Celemony Melodyne Review: What You Need To Know

Celemony Melodyne is a revolutionary audio editing plugin that has completely changed how we view audio recordings. It has developed into an industry standard for music creation, post-processing, and sound design because of its superior pitch and timing correction features.

Is the investment worthwhile, though, given all the sophisticated features and the steep price? 

In this Celemony Melodyne review, we will examine the plugin’s main features and costs and assess if it lives up to its hype as a paradigm-shifting audio processing tool.

Quick Verdict: Is Celemony Melodyne Worth It?

Melodyne is for you if

• You want precise control over pitch and timing
• You want to explore creative vocal techniques

It’s not for you if

• You prefer a simpler and faster workflow
• You are on a tight budget

Celemony Melodyne Review – Overview

Celemony Melodyne is a pitch correction plugin that allows users to edit notes and harmonies in audio recordings with remarkable precision. The plugin was first introduced in 2001 and has become a go-to tool for producers and musicians. 

The biggest advantage of purchasing Melodyne is its ability to correct pitch and timing in polyphonic and monophonic audio, manipulate individual notes and harmonies, and integrate well with various DAWs. 

Features

• Advanced Pitch Correction
• Manipulation of Individual Notes and Harmonies
• Timing and Phrasing Adjustments
• Direct Note Access Technology
• ARA Integration

The Good

• Seamless control over Pitch & Rhythmic Changes
• Seamless DAW Integration
• Swift and Easy installation

Downsides

• High-Cost
• Fairly steep Learning Curve 
• Heavy CPU usage

How It Sounds

• As seen in this example, we are using Melodyne’s advanced pitch correction algorithm to rectify an off-pitch and unstable ‘D’ note at the 0:05 and 0:09 mark within the vocal sample.
• Unstable notes may lead to dissonance, aural fatigue, and potential harmonic clashes, making pitch correction a crucial stage in audio post-production.

• By adjusting the Modulation Curve’s slope and magnitude, we have corrected the unstable pitch of the ‘D’ note and smoothed out the note transitions. 
• While this might seem unnecessary from a beginner’s standpoint, its worth noting that pro engineers adhere to optimal pitch tuning values based on the principles of psychoacoustics. This aims to minimize perceived error rates in pitch corrections. This ensures optimal pitch tuning by consulting the original musical key and using referential pitches within Melodyne. 
• Melodyne helps recognize the slight deviations in pitch; however, it induces a slight formant shift, affecting the perceived timbre and character of the vocal performance. 

• As you listen to this sound example, Celemony Melodyne’s advanced pitch correction algorithm resolves the timing and rhythm inconsistencies in the dry vocal sample. 
• The discrepancies in timing in the original sample may lead to rhythmic irregularities, and overall loss of musical coherence, impacting the impression of the entire track. 
• By precisely aligning each note of the vocal track in the correct time frame, we have transformed the dry sample into a correctly timed and musically coherent wet sample. 
• Pitch modulation tools, such as the Modulation Curve, allow you to tune the notes to the correct pitch, maintaining coherence in the track.
• This saves the need to re-do the entire musical phrase all over again. Furthermore, we may also consider optimizing the formant tuning using the Pitch Drift Tool to prevent any perceived changes in the vocalist’s timbre. 

• In the Dry track,  you can notice inconsistencies in timing and pitch accuracy. These imperfections can manifest as slight variations or instability in the pitch can sometimes cause the notes to sound detuned. 
• Melodyne’s Automatic Tuning feature utilizes advanced algorithms and signal-processing techniques to analyze the pitch content of the selected notes. It then applies corrective measures, such as adjusting the central pitch and reducing pitch drift, which helps to achieve a more polished sound.

• As you can see in the image above, the first step is to select the specific notes you want to tune. Depending on your preference, this can be all of the notes or just a few. 
• Once selected, these notes will be highlighted in the plugin interface, indicating they can be modified.
• Melodyne offers two main parameters for tuning: Pitch Center and Pitch Drift. The Pitch Center slider allows you to adjust the central pitch of the selected notes, while the Pitch Drift slider controls the amount of pitch deviation or variation within those notes. 

• By sliding these parameters left or right of the center, we can increase or decrease the magnitude of the automatic tuning effect from 0% to 100%. 
• By setting the adjustment for Pitch Center and Pitch Drift to approximately 80%, we aim to balance achieving natural-sounding notes while applying the necessary tuning corrections. 
• This means that the plugin will make subtle adjustments to the pitch of the selected notes, ensuring they sound in tune without sounding overly manipulated or artificial. 
• However, we can hear a significant improvement when we process the same recording using Melodyne’s Automatic Tuning feature and listen to the resulting Wet track. The timing of the notes becomes more precise and consistent, eliminating any timing irregularities. 

• In the sound example above, we will be showcasing how we can do precision editing of the notes and stretch their timing as well. Here is the ‘before’ image.

• See how a simple change in the order of notes affects the melody. Furthermore, a note at the 0 minutes and 7 seconds mark has been stretched. This stretching is achieved by dragging the note on either side of the “blob” in the Melodyne interface. 
• Time stretching in Melodyne alters the note’s duration, effectively elongating or compressing its length while maintaining its original pitch. It allows for altering the audio’s duration while preserving its pitch. 
• In the case of this example, specific changes have been made to the Wet track: firstly, the position of the notes have changed. So, the overall musical composition has been transformed by shifting the timing and arrangement of the notes within the audio.

• As you can hear in the DRY sound example above, these vocals already have specific effects applied to them. Nonetheless, we still want to use the formant tool. You can find the formant tool if you right-click and open the context menu.
• The resonant frequencies found within vowels are known as the formants. Similar to a filter, it is a characteristic component of the quality of a vocal recording and is generally found every 1kHz within the frequency spectrum. 
• After using the formants, we have duplicated the track, making it almost sound like a choir. 
• This method is an excellent way to add some width to your vocals without boosting much of the high frequencies.

• In the given example, we have an audio track where some notes begin a little later than the intended beat, and other notes are out of pitch. Editing with Melodyne allows for precise adjustments to correct these problems. 
• To address the timing issue, we can use Melodyne to adjust the position of the notes so that they align with the first beat, typically marked by the kick drum and bass.
• Moving the notes back in time ensures that they start precisely on the desired beat, creating a more cohesive and synchronized musical arrangement. This adjustment is crucial for maintaining a tight and synchronized rhythm section, where the kick drum and bass provide the foundation for the groove. 
• In this case,  the original recording lacks elements, such as the kick drum and hi-hat. We used the existing beat from a different section of the track and replicated it by pasting it here to make the rhythmic correction more noticeable. 
• Melodyne employs advanced algorithms, such as polyphonic pitch detection and correction, to analyze and manipulate the pitch information within the audio. These algorithms consider factors such as the fundamental frequency, harmonics, and spectral content to determine the correct pitch for each note.

• Using this DRY bass as an example, we click on the white lines to pull up the Sound Editor. By doing that, you notice that you have tons of controls on the sound editor below.

• We want to focus on the harmonics now. The first thing we always do on anything with pitch is look at vertical  bars, ook for your harmonic number one, two, three, etc. Harmonic number 1 is your fundamental.
• In this case, we want to give this bass a little more girth. So, we will take all other harmonics except the first one. We will leave the fundamental harmonic and pull the rest down.
• However, you could also click above it and drag over to select multiple to get all of these bars down together. We are now left with just the fundamental note.

• As you can hear in the WET file, the volume is very low and the finger noise of the bass player is missing because there are no upper harmonics. Instead, there is just that fundamental (first) harmonic there, which makes the bass rounder, but devoid of the mids and highs.
• Notice how it sounds similar to soloing a 80-200Hz band on a multiband EQ.

• We can further process the same bass by taking the second harmonic instead of the first and processing it by using other plugins. First, we bring up the second harmonic.

• Then, we apply a compressor to the DRY audio file. This evens out the dynamic range of the volume levels by attenuating the louder parts and boosting the quieter parts so we achieve a more consistent level throughout the performance. 
• Next, a stock distortion plugin is employed to add a controlled amount of distortion to the audio, enhancing its harmonic richness and creating a more aggressive or gritty bass sound. 
• By running the distortion plugin in parallel with the original sound, we maintain the integrity of the original audio with the desired amount of distortion. 
• By carefully adjusting the settings of these plugins along with Melodyne, we can achieve a more controlled and expressive audio mix, enhancing the overall sound quality and impact.

• This DRY sample is a fairly decent recording, but it could get better. So, we select all the notes in Melodyne and move up to the correct pitch using the Correct Pitch option. If you manually edit any notes, you’ll want to click them to bring up the pitch to the center to snap them in place.
• Alternatively, select everything and double-click if you want to snap everything at once. This process will move everything to the nearest intended note. Now that everything is nicely tuned up, we want that modern vocal-tuned effect. So, we use the pitch modulation tool. 
• Melodyne’s pitch modulation tool allows you to pull out the natural vibrato, or the natural detuning of pitch. So you can select all the notes and double-click them. Alternatively, you can pull the pitch modulation to zero, which will give you what is called a “hard-tuned effect.”

• In the above example, we notice a pleasing combination of delay and reverb effects on this DRY track, resulting in a pleasant sonic experience. To leverage this, we utilized the copy and paste function in the edit mode, to extract a portion of this section and create a new track. 

• By manipulating the “blobs” within Melodyne, we can precisely position them to desired locations, resulting in a completely refreshed sonic experience. This editing process involves working with pitch and rhythm information at a microscopic level, employing advanced sound science principles. 
• By analyzing the audio waveform and extracting pitch data, Melodyne allows us to manipulate individual notes, altering their positions while maintaining the integrity of the instrument’s sound. 

Pricing

In terms of price, Celemony Melodyne is considered a high-end plugin tool, reflecting its $99-$699 range. While other more budget-friendly options are available, they may lack certain advanced features, or the level of precision Melodyne offers. 

Interface & Ease of Use

• The Melodyne’s interface is not very easy to navigate and looks like it’s a plugin that has been programmed using a very basic template.
• The multi-track workflow, however, makes it quite intuitive to operate.
• Melodyne integrates very well with your DAW, thanks to the excellent connection with ARA, which is one of its highlights.

Control Knobs & Presets

1. Editing Notes

Melodyne gives you precise control over individual notes, which you can use to edit them. You have control over not only the pitch but also the timing and even the contour of each individual note.

This level of editing granularity enables nuanced alterations, which are necessary to produce any musical expression that is sought. Additional control can be given by modifying the attack and releasing individual notes’ qualities.

a.Pitch Correction

To achieve precise intonation, the pitch of each note can be raised or lowered individually.

This feature is beneficial for tuning vocalists or instruments with tiny pitch irregularities since it allows for more precise pitch adjustment.

i. Manual Correction

Within a recording, you can notice where “Blob” (notes) begin and end their pitch and how loudly or quietly they are sung. 

In the middle is the Note Editor. You see the content of your audio files as Blobs, arranged according to pitch and position in time, regardless of whether they are mono- or polyphonic.

Top left, you add Info panes with tabs for various details. Several at once if you command-click. You can then edit the pitch with the utmost accuracy as you want.

ii.     Automatic-Tuning

The Melodyne has two settings, Pitch Center and Pitch Drift, which you’ll use most of the time. You can tune it in one go by setting specific values each of these parameters, and the Melodyne will adjust the pitch according to the sound sample’s scale.

b. Timing Correction

Melodyne also allows you to modify the timing of notes inside a recording. This feature is referred to as “timing correction.” You can tighten up performances by moving notes forward or backward in time and remedy rhythmic faults by doing the same.

This function is excellent for aligning vocals or instruments that sound slightly off rhythmically.

To know exactly how to execute this feature, you may watch the 5-min and 39-sec mark here.

c. Time Stretching

Melodyne offers time-stretching capabilities, which allow you to change the length and duration of audio recordings without changing the pitch. These capabilities are accessible on the Time Stretching tab.

Utilizing this tool, one can create one-of-a-kind rhythmic effects and synchronize the timing of many tracks.

2. Formant Shifting

Melodyne is equipped with a feature known as formant shifting, which enables users to modify a vocal or instrument track’s apparent timbre without affecting the track’s pitch. This function helps make modest alterations to the tone of a voice or instrument while still preserving the natural sound of the sound source. 

This feature can add excitement to the vocals by parallel processing them. 

3. Editing Multiple tracks

Melodyne gives you the ability to edit many tracks at once. This function is beneficial when dealing with intricate arrangements or harmonies because it allows for more flexibility. You can edit the pitch and timing of individual tracks, all while keeping the mix’s overall balance and blend intact.

4. Sound Editor

The Sound Editor in Melodyne is a feature that provides additional tools for audio manipulation. Within the plugin itself, you can immediately apply various effects such as equalization, compression, and saturation.

With this integrated capability for modifying sound, switching between several plugins is no longer required.

5. Audio Random Access (ARA) Integration

Melodyne supports integration with ARA (Audio Random Access), which enables Melodyne to integrate seamlessly with compatible Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). Melodyne and the DAW can communicate with one another in real time because of the ARA integration.

Importing Audio (using ARA and without)

To start editing Melodyne, you can either use the stand-alone plugin or integrate it with the DAW. It is faster if your DAW has ARA access, wherein you have to play the track, and it’ll automatically load onto the Melodyne interface. 

If not, you must turn on the “Transfer” feature and play the track, which records each part into the Melodyne interface. It is shown here at the 1min mark if you want to know more about this feature. This feature simplifies the workflow and allows audio editing and processing more quickly.

As a result of the combination of these functions, Celemony Melodyne is an all-encompassing and potent tool that can precisely fix pitch and timing, edit notes, shift formants, extend time, edit several tracks, and integrate sound processing.

Support & User Community

Information about Melodyne can be found all across the internet. Melodyne also has an exhaustive manual available on its own website too. You can find a variety of tutorials, guides, FAQs, and user manuals here to assist you in comprehending and effectively utilizing the plugin.

In addition to the official sources, there are numerous third-party websites, discussion boards, and YouTube videos devoted to Melodyne. These resources provide people with tutorials, advice, user conversations, and other information. 

Melodyne is utilized by thousands of professionals worldwide, according to the official Celemony website. As pointed out by a lot of users, there is currently no plugin that can match Melodyne’s capabilities.

That being said, some users are happy to have found Melodyne, as it helps identify and highlight bothersome sibilants.

Other users appreciate that they can now spend less time cleaning and muzzling sibilants thanks to Melodyne. Overall, it appears that Melodyne’s strength and diversity, as well as its usability and ability to integrate with other plugins, are valued by both users and critics.

Competition & Alternatives

Melodyne Alternatives

• Autotune (24.99/month)
• Waves Tune($199)
• Flex Pitch(Free with Logic Pro X)
• MAutopitch(Free)

Melodyne, Auto-Tune, and Waves Tune are pitch correction tools with excellent sound, flexibility, and editing. It handles pitch-correction better than Auto-Tune and Waves-Tune while the note-blob graphic is sharper. Nonetheless, Auto-Tune and Waves Tune are easier and simpler to use. 

Technical Aspects

We stress-tested the Celemony Melodyne on a Windows i3 computer with 8 GB of RAM, and there were some installation issues in the beginning but performed smoothly in most cases. However, as the complexity of the project increases the performance of the system gets affected. 

We experienced a plugin crash a few times. So we recommend using a higher version or upgrading your system to the specifications below:

Mac:

• macOS 10+
• 64-bit Intel/Apple Processor.
• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)
• 4GB Disk Space

Windows:

• Windows 10+ 
• ASIO Compatible Hardware
• Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz Processor
• 4GB RAM
• 4GB Disk Space

Final Verdict

Celemony Melodyne is a revolutionary plugin that can access specific notes within your recordings, easily change their pitch, incorporate melodic variations, make voice arrangements, quantize audio, and many other things. While the price might be steep, the features make it a compelling buy.

FAQ