AVP-1 Antares Vocal Producer Owner's Manual ©2002 Antares Audio Technologies. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All names of microphone manufacturers and microphone model designations appearing in this manual are used solely to identify the microphones analyzed in the development of our digital models and do not in any way imply any association with or endorsement by any of the named manufacturers. Antares Audio Technologies 231 Technology Circle Scotts Valley, California 95066 USA voice: (831) 461-7800 fax: (831) 461-7801 email: info@antarestech.com web: www.antarestech.com Printed in USA Rev 1.2 01/2002 ii Contents Getting Started Welcome Technical Support v vi Introducing the Antares Chapter 1 Vocal Producer AVP Overview Auto-Tune Pitch Correction Antares Microphone Modeling Understanding Compression What is a De-Esser? Equalization 2 3 7 8 15 15 Setting Up Chapter 2 Setting up the AVP is easy 20 Panel Controls and Connectors Chapter 3 The front panel The back panel 21 24 Operation Chapter 4 Live or mixdown? Patching the AVP into your system Controls and Display Screens Master Module Microphone Modeler Module Auto-Tune Module Compressor/Gate Module De-Esser Module Equalizer/Output Module 25 25 28 28 40 45 48 51 53 iii Get Creative Chapter 5 Appendix Factory Presets Realistic Mic Modeling Expectations 58 60 64 Specifications Index 66 68 iv Welcome! On behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, we'd like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the Antares Vocal Producer. Before you proceed any farther, we'd like to strongly encourage you to fill out and return the AVP-1 registration card. To make it as easy as possible, we've included a sticker with your serial number already attached to the card. It's probably a good idea also to write it in your manual for future reference. As an AVP-1 owner, you are entitled to receive notification of any software upgrades, technical support, and advance announcements of upcoming products. But we can't send you stuff unless we know who and where you are. So please, send that card in. At Antares, we are committed to excellence in quality, customer service, and technological innovation. With your purchase of the AVP-1, you have created a relationship with Antares which we hope will be long and gratifying. Let us know what you think. You can count on us to listen. Again, thanks. The Whole Antares Crew v Technical Support In the unlikely event that you experience a problem using your Antares Vocal Producer, try the following: 1. Make another quick scan through this manual. Who knows? You may have stumbled onto some feature that you didn't notice the first time through. 2. Check our web page for tips, techniques, or any late-breaking information: www.antarestech.com 3. Call your local Antares dealer. 4. Call us at (831) 461-7800 Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm USA Pacific Standard Time. 5. Email us at: techsupport@antarestech.com For options 3, 4 and 5, please be prepared to provide the serial number of your Vocal Producer. vi Chapter 1: Introducing the Antares Vocal Producer How to use this manual The Antares Vocal Producer (henceforth referred to as the AVP) has a very friendly user-interface and is extraordinarily easy to use. However, to get the full benefit of its capabilities, we recommend that you give this manual at least a quick once over. If the AVP is your first experience with vocal signal processing, you'll find a brief introduction to the theory and application of the various processing modules in this chapter. (More in-depth information can be found in a variety of books on recording technique and periodically in recordingoriented magazines like Electronic Musician, EQ, Mix, Recording,and Home Recording, among others.) If you're already familiar with the functions and uses of basic studio signal processors (compressor, gate, de-esser, EQ, etc.), you can go straight to Chapter 4 to see how they are implemented in the AVP. On the other hand, unless you have experience with Auto-Tune and Antares Microphone Modeler, it's probably wise to at least read the background information on those features in Chapter 1. The contents of this manual Chapter 1: Introducing the Antares Vocal Producer The chapter you are reading. It provides an overview of the AVP as well as background information on Auto-Tune pitch correction and Antares Microphone Modeling. It also includes an introduction to basic concepts in compression, expansion, gating, de-essing, and parametric equalization. Chapter 2: Setting Up the Antares Vocal Producer How to get the AVP up and running. Chapter 3: Controls and Connectors This chapter provides a reference for all of the controls, displays and connectors on the AVP's front and back panels. 1 Chapter 4: Operation This is a guide to all of the features and functions of the AVP. If you're only going to read one chapter, this is the one. Chapter 5: Creative Applications for the AVP Some cool, but not-so-obvious stuff you can do with the AVP. Antares Vocal Producer Overview The heart of any great song is a great vocal sound. With the Antares Vocal Producer, we've combined our world-renowned Auto-Tune Pitch Correction and TEC-Award-winning Microphone Modeler technologies with state-of-the-art vocal processing modules to give you everything you need to create stunning vocal tracks in any musical style. Live or in the studio, the AVP lets you instantly select from a library of sounds. From gorgeously mellow to seriously twisted, we've included factory presets for a wide variety of vocal styles as well as an interface that makes it easy to create your own signature sounds. (And given the power and flexibility of the AVP's processing modules, we've even included a selection of presets for instrumental and percussion tracks.) The Antares Vocal Producer features: · Auto-Tune Real-time Pitch Correction Antares's world-renowned AutoTune technology lets you correct the pitch of vocals (or solo instruments), in real time, without distortion or artifacts, while preserving all of the expressive nuance of the original performance. · Antares Microphone Modeling Our TEC Awarding-winning Microphone Modeler technology lets you give your vocal tracks the characteristics of a variety of high-end studio mics as well as adjust the proximity effect associated with mic distance. · Analog Tube Modeling Gives your vocals the warmth of a classic tube preamp. · Variable Knee Compressor A state-of-the-art dynamics processor with threshold, ratio, attack and decay controls as well as a continuously variable knee characteristic. · Downward Expanding Gate The AVP's gate, with threshold and ratio controls, works independently of the compressor to eliminate noise and breath sounds. · Variable Frequency De-Esser The AVP's de-esser tames vocal sibilance with threshold, ratio, attack and decay controls as well as a variable highpass frequency to match any vocal performance. 2 · Flexible Parametric EQ You can fine-tune your vocal sound with two independent bands of equalization that let you select from 6dB or 12dB high or low cut, high or low shelving with variable slope, bandpass, notch and fully parametric peaking. · Automatic Mono or Stereo Double Tracking You can automatically mix a doubled track into the AVP's main output or route it to a separate output for post-processing and mixing. · Fully Programmable Once you've created the perfect vocal sound for a particular track, every parameter can be saved as a preset for instant recall. · Factory Presets for a Wide Variety of Vocal Styles The AVP comes outof-the-box with an extensive collection of factory presets for a variety of vocal styles. (We've even included a selection of presets for instrumental and percussion tracks.) · MIDI Automation Every variable module parameter can be controlled via MIDI continuous controllers for realtime automation. · Really Easy To Use No scrolling though endless menus to find the parameter you want. Virtually every major function is only a single button press away. Read on for the details. Auto-Tune Pitch Correction In 1997, Antares first introduced the ground-breaking Auto-Tune Pitch Correcting Plug-In for ProToolsTM (eventually followed by most other plugin formats). Here was a tool that actually corrected the pitch of vocals and other solo instruments, in real time, without distortion or artifacts, while preserving all of the expressive nuance of the original performance. Recording Magazine called Auto-Tune a "Holy Grail of recording." And went on to say, "Bottom line, Auto-Tune is amazing... Everyone with a Mac should have this program." In fact, we know of quite a few people who bought kilo-buck ProTools systems just to be able to run Auto-Tune. The AVP's Auto-Tune module is a hardware implementation of our AutoTune pitch correcting software. Like Auto-Tune, the AVP employs state-ofthe-art digital signal processing algorithms (many, interestingly enough, drawn from the geophysical industry) to continuously detect the pitch of a periodic input signal (typically a solo voice or instrument) and instantly and seamlessly change it to a desired pitch (defined by any of a number of user-programmable scales). 3 A little bit about pitch Pitch is typically associated with our perception of the "highness" or "lowness" of a particular sound. Our perception of pitch ranges from the very general (the high pitch of hissing steam, the low pitch of the rumble of an earthquake) to the very specific (the exact pitch of a solo singer or violinist). There is, of course, a wide range of variation in the middle. A symphony orchestra playing a scale in unison, for example, results in an extremely complex waveform, yet you are still able to easily sense the pitch. The vocalists and the solo instruments that the AVP is designed to process have a very clearly defined quality of pitch. The sound-generating mechanism of these sources is a vibrating element (vocal chords, a string, an air column, etc.). The sound that is thus generated can be graphically represented as a waveform (a graph of the sound's pressure over time) that is periodic. This means that each cycle of waveform repeats itself fairly exactly, as in the periodic waveform shown in the diagram below: Because of its periodic nature, this sound's pitch can be easily identified and processed by the AVP. Other sounds are more complex. This waveform: is of a violin section playing a single tone. Our ears still sense a specific pitch, but the waveform does not repeat itself. This waveform is a summation of a number of individually periodic violins. The summation is nonperiodic because the individual violins are slightly out of tune with respect to one another. Because of this lack of periodicity, Auto-Tune would not be able to process this sound. Some pitch terminology The pitch of a periodic waveform is defined as the number of times the periodic element repeats in one second. This is measured in Hertz (abbreviated Hz.). For example, the pitch of A3 (the A above middle C on a piano) is traditionally 440Hz (although that standard varies by a few Hz. in various parts of the world). 4 Pitches are often described relative to one another as intervals, or ratios of frequency. For example, two pitches are said to be one octave apart if their frequencies differ by a factor of two. Pitch ratios are measured in units called cents. There are 1200 cents per octave. For example, two tones that are 2400 cents apart are two octaves apart. The traditional twelvetone Equal Tempered Scale that is used (or rather approximated) in 99.9% of all Western tonal music consists of tones that are, by definition, 100 cents apart. This interval of 100 cents is called a semitone. How Auto-Tune detects pitch In order for Auto-Tune to automatically correct pitch, it must first detect the pitch of the input sound. Calculating the pitch of a periodic waveform is a straighforward process. Simply measure the time between repetitions of the waveform. Divide this time into one, and you have the frequency in Hertz. The AVP does exactly this: It looks for a periodically repeating waveform and calculates the time interval between repetitions. The pitch detection algorithm in the AVP is virtually instantaneous. It can recognize the repetition in a periodic sound within a few cycles. This usually occurs before the sound has sufficient amplitude to be heard. Used in combination with a slight processing delay (no greater than 4 milliseconds), the output pitch can be detected and corrected without artifacts in a seamless and continuous fashion. The AVP was designed to detect and correct pitches up to the pitch C6. If the input pitch is higher than C6, the AVP will often interpret the pitch an octave lower. This is because it interprets a two cycle repetition as a one cycle repetition. On the low end, the AVP will ...