It’s been a good few years since the last major version of Celemony’s ingenious Melodyne software, but now they’re releasing Version 4, and it constitutes the most extensive update to the entire product family in the company's history. Perhaps the biggest change to the software is the addition of ultra-accurate tempo-detection. Other highlights include the Polyphonic Spectrum Shaper Sound Editor which opens up totally new sound design possibilities and DNA Direct Note Access — at last, on an unlimited number of tracks. The smaller Melodyne editions – Editor, Assistant and Essential – have also been enhanced.
We’ve got a huge in-depth review coming in the next issue of SOS, out January 21st, so keep an eye out! More info and demo videos follow.
Tempo Editor
Melodyne 4 detects tempos and tempo fluctuations in freely recorded music with “utter reliability”, say its makers. So the subsequent click follows the musicians, not the other way around. A blessing for musicians and technicians alike, because the music – despite the living tempo at which it was recorded – can still be cut and edited without any difficulty.
The Tempo Editor also allows the “breathing” tempo of one live recording to be carried over to another, for it to infuse life into sterile samples, for runaway tempos to be reined in, or for the entire tempo map to be reshaped at will. According to Celemony, Melodyne 4 makes handling tempo in a musical manner finally a simple matter. And, given their prowess in the field of pitch manipulation, it would be foolish to rule out their claims.
The Sound Editor: access to the overtones
With the Sound Editor, the new Melodyne 4 studio offers a new approach to sound design, giving the user direct access to the overtones of the audio material, making individual harmonics louder or quieter, reshaping the spectrum with macro parameters and envelopes, or transferring the sound characteristics of one track to another. This makes it possible to create totally new sounds and turns Melodyne into a kind of audio-track-based synthesizer.
DNA Direct Note Access: now on as many tracks as you like
Melodyne 4 studio finally makes Celemony's patented DNA Direct Note Access technology available in a multi-track context. And thanks to Multitrack Note Editing, it is even possible to display simultaneously in the Note Editor any selection of tracks you like and edit the notes with the same freedom as if they were all on the same track.
Melodyne 4 also offers improved algorithms, “dynamic just intonation”, a clear and intuitive new interface and many improvements of detail.
Pricing and availability
Melodyne 4 is available now. The price of Melodyne 4 Studio is €699 or US$849, whilst updating from an older version of Studio costs €/US$149. Further information and prices are available from www.celemony.com.
