Melodyne plugin

[Silent audio]

Logic Pro versions older than 8.0.2 only process the audio signal of plug-ins in places where there is audio on the host track. It can happen, therefore, that if you move parts of the audio material in the plug-in to places where there is no material on the original track, Logic will switch off the output signal from Melodyne plugin. There is, however, a simple way of circumventing this problem: Place silent audio on the host track. Silent audio is most easily generated for this purpose by setting the locator area to the desired length and then bouncing the muted stereo output.

[Timing offset]

In Logic from version 8.0.2 onwards you may encounter a timing problem: after audio was transferred to the plugin it is played back too early (you can hear it and see it sitting at the wrong place in the Melodyne grid). This problem only shows up, when both of these two conditions are fulfilled:-

1. there are other plugins inserted behind Melodyne plugin (audio will be misplaced by exactly the same amount as the overall latency of the subsequent plug-ins).

2. the user actions are taken in this order: first activate "Transfer" in Melodyne plugin, then hit "Start" in Logic.

To avoid the problem simply eliminate any one of the conditions mentioned above:-

• Either bypass any plugins that are inserted after Melodyne plugin
• Or change your workflow: First hit "Start" in Logic, then "Transfer" in Melodyne plugin (you can think of it as punching in to transfer while 'tape' is already rolling).

[Changes of time signature]

Unfortunately Logic versions older than Logic 9 send no information concerning changes of time signature to its plug-ins. It can happen on occasion therefore that Logic and Melodyne plugin find themselves displaying different time signatures, which can be confusing and irritating for the user. This, however, is purely an optical problem, not an acoustic one; as neither the audio output nor the quantization – to which it makes no difference how many crotchets, quavers or semiquavers there are in a bar – are in any way compromised.

[Certain time signatures – wrong tempo]

Only versions older than 8.0.2: Please avoid time signatures in which there is no quarter note (crotchet) in the denominator, as Logic sends false timing information in such cases and in consequence Melodyne plugin runs too quickly or too slowly. If you come across a song with such signatures you have to do the following:-

• Remove Melodyne plugin from Logic's channel strip
• Remove all Signature changes down the road of your Logic song
• In bar 1 set a time signature of 4/8 once, then change it to 4/4 (you have to do this, even if 4/4 was set automatically in bar 1, otherwise Logic keeps on sending wrong tempo information)
• Re-insert Melodyne plugin and do a new transfer

[mute and solo]

Since Logic 8.0.2:

Melodyne plugin will continue to play back its audio signal even when the underlying region is muted in the arrangement. While this behavior is a common thing in any other host, it is new to users of previous Logic versions and it has some consequences on other features, too: when you use the solo tool (or global solo), Melodyne plugin will still play, even when it's underlying regions are not part of the solo selection. To avoid this problem you need to use the corresponding buttons in the channel strip, instead of muting or soloing the regions. This way you can mute or solo Melodyne plugin, too.

Alternatively you can use the mute or solo buttons in the track header, but you have to configure them first:

Go to Preferences > Audio > General. In the field Track Mute/Solo you have two choices:-

• CPU-saving (Slow Response): This will make the track mute/solo buttons perform a mute/solo of all regions within the particular track. This will NOT affect Melodyne plugin.
• Fast (Remote Channel Strips): This will make the track mute/solo buttons double the action of the respective channel buttons, and therefore they will affect Melodyne plugin.

Logic 7.x

If you have inserted Melodyne plugin into an instrument track, it will continue to play back its audio signal even when the track in question is muted in the arrangement, the reason being that in this situation the mute key in Logic only suppresses the output of MIDI notes; the audio channel, however, remains 'open', and the plug-in, in consequence, can still be heard. To arrive at the desired result (muting Melodyne plugin) you have to use the mute switch in the channel strip of the mixer.

[RTAS Processors – only Pro Tools LE/HD/MP up to 7.2]

To avoid transfer problems in older Pro Tools versions, choose the following setting: Setup > Playback Engine > RTAS Processors > 1 Processor

Note: Since Pro Tools Version 7.3 you can use any count of RTAS processors available on your Computer.

[MP3 export]

Exporting audio as MP3 can lead to a crash with the error message: Set ENV Var KMP_Duplicate_Lib_ok = True. If this happens, proceed as follows:-

• Right-click My computer and choose Properties.
• In the System Properties window, click on the Advanced tab and select Environment Variables.
• In the User Variables section, select New.
• Enter KMP_DUPLICATE_LIB_OK into the Variable Name field.
• Enter TRUE into the Variable Value field.
• Click OK to exit first the New User Variable, then Environment Variables, then System Properties windows.
• Restart Pro Tools

[Session view]

Melodyne plugin seems to play wrong parts when working in the session view. That's because of Live's handling of time: The clips in Live's session view represent shorter loops within the linear progressing timeline of the arrangement. Melodyne plugin is following this (arrangement-)timeline. Pretty much simplified it looks like this:

If you want to use Melodyne plugin within the session view, you must activate the (arrangement-)loop in Live and set it to the length of the clip that you want to use Melodyne plugin for. Then the loop is the same in the clip then in the linear arrangement (and therefore in the plug-in):

This means, you would prefer to bring in Melodyne plugin when you're working in the arrangement – which is most likely what you would do anyway when you are for example correcting vocals or other instruments. And remember: in Live it is very easy to make clips become part of the arrangement, use the plug-in, render it and make new clips out of it.

[Change of time signature]

Melodyne plugin follows not only the time, as we have just described, but also the bar ruler of the Live arrangement. In this place, however, Live knows no change of time signature, so Melodyne plugin, too, is obliged to operate with a fixed time signature. If you are working on the level of the clips, however, with changes of time signature, discrepancies can arise between the time signature displayed and that heard. The problem, however, is purely an optical one; the audio output and the editing functions of Melodyne plugin, including the quantization, are in no way impaired.

[Run this instance in real-time]

DP 6.01: Make sure to have activated the functions Run this instance in real-time and Default to real-time. You will find the relevant settings in the Mini Menu at the top right in the frame of the plug-in window.

DP 5.1: In older versions this function is named slightly different. Make sure here, that you have activated Always run in real-time. You will find the relevant setting in the second tab at the top left in the frame of the plug-in window.

[Silent audio]

In Digital Performer, you must bear the same facts in mind as those described above under Logic: Digital Performer, too, fails to render plug-ins in places where there is no audio material on the host track. Here, too, you should create some 'silent audio' and distribute it throughout the host track.

[Tempo-Based Effect]

You need to configure Melodyne plugin as a tempo based effect. You will find this option under: Plug-In Manager > VST Audio Effects > Melodyne plugin > VST Plug-In Properties

[Track vs. clip]

Melodyne plugin works as a track insert. Operation as a clip based effect or being used in the "Process" menu are not supported.

[Setting of window size]

If you set the window size of Melodyne plugin in the manner described in the User Manual, this (initially) has no effect; so what you have to do is enter the same settings in Sonar's plug-in manager; then remove the plug-in; and finally insert it again.

[Bypass]

If in the course of playback you switch Melodyne plugin to bypass mode and then back, Sonar and Melodyne plugin will no longer be in sync. If that happens, you should stop Sonar briefly before restarting it.

[Precount]

If you are recording with precount switched on, all instances of the playback of Melodyne plugin will be offset by the amount of the precount in relation to the other tracks. Rather than using the automatic precount, then, you should start the recording somewhat earlier by clicking manually at an appropriate point in the timeline.

[Timeline]

If you click in the timeline while playback is running, Sonar unfortunately does not pass this information on to its plug-ins. As a result, Sonar and Melodyne plugin will cease to play in sync. To avoid this, you should stop Sonar first, if you want to jump to a different part of the song.

[Dual Processors]

Disable the Dual CPU Support under Options > System Options > Performance.

[Rendering]

When using the Hybrid Engine (Options > System Options > Audio Setup), it is recommended to leave effect rendering active all the time. Therefore DO NOT activate the last three options under Options > System Options > Performance.

[Plug-in Buffer]

Under Options > System Options > Effects > VST/DirectX/ReWire select the preset Forced ASIO Buffers (Hybrid).

[Crash]

Under certain circumstances, Samplitude/Sequoia can crash with the error message: Set ENV Var KMP_Duplicate_Lib_ok = True. If this happens, proceed as follows:-

• right-click on the desktop icon: My computer.
• choose: Advanced, then Environment Variables, then New
• enter as name: KMP_DUPLICATE_LIB_OK, enter as value: TRUE
• exit with OK and restart Samplitude/Sequoia

The insertion of a UAD plug-in introduces a considerable amount of latency. Almost all hosts nowadays can compensate for this by bringing forward the signal at the input of the plug-in by the necessary amount. This means, however, that Melodyne plugin, too, will be brought forward if it has been inserted in front of the UAD plug-in. Whilst the audio signal will remain perfectly in time, the screen display will also have been brought forward. As a result, the bar ruler of Melodyne plugin will be too far advanced, reaching the blobs before they sound. This behavior is also seen with other plug-ins, but it is particularly obtrusive with the UAD card. As a general rule: the more plug-ins are introduced behind Melodyne plugin and the greater their combined latency, the greater will be the timing discrepancy between Melodyne plugin's display and the sound. The audio signal of Melodyne plugin, however, and the precision of its pitch and timing correction mechanisms will not be affected.