Pitch correcting vocals in a stereo mix

[bsacco]

I have a MP.4 video of my band playing at a concert venue. The vocals in places are way off tune (cringing) but everything else is great. What is the approach to pitch correction in this case where you don't have the individual tracks but just the video file? Is there a way to use a parametric EQ to try to locate the frequency manually and then pitch correct it in the stereo mix? Any suggestions from all you pros out there are welcomed.

[Sam Spoons]

Not a pro as such but the only thing I'm aware of that would stand a snowflake in hells chance of working would be Celemondy Melodyne. It can do remarkable (and unbelievable) things but will definitely work better the better the source material.

[Sam Inglis]

I think the only vaguely possible approach would be to use something like Audionamix's XTRAX Stems or AudioSourceRE's DeMix to extract the vocal as a separate track and pitch-correct it. I'd be interested to see how well that works! In fact if you have a WAV file of the track, PM me and I'll try it out for you.

[Dave B]

I'm going with "it can't be done" - at least not well. Any extraction and re-pitching won't sit well in the context of the rest of the track (if it works at all). I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'm not optimistic..

[BJG145]

I think the only vaguely possible approach would be to use something like Audionamix's XTRAX Stems or AudioSourceRE's DeMix to extract the vocal as a separate track and pitch-correct it. I'd be interested to see how well that works! In fact if you have a WAV file of the track, PM me and I'll try it out for you.

...yep, Audionamix is the first thing that springs to mind, though I've never tried it. Would be interested to hear the results of this. (Melodyne's polyphonic pitch correction is amazing, though I didn't realise it could be used to isolate vocals...but this article suggests it can.)

[James Perrett]

Izotope RX's Music Rebalance feature might be worth a try as it seems to work well at isolating vocals. I haven't tried the alternative suggestions though.

[bsacco]

Thanks Sam Inglis. How do I PM you? I'm a newbie here on this forum and could not find any instructions on the forum.

[CS70]

An option would be to have the singer re-sing the lines, and then mix them in. Assuming the singer can replicate the timing he/she used, with careful balancing and EQ use (or much better, restoration/and rebalancing tools), the original out of pitch vocal might end up like modulated backing vocals...

[zenguitar]

Thanks Sam Inglis. How do I PM you? I'm a newbie here on this forum and could not find any instructions on the forum.

For new members their first three posts have to be approved by a moderator. This is because we are regularly targeted by spammers. Unfortunately, a few spammers tried to get around this by targeting individual members direct with PM messages so we had to restrict the PM for new members as well.

Once your 3rd post has been approved you will be able to PM Sam.

Alternatively, if you go to the very top of the page and follow the Help link you will find an option to email SOS staff direct and Sam is listed there.

Andy

[bsacco]

Thanks ZenGuitar, for the tip. THough, when I go to the top of the page and click on the HELP link and all I see is an option to fill out a generic support form. There is no drop down menu to email Sam inthis support form. Please advise how to contact Sam so I can send him my file.

Best, Bob

[zenguitar]

Sorry, my mistake, I was convinced the page was reached through the help link.

Here's a direct link to the page you need.

https://www.soundonsound.com/contact

Sam is definitely on the list under the editorial section.

Andy

[bsacco]

thanks ZenGuitar, though, I can't attach a .wav to sam using this method. Does your site have a true PM function where you can attach files?

bob

[zenguitar]

No, we don't host files in the forum. SOS provides the forums as a free resource for anyone to use and contribute to, but if we were to allow members to upload files that would required costly additional hosting capacity. And it really isn't necessary when there are so many cheap or free 3rd party file sharing services like Soundcloud or Dropbox. You can PM a link to a file hosted there.

Andy

[Sam Inglis]

Thanks Bob,

I've got your email and have replied.

all the best
Sam