EFFECTS

NewTone

Newtone is a pitch-correction and time manipulation editor. Slice, correct, edit vocals, instrumentals and other recordings. A Newtone Video Tutorial series is available. A related plugin for live pitch manipulation is Pitcher.

Using Newtone, an Overview

On loading the sample is analyzed to show pitch and volume. Detected notes display as blocks on the Piano roll. Note volume appears as a background waveform. There are three indicators: 1. Transparent blocks show the average pitch for the detected note. 2. Light-blue blocks indicate the nearest semi-tone. 3. The red line displays the detected pitch at each point. For quick correction, Right-click notes and they will snap to the nearest semitone.

To edit the pitch within a note, double-click the note to enter Advanced Mode that provides control over 'Pitch variation', 'Ramp-in' and 'Ramp-out' on a note-by-note basis (see above). Note volume can similarly be adjusted for start, middle and end. Drag the arrowed region markers to change the duration of the edited section. Change the sex or size of vocalists with the and note position can be accessed from Advanced Mode as shown. To adjust parameters click on the controls as indicated and drag in the direction of the arrows.

To make fast global pitch corrections, use the 'Center' (pitch center), 'Variation' (pitch vibrato/ drift) and 'Transition' (legato) knobs. These scale values for all notes simultaneously. For most corrections you will probably just use these controls and make a few specific note-by note adjustments in Advanced Edit mode.

Note positions & boundaries can be moved by clicking and dragging at the edges of the note blocks. To create new notes or insert missed notes, use the Cut tool to slice existing notes. Notes can also be joined hold (Shift + Ctrl) and click on the notes to be joined. Cut, pasted & delete follow standard keyboard shortcuts (see below).

Convert your vocal parts to synthesizer performances by sending MIDI scores to Piano roll with the 'Send score' button.

Finally, abusing Newtone in ways for which it was not intended will reward the adventurous.

Title-bar Options

Transport

• Loop mode On/Off (L).
• Play/Stop (Space Bar) To Pause (Ctrl + Space).

File

• Open/Save options
  • New Opens a new (empty) editor window.
  • Load sample (Ctrl+O) Opens a file browser dialog in 'load' mode.
  • Save sample as (Ctrl+S) Opens a file browser dialog in 'save' mode. The pop-up dialog has two options under the 'Save as type' field:
    • Microsoft wave file (*.wav) Standard lossless .wav file at the bit-depth and sample rate set in the Sample Properties dialog.
    • Microsoft compressed wave file (*.wav) Lossy compression formats. After initiating the save a second dialog opens to save the sample in one of many compressed formats. MS compressed wave files simply wrap the selected compression type in a *.wav file, and put information in the wave header as to what decompression method the opening program should use (not all programs read this information). FL Studio will load and decompress MS compressed wave files automatically as long as you have the appropriate codec installed.
    • WavPack (*.wv) (or Right-click the 'Save as' button) Lossless or lossy, depending on settings, open-source compression (see the WavPack website for more details). After initiating save in this format you will be prompted for a bit-depth (lossless is the default, other settings are lossy compression modes). In 'lossless' mode expect between 30-70% reduction in file sizes, useful for archiving purposes. FL Studio will load and decompress WavPack files automatically.
    • MPEG 3 audio file (*.mp3) Mp3 is a Lossy compression format. It has gained world-wide popularity because it was one of the first on the market that provided good quality lossy compression. After initiating a save a second dialog opens to select the quality (bit-rate), this controls the tradeoff between audio quality and file size. Good listening quality on portable devices starts at about 160 kbps, use 224 kbps or 320 (max) if you want something probably indistinguishable from CD quality.
    • Ogg Vorbis (*.ogg) Lossy, open source compression format, similar in concept to mp3 (see the Vorbis or Ogg Wikipedia website for more details). After initiating a save a second dialog opens to select the quality (bit-rate), this controls the tradeoff between audio quality and file size. Use a setting of 0.50 or more if you want good quality. FL Studio will load and decompress *.ogg files automatically.

    NOTE: Do not use any of the lossy formats (Microsoft compressed wave file, MPEG 3 or Ogg Vorbis) to archive project samples or loops. Use Microsoft wave files or WavPack in lossless compression mode if you want to save space. Hard disk space is cheap, samples may be irreplaceable.

  • Save as MIDI Saves the current pitch detections and manipulations as a MIDI file (.mid).
  • Slave to host playback:
    • Ignore host selection Payback will follow the absolute song position in FL, not a position relative to the current selection in FL's playlist.
    • Ignore own selection Playback isn't limited to the selection in Newtone.
  • Edit properties (F2) OR Right-click the title text below the transport buttons. Opens a dialog to set BPM and Tempo-sync (that will cause the sample to stretch with changes to host BPM once imported).

Edit

• Undo (Ctrl+Alt+Z) OR (Ctrl+Alt+Z) Undo/Redo OR Undo many.
• Cut (Ctrl+X) Cuts the selection.
• Copy (Ctrl+C) Copy selection.
• Paste (Ctrl+V) Paste selection.
• Copy to MIDI clipboard Copies the current note detection to the MIDI clipboard. To send notes to the Piano roll use 'Send to piano roll' below.
• Delete (Del) Delete selection.
• Advanced Edit (Ctrl+A) Toggles Advanced Edit mode. In AE mode the AE box will automatically appear when the mouse cursor is placed over a note. Otherwise you can double-click notes to enter Advanced Edit mode.
• Cut Mode On/Off (C) Toggles Cut Mode used to Cut/Slice notes.
• Send to Playlist as audio clip Sends the audio to the Playlist as an Audio Clip with markers set for the note boundaries.
• Send to piano roll Sends the detected notes to the Piano roll.

Select

• Deselect (Up arrow) selection.
• Select time around selection (Ctrl+Enter) Selects the time-line range occupied by the selected notes. If no selection is made the Zoomed range will be selected.
• Select before current selection Selects the time-line before the current selection.
• Select after current selection Selects the time-line after the current selection.
• Select all Selects the time-line.
• Select all slices (Ctrl + A) Selects all audio.

Undo

• Undo Undo if there is nothing to redo, (Ctrl+Z).

Create Score

• Left-click Sends the detected score to a Piano roll in the currently selected Channel & Pattern. Right-click Copies the score to the MIDI clipboard.

Save as

• Left-click Save as a new file. Right-click Save the file as WavePack format (.wv). See the 'File > Save sample as' section for a detailed description of .wv format.

Drag selection

• Drag this button and drop on a compatible location in FL Studio (Playlist, Channel window e.t.c,) to copy the selection to that destination. If nothing is selected the entire sample will be copied.

Send selection to Piano roll

• Sends the selection to the Playlist. If nothing is selected the entire sample will be copied.

Global Pitch Control Knobs

• Center Global pitch correction. Scales all notes toward 100% nearest pitch.
• Variation Global pitch variation correction. Controls vibrato and pitch errors.
• Transition Global pitch transition speed between notes.

Mode Buttons

From left to right:

• Cut mode Select and slice notes by clicking on the desired cut location. To Join notes/slices press and hold (Shift + Ctrl) wait for the pointing finger to appear then click the notes to be joined. In Cut mode hold (Ctrl).
• Advanced Edit mode (Double-click) Allows the note's properties including Pitch, Formant, Volume e.t.c., to be edited.
• Slaved Playback mode (H) Playback will sync to FL Studio (make sure FL Studio is in Song Mode) and has at least the same length of data as Newtone.
• Auto-Scroll mode (A) The Piano roll will scroll to follow the playback cursor.

Working with the Piano roll editor

Working with the Piano roll.

• Preview pitch / Scrub When playback is stopped, click on the middle of a note (where the double-headed vertical arrow appears) and drag horizontally.
• Move the Piano roll in any direction Click (Ctrl + Alt) & drag the mouse OR click the (Middle mouse button) & drag.
• Scroll the Piano roll vertically Scroll the mouse wheel.
• Edit all notes or a selection Make a selection (or select all notes) and change the pitch. In Advanced Edit mode all notes in the selection will respond to 'parameter level' edits of any note in the selection (e.g. Variation or Formant).
• Scroll horizontally (Shift + mouse wheel).
• Zoom horizontally (Ctrl + mouse wheel).
• Zoom vertically (Alt + mouse wheel).
• Cut mode (Shift) OR click on the Cut button.
• Join notes/slices Select Cut mode then hold (Ctrl) wait for the pointing finger to appear then click the notes to be joined.
• Correct note pitch 100% (Right-click) notes and they will snap to 100% correction. To correct pitch variation within the note use the Drift and Pitch ramp controls (see above). For unsnapped re-piching of notes click the Pitch handle, hold (Alt) and drag vertically.
• Fine tune pitch Hold (Ctrl + drag) the Pitch handle vertically.
• Move note start/end independently Click the Left or Right edge of the note and drag, hold (Alt + drag) left/right to detach it from surrounding notes, if possible.
• Move note independently Place the cursor on the front half of the note so the hand cursor appears and drag. Hold (Alt + drag) to detach the note from surrounding notes, if possible.
• Zoom Selection / Zoom Full Make a selection and (Ctrl + Right-click). If nothing is selected this will Zoom Out to full view.
• Advanced Edit mode (temporary) (Double-click) Double-click the note to be edited. To remain in Advanced Edit model select the Advanced Edit button.
• Leave Advanced Edit (Double-click) the Piano roll.

Credits

Pitch manipulation engine by: Zplane

Code & GUI: Frederic Vanmol.

Title-bar skin: Didier Dambrin.