus on the groove, so don't be afraid to try a few different values, but a swing of about 65% can add instant head-nod-ability to a drum track!

2. ...And again...

Multitracked Vocals beef up choruses and emphasise the best lyrics nicely, be sure to add in the one or two extra layers on top to give that big conventional rap vocal. Try panning those slightly left and right to widen up the vocal as well. However, if you're going for authenticity then you might want to either stick with the one track, or get a few different people to do gang vocals on those sections - Wu Tang have taught us that authentic hip hop can still sound sweet!

3. Sort out your samples

If you're wondering why your beat isn't powerful, it's probably because your beat isn't powerful! If you don't have some punchy samples in the first place then you'll never get the oomph you're looking for.

4. Creative Sampling

The most memorable Hip Hop tracks sample something memorable - the vocal clicks on Snoop's "Drop it like it's Hot", the cheesy little flute thing on Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'", the guitar in Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" (Hey wow, I managed to reference Vanilla Ice in a positive way somehow!) - It is all about making it catchy and interesting. Try picking out some unconventional instruments to add your own personality to the track... for example; are you into your metal? Chuck in some distorted guitar. Love oriental music? Get some koto on the go!

5. Perfection from imperfection

Most old school hip hop isn't perfect - there is a definite element of live authenticity to the tracks, from imperfectly timed one shots to dissonant melodies, sometimes what is conventionally wrong can add character to a beat!

6. Layer the Cake

One nice technique is to get your drum loop sample, then beef it up with single drum hits - an 808 here, a punchy clap-snare there... Your beat is much more powerful and hard hitting! Be careful to make sure that your beats match up to those on the loop though, if you've sampled a live track you might have to manually cut and move your drum hits to match the sampled loop! Some pieces of software such as Sonar and Pro Tools have "Snap to Transient" options available to speed this up nicely.

7. Drop it like it's hot

If you drop out elements of the mix to emphasize the vocal lines that will make people say "Ohhhhh!" or "Dayyyyum!" or "What you say 'bout my momma?!" then that will make them more of a focal point - a good hip hop track has the vocals playing off the beat and vice versa, rather than the vocal line and the music being two separate entities.

8. Compress it!

A small amount of compression on the beat and vocals can just bring the level up nicely, something like 2:1 compression at a threshold of -18dB does the job nicely, but for even heavier beats try 4:1 or even 8:1!

9. Wrap Up Warm...

Some warm mastering can really make the track sound professional, so give your beat the equivalent of a nice cuppa by boosting around 60hz and 2.5khz by about 4dB to bring out the kick and snare! Mmm... Toasty!

10. Chop it up!

Resampling your beat can add that element of authenticity - If you have access to an MPC or equivalent, run your beat into one and play around with it, chop it up, re-arrange it and even stutter it. Keeping the same beat all the way through is a brilliant way to waste an opportunity for keeping your listeners interested - this is a great way to add some variety without too much effort!

From CD to Download

Do you remember the days before the internet? Dark times, where people ran amok in the streets and the term "Be Kind, Rewind" was more than just a Jack Black comedy?

The only way people could get their fix of music at home short of playing it themselves was from CDs (or Tapes and Vinyl if you're old school). But then the world wide web came along and changed that...

Downloading Music

Downloads changed everything. Allowing people to get all the music they could ever want without having to leave their chair. The length and breadth of the internet made it possible to find things even more specific than ever before, meaning subgenres could thrive where they may have at one time died out from lack of a scene around them.

With Dial up meaning it took hours to download songs, CDs still clung on in there initially, but with CD sales declining, the music industry had to make the inevitable leap to downloads for their format. Especially with the advent of broadband internet connections.

Now people could download songs in seconds. Even people's cars weren't enough reason to buy CDs any more, with the vast majority of new vehicles allowing mp3 player input and the price of blank CDs being ever cheaper so people could just rip their own Mix CDs.

With this change in the industry, it was only a matter of time before records were broken...

Record Breakers

Downloads have reached ever increasing heights as the popularity of the music distribution medium grows. With Lady Gaga recently breaking records for number of downloads (over 700,000) for her singles as well as Kings of Leon jumping in there, it shows that from Pop to Rock, the whole industry has well and truly been accepted as an online-centric marketplace.

Popular artists Radiohead spent months deciding their bit rate so people wouldn't have to spend ages downloading their songs. They settled just between mp3 and CD quality, then allowed people to pay what they wanted to download their album. The average amount recieved was £7 - I can't imagine organising something like this with CD distribution.

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" was the first ever download-only single to hit the number one spot, proving that the charts weren't out of bounds for internet-based musicians. This was surely a turning point for the industry, when people began realising the potential of downloads.


Legal Issues

Of course, with things this freely available, everything is open for abuse - artists have had their music pirated more since the internet than ever before. Musicians like Metallica campagined against it, but this is one of those things you just can't fight - unless the entire internet is regulated (which, in all honesty, sounds like a) a really bad idea, b) impossible and c) something Hitler would do), people will always find a way to illegally spread music.

Some artists advocate it though - saying that it spreads their art further than it ever could. In fact, some internet-savvy musicians such as popular metal band "Periphery" give out music for free just so they get the fan base that will support them from Merch and Ticket sales.

There are also many sites who just wouldn't exist if it weren't for the ability to download music online...

iTunes - Simply the most popular online music marketplace. Thousands upon thousands of artists sell their merchandise, making a living off it - again, with the ability to find specific styles of music so easy, many artists would not be able to with only CDs at their disposal.

MySpace - Yes, it has the social networking side, but without the music side there's no chance the site would have taken off like it did - providing musicians with fans and fans with free music, everyone was happy.

Spotify - The new wave of music accessibility - pretty much all music for free. Streaming music through the Spotify client has become a simple way to access tunes with minimum effort searching and downloading.


So what does the future hold? Will things like Spotify replace iTunes? Will there always be a market for people wanting physical copies of their music, rather than having to stream or download it?

I guess in the next 10 years, when something even better inevitably pokes its head out of the music industry's framework and changes everything again, we'll have a whole new set of questions to ask!

Top 5 Tips for better mixes

Okay, so you've got your chart-topping single all composed.

The synths are catchy, the beats are interesting and the vocals are filled with sexual innuendo - but nothing seems to mesh!

Here are some tips on how to make your mixes mesh more...

1. One at a time

I've noticed a lot of beginner producers have everything blaring out and try and mix from there - you'll find it a lot easier to mute everything, then bring in each track one by one, mixing everything as it's added in.


2. Flat Response Speakers

If you can, grab yourself some speakers with a flat response - this means that they don't emphasise any frequencies.   For example, Hi-fi systems with subwoofers tend to boost the bass, so if you mix on them you'll find your mix is drowning in flabby bass!   Not everyone can afford these, however so the next best thing is to...


3. Get in the car!

Try your mix out everywhere.   In your car, in someone elseís car (make sure you get permission, you can get in a lot of trouble otherwise), on your desktop computer, on your laptop, in your headphones - everywhere.   You'll get a much better idea of what the song sounds like through a bunch of different systems.


4. Time out!

One of the most valuable bits of advice - if you've been mixing for hours and hours, STOP.   Come back in a few days - your ears need the rest so they can get some perspective!   You'll find you notice problems a lot more quickly and easily if you don't try and do it all in one go.


5. Doctor!   Can I get a second opinion?

Firstly - if you didn't instinctively think of Dr Dre as a producing doctor, minus 10 cool points for you.   Secondly, you can get those points back by asking a friend for their opinion - someone with no musical background and no qualms with being brutally honest is great in this situation, just sit them down and ask if they think it sounds professional.

If they do - sorted.   If not, then after crying about your hurt feelings for the next week, ask them what sounds out - try and help them with some suggestions if they're struggling since chances are they won't instinctively be able to say "The kick needs EQing to reduce the muddiness around the 100hz mark".

Top 10 Glitch House production techniques

Looking for some assistance with producing Glitch House, Deep House, Minimal or Tech House?   Look no further!

Here are 10 top techniques to transform your tracks into professional sounding pieces of art!

1. Heavy on the Reverb

With minimalistic Electronica, you need something to fill out the sound - reverb will help you to do just this.   Be careful, applying horrendous amounts of reverb to everything will just drown it and make it sound muddy, but a long decay tail on the high end frequencies of a sound will just make it fill out the track nicely.

2. Filtering

This is a staple technique in a lot of Glitch music, band pass on different percussive elements of the track to make them even more processed and artificial sounding, but also to give room for the more prominent parts of the track like some big atmospheric pads or a squelchy lead!

3. Gentle EQing

Gently boosting the low end around 80hz (Though this value obviously depends on your kick drum - search for a sweet spot that adds that punch!) can drive the track better, but don't overproduce it - this genre isn't about pounding bass drums!

4. Panning for effect

Drawing from its association with ambient music, a nice technique for glitch producers is to pan things hard left or right to make them more interesting - especially useful for some glitchy, stuttery hats or blips!

5. It's called "Minimal" for a reason

Don't overdo it!   You might feel the need to layer many synths on top of each other if you've come from a trance or conventional house background, but you just have to make a few synths count in this genre.

6. Be imaginative with your percussion

The beauty of Glitch House is that you can use anything.   I've heard anything from mouse clicks to human breaths to drowned cats (Well, it sounded like that...) in these tracks, so I'm sure you can use your imagination (And not offend the RSPCA) to come up with some intriguing beats!

7. Reverse Reverb

Always a nice effect for atmospheric tracks - freeze a sound that has reverb on it, copy and reverse it and make it lead up to the initial hit.   It'll add tension to the sound and build up a bit more to those bigger, more lush sections.

8. Wide Load

Width is vital in this type of music - use a stereo imager to widen up the high end.   Keep the low end tight though, or you'll end up with a muddy mess!

9. Clever syncopation

With a small amount of percussion you have to be creative to make things interesting - put things on the offbeat, use triplets, try some polyrhythms... hell, try some different time signatures if you dare to be different.   If you use the same percussion all the way through, your track will be lacking.   Some unusual fills and loops will keep your listener engaged.

10. Make the synths matter

As with the percussion, you've got to make the melodic elements matter.   Make sure your pads are doing their job and are as lush as possible by giving them a several octave spread to cover the bass and high end - if there's only one or two synth sounds, they'll need to cover for all the other sounds you're missing!   (Unless you're going seriously minimalistic, in which case filter away to your heart's content!)

The Re-Birth of Autotune

If you have had your ear to the charts in the past 5 years you'll probably not have heard a single incorrectly sung note.

Autotune has become an intrinsic part of modern pop music, whether it's used subtly or whether it's heaped on with a T-Pain shaped ladle; it's been correcting inaccuracies for a long time.

But what's brought it back?   And where did it come from in the first place?   Let's ask some questions...


What is it exactly?

I suppose this is the best place to start - Auto tune was initially created by Antares Audio Technologies - First brought into the DAWs of producers in 1997, the Plug-in revolutionised the industry.   It also brought to light a new effect that artists could use on their voice.   One of the first to do so was...


Cher and the Birth of Autotune

Many people still call auto-tune the "Cher Effect" after Cher used it on her 1998 single "Believe" which brought the effect into the public's eye.   This was the first time that the effect had been used so prominently and people wanting to know what the effect was were told by the sound engineers they'd used a vocoder - they were trying to keep auto tune a trade secret!

But as with most big secrets, they aren't kept for long...


The Decline of Autotune

For the next few years the charts were hit by artists using the effect.   The Pop music industry eventually stopped using the effect quite as prominently as Cher had previously, but still used it subtly to correct vocals and even to add harmonies to existing vocal lines without having to re-record the vocals (companies like Melodyne brought new industry standards to auto-tuning software...)


The ReBirth of Autotune

2005 rolled round and a little known rapper from the amusingly titled group "Nappy Headz" was noticed by popular artist "Akon".   This rapper had dreams of being a singer and his dream came true - T-Pain graced the charts with his hit songs "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)".

What he lacked in tact for song titles, he made up in auto-tuned vocals.   This hit the pop music world hard, with ripples hitting rappers who wanted to be singers from Snoop Dogg with his single "Sexual Eruption" to Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" to Kanye West with "Love Lockdown".

It wasn't just rappers either - the effect has been used by popular singers with the same quick-correction technique since then.   It's got to the point where some people think it's too much - Jay-Z went so far as to make the single "Death of Autotune" as an expression of his distaste at the overuse of the effect.

But this hasn't stopped the wave of artists using it.   Everyone from Britney Spears to Country singers has used the technique - it is now a vital part of pop music and it doesn't show any sign of stopping.


The Future of Autotune

Melodyne has recently released their "DNA" software for beta testing.   DNA in this case stands for "Direct Note Access" - basically, it allows for tuning individual notes within an audio recording of multiple notes - for instance, a guitar chord can now have just one of the notes within it changed.

Does this spell a whole new era of re-using existing audio?   Theoretically, all you need is one guitar chord and you can make any guitar riff you want now - especially with the advent of mind-boggling time stretching techniques with the new wave of audio sequencers.   It won't just be voices being manipulated; session musicians are going to have a hard time getting studio work if this plays out.

Or maybe the industry will go into a decline again?   After the auto tune effect has been used so heavily, perhaps it's time for an artist to step up to the plate and advocate the use of authentic vocals, or at least go back to the early 2000s where there was a more subtle use of the effect.

Either way, chances are auto tune will stick around in one way or another - with technology such as DNA pushing it even further, I guess you have to ask yourself - do you want to be authentic with your audio or will you harness the power of these boundary-pushing plug ins?