Because autotune is used by no-talent hacks.

Now, Prince has lumped himself in with no-talent hacks. He did NOT need this association.

Nobody is using auto-tune any more to correct poor singing. Nobody.

Why? Because there are superior pitch correction plugins now, and you can't even tell when people are using them. They correct pitch flawlessly without any digital artifacts (which is what the Auto-Tune "effect" is, people ramping up the digital artifacts on purpose in that plugin)

Hell, the latest software can even break apart and pitch correct guitar chords. You could literally put your fingers anywhere on the fretboard, strum it, record it, and move it all to the correct chords afterwards. It's insane.

Anyway, it's not like we think Prince can't sing. So his creative choice to use the autotune effect is absolutely fine with me. Whenever he's used it it's because it suits the song.

I stipulate that most of the people who have a problem with him using it on "U Know" are the same people who don't like the song in the first place. So with all due respect, I have no interest in their position on the matter with regard to that song. Why would anyone care about anyone's opinion about the mixing or production choices of a song they don't even like?

To me - The Camille voice was different. It hadnt really been done before, i don't think. Prince created a whole alter ego(s?) just through changing his voice. Like when he spoke through the microphone that changed his voice when he sang Bob George on the lovesexy tour. (Although that did actually confuse me, because he says 'its camille!' in that song, but the camille voice had been portrayed as a high pitched female-like voice in earlier songs). But yeah, the 'original' Camille voice was different.

I guess people arent keen on the autotune P is using because of it's use in popular music these days and also because it just doesnt sound like his normal singing voice. People keep saying that he's possibly doing it to appeal to the mainstream, but maybe it could be because he wanted to keep with the 'art official (artificial) age' thing? Like, he wanted his voice to sound that way to give off another so called persona?

Angelsoncrack said:

but maybe it could be because he wanted to keep with the 'art official (artificial) age' thing? Like, he wanted his voice to sound that way to give off another so called persona?

This is what I think too.

RodeoSchro said:

Because autotune is used by no-talent hacks.

Now, Prince has lumped himself in with no-talent hacks. He did NOT need this association.

Wow, it's clear you people have no clue what Auto-Tune is and what it's used for. You would be surprised how many AMAZING singers use Auto-Tune. Most of the time it's used for pitch correction (It makes a good take a great take), then some people automate it to make it sound like T-Pain. It's just a fucking effect, just like reverb, delay, chorus, etc. For people to say that they hate this, then jam out to Computer Love are just trying to find something else to hate.

Angelsoncrack said:

To me - The Camille voice was different. It hadnt really been done before, i don't think. Prince created a whole alter ego(s?) just through changing his voice. Like when he spoke through the microphone that changed his voice when he sang Bob George on the lovesexy tour. (Although that did actually confuse me, because he says 'its camille!' in that song, but the camille voice had been portrayed as a high pitched female-like voice in earlier songs). But yeah, the 'original' Camille voice was different.

I guess people arent keen on the autotune P is using because of it's use in popular music these days and also because it just doesnt sound like his normal singing voice. People keep saying that he's possibly doing it to appeal to the mainstream, but maybe it could be because he wanted to keep with the 'art official (artificial) age' thing? Like, he wanted his voice to sound that way to give off another so called persona?

Listen to some PFunk records, sped up vocals- check.

larksanders said:

Wow, it's clear you people have no clue what Auto-Tune is and what it's used for. You would be surprised how many AMAZING singers use Auto-Tune. Most of the time it's used for pitch correction (It makes a good take a great take), then some people automate it to make it sound like T-Pain. It's just a fucking effect, just like reverb, delay, chorus, etc. For people to say that they hate this, then jam out to Computer Love are just trying to find something else to hate.

I do have a clue what auto tune is and what it's used for.Alot of country artist believe it or not use it at a low level and it's still noticable but the point is if you can sing you don't need it.The different pitches and sometimes being a little off is what makes singing good and I know how many AMAZING singers use it and they don't have too.I think it's ridiculous when an AMAZING singer like Charlie Wilson is using auto tune when the song would be better if he didn't.

dbpdexter said:

larksanders said:

dbpdexter said:

I do have a clue what auto tune is and what it's used for.Alot of country artist believe it or not use it at a low level and it's still noticable but the point is if you can sing you don't need it.The different pitches and sometimes being a little off is what makes singing good and I know how many AMAZING singers use it and they don't have too.I think it's ridiculous when an AMAZING singer like Charlie Wilson is using auto tune when the song would be better if he didn't.

Maybe because he's using it as an effect. There is a difference. You saying that just because you can sing you shouldn't use auto-tune is like the other poster saying that since you can play drums you shouldn't use a drum machine. It's an effect, I think that's the point people are missing. If you don't like the effect then cool, but don't just say you don't like auto-tune becuz people with no talent use it. Also auto-tune will not turn a bad voice into a great voice. It will just make it sound better.

Real singers sing, they don't need anything to make their voice "sound better". I would put an example of Prince doing that here because I know good and well that he is a real singer but yeah, I can't. So I'll just go with...

At this point I think it's fairly obvious why some of us are 'moaning about AutoTune'

.

Bottom line, AutoTune has a specific sound.

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You either like the sound or you don't.

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Some do.

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Some don't.

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I like U Know, just not the AT treatment. I think it would sound better w/o it (just my opinion), but it's there so I'll deal with it whether I decide to moan about it or not.

[Edited 9/8/14 17:31pm]

bigd74 said:

Because the Camille voice us still him singing. Autotune is a keyboard controlling the voice melody, anybody can sing with auto tune.

that isn't what autotune is... at all

ThirdStrike said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

I think this is a good question! I haven't read any responses! This is gonna be fun!!! Here goes

paisley2002 said:

Personally I have no issue with him using AutoTune. But I think a lot of people see it as a correctional tool 4 bad singers who can't find their pitch. Prince, of course, is a terrific vocalist and technically doesn't need it, but he uses it just 2 add a special effect 2 his voice like u said. I guess some people see this as degrading, but really at the end of the day, Prince is just having fun with it.

Prince is just having fun with it.

Yes, that's what it's about.

Good answer!

Prince having fun, that's what I like about him.

steakfinger said:

bigd74 said:

Because the Camille voice us still him singing. Autotune is a keyboard controlling the voice melody, anybody can sing with auto tune.

No, it isn't that at all.

Autotune CAN be used that way. Prince is not using it that way and neither are most abusers.

Autotune can be quite subtle if the singer is good. It can be set to adjust notes that are a little off. It is used a lot in the industry in ways that most folks don't notice.

Prince is clearly using it for an effect since his singing ability and the effortless nature therein renders autotune pointless as a crutch. The reason you can HEAR it when Prince uses it is because he WANTS you to hear it. If if were there to correct anything he could get close enough to the note that all but the most trained ear couldn't even detect it. I promise.

This is the same bullshit argument about everything new. When I started playing guitar at the ass-end of the 80s my grandfather would constantly be complaining about me using distortion. He felt I was only using it to cover my mistakes. Autotune is no different.

It's an effect NO DIFFERENT than the Camille voice because it is Prince singing. If you turned off the autotune on the track it would sound like a normal, IN-TUNE, Prince vocal. He has the settings to the extreme so you can hear it.

The old timers complained about distortion on guitars. Jimi Hendrix's first record came with a sticker on the front warning the buyer that the distortion was intentional and that the record was not damaged.

As a creator of music, I find autotune interesting. I don't personally use it, but I've though many times that it could be used to create some unnatural soundscapes. Not just on the voice, either.

The reason it is so hated today is because it was used as a crutch for people who look good, dance well but can't sing. For a creative person with skill autotune, (like every other piece of technology) can be a valuable resource if used that way.

To sum it up - Prince is a great singer. He doesn't need autotune. Using it occasionally as he does is an aesthetic choice, not a failure to sing.

16 Prince experts and you're among the first to figure this out.

Aerogram said:

Of course he isnt using it to improve his singing voice. It is an effect used all too much in the industry as a whole, and it creates a vibe that I just don't like. Never have. It just comes accross as a production trick often used in mainstream pop/rnb nonsense which, unfortunately, has become a bit of trend. A trend I would have preferred Prince stayed away from because I think it just sounds awful.

I do like U Know, as I also like Colonised Mind and Incense & Candles. I just dont like the sound of the auto tune trend contained within them. Each to their own. The youngsters probably like it because it makes a song sound modern and new and not something their parents would like. It identifies a song as being theirs and not the old people's. And to a teenager that is probably quite important.

Prince is just trying to capture a younger generation which is bound to irritate a few of us parents. Thats what new pop music does. It makes the parents say "back in the day music used to be good", and it gives the kids their own identity and an era they can call their own.

If I play 80's Prince to my daughter she is like "Dad, turn that old stuff off, its embarrasing". If I play her U Know she is like "Wow Dad, this is a good song, why on earth do you like it?".

AutoTune is what you would expect from someone like Drake.Prince should be above using a gimmick like that.

The camille voice was already on funkadelic albums in the 70's (just so you all know)

Parliament / Funkadelic used sped up and slowed down voices usually for the spoken parts. Prince took it a bit further and started using it for melodic parts.

I do find many similarities between the Camille and Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk characters though. They're both "evil" and "mischievous" in the beginning and then go through a "transformation" and become "good".

Thibaut said:

The camille voice was already on funkadelic albums in the 70's (just so you all know)

and before that Alvin & the chipmunks did it..yes I went there!!

ThirdStrike said:

Kind of silly really. So according to this logic...when Prince uses a drum machine is it because he can't play drums? Or better yet, when he uses an electric guitar is it because he lacks the needed skill to play an acoustic one? C'mon...we all know he can play (or sing) extremely well. It's really just another instrument for him...not a mask to compensate for a perceived lack of musical ability. Besides, I think it works on this track. Adds a futuristic sound IMO...

that my friend is case closed, well said!.

larksanders said:

Angelsoncrack said:

To me - The Camille voice was different. It hadnt really been done before, i don't think. Prince created a whole alter ego(s?) just through changing his voice. Like when he spoke through the microphone that changed his voice when he sang Bob George on the lovesexy tour. (Although that did actually confuse me, because he says 'its camille!' in that song, but the camille voice had been portrayed as a high pitched female-like voice in earlier songs). But yeah, the 'original' Camille voice was different.

I guess people arent keen on the autotune P is using because of it's use in popular music these days and also because it just doesnt sound like his normal singing voice. People keep saying that he's possibly doing it to appeal to the mainstream, but maybe it could be because he wanted to keep with the 'art official (artificial) age' thing? Like, he wanted his voice to sound that way to give off another so called persona?

Listen to some PFunk records, sped up vocals- check.

I do actually keep meaning to listen to some Parliament/Funkadelic records but I never know where to start with that stuff, lol. I've listened to a couple of tracks and I like it, but I don't really know what albums to start off with. Any you could reccomend??

Angelsoncrack said:

larksanders said:

Listen to some PFunk records, sped up vocals- check.

I do actually keep meaning to listen to some Parliament/Funkadelic records but I never know where to start with that stuff, lol. I've listened to a couple of tracks and I like it, but I don't really know what albums to start off with. Any you could reccomend??

'Electric Spanking of War Babies', 'Magot Brain', 'One Nation Under a Groove', 'Mothership Connection', they're all good. George Clinton's 'Computer Games' is great too.

ThirdStrike said:

Kind of silly really. So according to this logic...when Prince uses a drum machine is it because he can't play drums? Or better yet, when he uses an electric guitar is it because he lacks the needed skill to play an acoustic one? C'mon...we all know he can play (or sing) extremely well. It's really just another instrument for him...not a mask to compensate for a perceived lack of musical ability. Besides, I think it works on this track. Adds a futuristic sound IMO...

Prince using drum machines are not comparable to him using auto tune to me.

He's doing his own thing and it's creative when he uses drum machines.

When he uses auto tune it sounds like he's pandering to the younger audience and what's considered to be the in sound.Auto tune has been so over used I'm just sick of it.I'm just saying,Prince always

preach about real music and look at the album title.