You can use the pitch correction feature in Logic Pro X by adding that plugin to the channel strip on any track in your project. You can adjust the amount of pitch correction and other parameters within the pitch correction window.
My name is Donovan, and I’ve been writing, recording, and producing music for decades. I’ve used Logic Pro X heavily over the years and am familiar with all of the app’s tools and features.
This post will show you how to use pitch correction in Logic Pro X. I’ll walk you through the steps to install the plugin on a track in your projects and explain how you can adjust it to suit the needs of a track or song.
Let’s jump in.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- Pitch correction can help fix an out-of-tune vocal part or other instruments that are slightly out of key, but you don’t want to rely on pitch correction over a good recording.
- The pitch correction plugin works like many other plugins in Logic Pro X, and you can add it to just about any track in the app.
- Spending some time playing around with the pitch correction plugin will help you understand how it works and how you can implement the tool into your projects.
How to Use Pitch Correction in Logic Pro X
There are a few different features in Logic Pro X intended to help you autotune your tracks. The Pitch Correction plugin will be the focus of this post, and the first step to using it is to add the plugin to the channel strip of the track within a project you want.
Follow these steps to open the Pitch Correction plugin in Logic Pro X.
1. Open the Logic Pro X project where you want to use the Pitch Correction feature.
2. Press the X button to display the mixer view. This will give you a view of the channel strips where you can add all the plugins you want on the track.
3. Click on an open channel strip in the Audio FX section of the channel strip.
4. Select Pitch from the menu, and then click Pitch Correction.
5. Select Stereo. There is also a dual mono option if you want to apply that to your project.
The Pitch Correction plugin will now be applied to the track. You can set it up on multiple tracks if you want to. You should see the Pitch Correction window, where you can adjust the settings. Double-click on the plugin channel strip to display this at any time.
Now, let’s look at the various parameters and controls within the Pitch Correction window. Understanding what these are and what they can do will help you learn how to use this plugin to tune vocals or anything else in your projects.
The Pitch Correction plugin window looks like this:
The first thing you should do when you want to start adding pitch correction to a track is to set the root and scale of the song you are working with into the pitch correction plugin. This will let the plugin know what scale you are in and give you better-sounding correction.
You can set the root and scale by clicking on those selections in the Pitch Correction window. Choose the root note that applies to your track and then the scale.
The next adjustment to make is to set the Range of the pitch correction. You’ll see that on the left side of the window. In most situations, you can leave the range on Normal. But if you have a really low voice you are correcting, change it to Low.
This is a good point to listen to the track with the pitch correction feature on. Position the playhead in your project where you want to start from and hit play. You’ll now hear the track with the Pitch Correction added.
Sometimes, this might be all you need or want to do to improve the pitch of a track or tune vocals. If you are satisfied with how everything sounds, you’re all set. But you will probably want to keep tweaking things to make it sound better.
I also like to adjust the Response and Detune settings that you’ll see on the right sight of the window. If you want a drastic pitch correction sound, turn the response time up. If you want less, turn it down.
Play around with these until you hear a natural-sounding enhancement. If you go too far, the pitch correction will sound heavily autotuned. Obviously, if that’s the effect you are going for, don’t worry about keeping it.
Logic Pitch Correction Download
If you chose not to install all of the plugins from the sound library when you installed Logic Pro X on your Mac, you might need to download the Pitch Correction plugin to use it. You might still see the Plug-in in your project view, but it won’t actually be available.
All you need to do is click on the small arrow download icon button located next to the plugin to download it. As long as you are connected to the internet, the plugin should download quickly, and then you can use it however you’d like.
Pitch Correction Not Working in Logic?
Sometimes glitches, bugs, or other minor issues might cause problems within the app. If the Pitch Correction feature is not working, you might be dealing with one of these issues. Luckily, fixing this is usually no big deal.
The easiest way to iron out the issue of pitch correction not working in Logic is to close and restart the app. Make sure you save any progress in your projects before doing those, or you might lose some edits or recordings.
A quick reset often helps fix weird glitches that can’t entirely be explained. This can help in many situations and not just with pitch correction.
The other reason Pitch Correction might not be working is that you don’t have the latest version of Logic installed. You should keep the app updated regularly. Take a look here for some step-by-step instructions for updating Logic Pro if you don’t already know how.
Logic Pro Pitch Correction vs Autotune
The Pitch Correction plugin is basically the Logic Pro X version of autotune. It functions just like other autotuners you might be familiar with. But there are other third-party autotune plugins that you might want to explore if you like using the feature.
Other autotune plugins can give you better control over the pitch correction and tuning process. The stock plugin in Logic works, but it’s not always the best available option. I know several professional producers who use more complex autotune plugins.
Whether or not you want to spend money on a third-party autotune plugin is up to you. If you need more capabilities than the stock Pitch Correction plugin provides, consider using another option.
Final Thoughts
The pitch correction feature in Logic Pro X is a great feature to explore and can be helpful in various situations. This plugin will allow you to tune vocals and iron out the pitch in all of your projects, so they sound great.
Remember not to rely entirely on pitch correction during the editing and mixing process. It’s always better to get a solid vocal track that is close to on-pitch than use pitch correction heavily to fix things up.
Have you used pitch correction in Logic Pro X? Do you have any tips on how to use it to improve vocals? Let me know in the comments below.
