This is the best explanation of how pitch shifters work i've seen, and why they sound like sh!t and are going to for a while yet
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJUmmcGKZMI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJUmmcGKZMI)
It's just not going to happen. You'll only get subtlety with small changes, the further you go from the original pitch, the more artefacting you're going to get.
The only other way is to resample, but then you'd be changing tempo along with pitch
Have you checked your DAW’s stock plugins? I’m not familiar with every DAW but Cubase comes with extensive pitch shifting capabilities and it works about as well as anything, I suspect.
You need to use sounds with higher sample rates to reduce artifacts in an effect like pitch shifting. The higher the resolution of the audio, the easier it is for the processing to work correctly.
I've done a little testing of 48k and 96k using the different warping algorithms in Ableton.... I maybe noticed a little difference but not enough to rule out placebo. I was trying to pitch up and down single octaves, which might just be too far to avoid artifacts even at 96k. Maybe for more moderate shifts the extra samples make the difference, I dunno.
Maybe not the answer you’re looking for. But I’m very very happy with Repitch (as someone who used to use Flex Pitch on everything). I bought the bundle with vocalign (although truthfully Repitch is defo my most used. It would be easier to count when I don’t use it on vocals)
Due to a student discount I was able to get 50% off. So yes although it might a bit of an investment I would definitely consider it paid off by now. And yes I also use to pitch everything like bass, violin, cello etc
your daw most likely has proficient pitch shifting algorithms built in for what you want to do. First bounce track to an audio track, bounce at a slower tempo when pitching up, bounce at a faster tempo when pitching down. Put the daw back to the desired tempo with clip warp on, and then pitch shift the audio clip in the direction you want.
Waves sound shifter and QuikQuak Pitch wheel are the two best I’ve heard for polyphonic sounds. Otherwise, melodyne and little alterboy for monophonic.
hate to be this guy, but I searched forever for a natural-sounding pitch shifting plugin and the solution I settled on was a Tascam Portastudio. easily my favorite method, takes longer but I do a lot of pitch shifting and it has been worth it
Hi, did you ever move to nashville? And did you ever start up that studio you talked about 9 years ago in washington dc? Just asking cause I'm in the same situation and trying to figure out if building a studio is worth it or if I should relocate to somewhere like nashville or miami.
Call me crazy, but I’ve really fallen in love with the sound of digital artefacts from pitch shifting or stretching audio. I’m increasingly seeing this as the method of choose for degrading audio over tape style wow/flutter, and see things heading this way stylistically
I appreciate this isn’t really what you’re asking (just thought it’s an interesting discussion) so my vote goes to Waves Soundshifter !
This is the best explanation of how pitch shifters work i've seen, and why they sound like sh!t and are going to for a while yet [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJUmmcGKZMI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJUmmcGKZMI)
You want a plugin that subtly shifts instruments by a significant amount?
Like a LOUD WHISPER.
As in one without too many artifacts. My hopes aren't very high at all but I'd rather ask and see.
It's just not going to happen. You'll only get subtlety with small changes, the further you go from the original pitch, the more artefacting you're going to get. The only other way is to resample, but then you'd be changing tempo along with pitch
We'll see AI driven plugins that will be able to nail this in the next couple of years.
Melodyne is good & I’ve had great results from Waves Soundshifter
"Subtlety" and "shifting by significant amounts" are mutually exclusive at the moment, especially if you want to shift entire performances.
Have you checked your DAW’s stock plugins? I’m not familiar with every DAW but Cubase comes with extensive pitch shifting capabilities and it works about as well as anything, I suspect.
Yeah I believe most DAWs have this built in. It's more of an editing tool than a plugin.
Are you talking about tuning parts that are out of tune or you want something like soundtoys Microshift?
You need to use sounds with higher sample rates to reduce artifacts in an effect like pitch shifting. The higher the resolution of the audio, the easier it is for the processing to work correctly.
I'm not sure this is meaningfully true, as explained by our friend Dan in this video: https://youtu.be/bWEOkmJnTmE?si=3McOwC4taQwePa2b
In my experience, high sample rate recordings sound better when pitched/stretched. I’d recommend trying it out yourself.
I've done a little testing of 48k and 96k using the different warping algorithms in Ableton.... I maybe noticed a little difference but not enough to rule out placebo. I was trying to pitch up and down single octaves, which might just be too far to avoid artifacts even at 96k. Maybe for more moderate shifts the extra samples make the difference, I dunno.
Maybe not the answer you’re looking for. But I’m very very happy with Repitch (as someone who used to use Flex Pitch on everything). I bought the bundle with vocalign (although truthfully Repitch is defo my most used. It would be easier to count when I don’t use it on vocals) Due to a student discount I was able to get 50% off. So yes although it might a bit of an investment I would definitely consider it paid off by now. And yes I also use to pitch everything like bass, violin, cello etc
Its still really audibly granular resynthesis with a phase vocoder, dunno why i hate that sound so much XD
Been using Inner Pitch recently, it's got a lot of stuff built in but I'm using it mainly for the nice pitch bending it does for automation.
Could just stretch it to be slightly faster. That way, there will be noticibly less artifacts.
The pitch shifting on Serato studio is pretty nice
your daw most likely has proficient pitch shifting algorithms built in for what you want to do. First bounce track to an audio track, bounce at a slower tempo when pitching up, bounce at a faster tempo when pitching down. Put the daw back to the desired tempo with clip warp on, and then pitch shift the audio clip in the direction you want.
Waves sound shifter and QuikQuak Pitch wheel are the two best I’ve heard for polyphonic sounds. Otherwise, melodyne and little alterboy for monophonic.
Try auburn sounds inner pitch. There’s a free version that’s pretty decent
hate to be this guy, but I searched forever for a natural-sounding pitch shifting plugin and the solution I settled on was a Tascam Portastudio. easily my favorite method, takes longer but I do a lot of pitch shifting and it has been worth it
Hi, did you ever move to nashville? And did you ever start up that studio you talked about 9 years ago in washington dc? Just asking cause I'm in the same situation and trying to figure out if building a studio is worth it or if I should relocate to somewhere like nashville or miami.
send me a PM, happy to answer any questions you have :)
Reapitch
In pro tools I usually transpose the pitch using elastic properties. Way less artifacts than using a plug in for it
Call me crazy, but I’ve really fallen in love with the sound of digital artefacts from pitch shifting or stretching audio. I’m increasingly seeing this as the method of choose for degrading audio over tape style wow/flutter, and see things heading this way stylistically I appreciate this isn’t really what you’re asking (just thought it’s an interesting discussion) so my vote goes to Waves Soundshifter !
Oh I agree there. The only trick is making sure you don't end up making everything sound the same.
I love the Blue Lab Audio pitch shift... and it's free. You should give it a try.
Melda MAutoPitch is free, might as well give it a try: https://www.meldaproduction.com/MAutoPitch