Synchro Arts VocAlign Pro 6

Along with various other improvements, version 6 of this labour‑saving plug‑in brings ARA2 support to Pro Tools users.

Originally conceived for the AV post‑production world, VocAlign soon became popular in music production because its ability to automatically align vocal and instrument takes could save hours of manual editing. In recent years, it’s been given more music‑friendly features, derived from Synchro Arts’ flagship software Revoice Pro, including the ability to match the tuning of tracks as well as their timing. Sam Inglis’ review of the last major version (SOS February 2021: sosm.ag/synchro-arts-vocalign-ultra) details VocAlign’s core functionality, and rather than repeat that I’ll focus here on the new features.

App Renaming

With the release of version 6, VocAlign Project and Ultra are now known as Standard and Pro, respectively, but the key differences between them remain. The former, the entry‑level version, is capable of automatically applying time‑alignment across multiple audio tracks. The latter also offers pitch‑matching, along with formant‑shifting and transposition effects. Both sport a newly designed ‘dark theme’ user interface, and the ARA2 version of the plug‑in is now compatible with the latest version of Avid Pro Tools (2024.6). They’ve also both gained undo and redo buttons, and a convenient Arm Capture All function that makes it possible to capture all a session’s tracks with a single click. New features exclusive to Pro include Process Groups that allow you to quickly apply identical settings to groups of tracks; SmartPitch, a tool that defines how the plug‑in handles unison and non‑unison parts; and general improvements to the accuracy of the Sync Points.

Sync’ing Feeling

Shortly after VocAlign 6 was announced, an artist with whom I work regularly informed me they were recording a song that featured a piano and lead vocal, accompanied by a 21‑track backing vocal ensemble. The ensemble included a selection of doubles of the main vocal, octave‑down parts, harmonies and an array of choral ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’, so it was a perfect candidate to test out the plug‑in’s new capabilities. And, as a Pro Tools user, I was particularly keen to check out the new ARA2 compatibility, so installed the latest Pro Tools update, loaded the multitracks, and then set about seeing what VocAlign 6 had to offer.

The ARA2 VocAlign Pro 6 plug‑in allows more seamless integration with the latest version of Pro Tools, in which the GUI can be docked (as shown) or floating.

An ARA2 instance of VocAlign can be added to individual clips (using their right‑click menu or Pro Tools’ Clip menu) or to an entire track (via the Elastic Audio/ARA menu, the File / Track menu, or the track’s right‑click menu). Once loaded, VocAlign appears docked in Pro Tools’ Edit window. It can be opened and closed using a VocAlign 6 tab at the bottom of the screen, and it’s possible to undock it so that it can be freely moved and resized.

Layout

The general layout remains as in the previous version, with three lanes displaying the Guide, Dub and Output tracks, and the plug‑in’s Match Timing, Match Pitch and Other control panels housed to the right. There are three new icons that allow these panels to be shown or hidden, which reduces visual clutter and saves screen space when you’re not using them. Once happy with the settings, you right‑click on your clip(s), select Render from the VocAlign menu, and the edited parts are committed to the timeline.

Thanks to ARA2, audio can be captured from the Pro Tools tracks to the Guide and Dub lanes instantly, and is routed directly back to the appropriate track. Not only does this make it possible to control playback of VocAlign using the DAW transport controls, but it also means that the mixer’s mute and solo controls can be used for detailed auditioning of the corrected parts. This was already possible in other ARA2‑compatible DAWs, but for those working in Pro Tools, it’s a welcome addition that makes VocAlign feel much more integrated and intuitive.

Process Groups Function

Something that’s new for everyone is the Process Groups function, which has made its way over from Revoice Pro. A new option placed above the Capture button in the Dub lane allows multiple tracks to be added to a new group, so they can all be processed as a single operation. I put this to work on a section that had a chorus of nine ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’, made up of three tripled‑up parts that all shared timing but with a mixture of different harmonies. I was able to quickly line them all up by defining one part as the Guide and applying the same Match Time settings to all three groups, while using different Match Pitch settings for each. It’s worth keeping an eye on the mode that’s selected here, as well as the current Pitch Target and Target Mode settings. The more parts involved, the more you’ll appreciate it!

Another feature borrowed from Revoice Pro is SmartPitch, accessed in a new drop‑down menu in VocAlign Pro’s Match Pitch panel. Three modes govern how the module applies its pitch processing. With the default setting (Match All To Guide), the pitch of all Dub parts will be aligned to that of the Guide. Match Unison Only aligns parts that are close to the Guide but ignores obviously different parts, such as harmonies. Finally, Match Unison & Tune Non‑Unison aligns closely matching parts to the Guide, and applies nearest‑note tuning correction to everything else. It’s worth keeping an eye on the mode you’ve selected here, as well as the Pitch Target setting that determines whether parts are tuned to the Guide or Dub; I had a bit of a shock when switching to editing a new part, hitting play and hearing the plug‑in desperately trying to pull octave‑down parts up to the pitch of the Guide!

The plug‑in has been designed to carry out alignment work automatically, of course, but there are some scenarios where it might not get things 100 percent right first time, so Synchro Arts have also included a couple of tools that allow you to nudge its processing in the right direction. The first, Protected Areas, makes it possible to exclude areas of a track from alignment or tuning. This is ideal for parts that double only some words or phrases, or contain signals that throw off the automatic detection and cause undesired ‘corrections’. The second is Sync Points, which are user‑defined alignment points in the Guide and Dub tracks. It’s important to appreciate that, while Sync Points resemble the direct, ‘warp’ style controls many of us have in our DAWs, they are actually used to influence the automatic alignment. So until you grow used to working with them, a bit of experimentation is required if you’re to achieve the desired results — they require a different approach than tools like Elastic Audio or Flex Time.

I have to say that VocAlign’s automatic detection was more than accurate enough for just about everything I loaded in. There were only a couple of instances where I felt the urge to create and move Sync Points, but when that need arose, they worked well. But it was good to know the new undo button was there, should I have needed to extract myself from any mess I created while learning the ropes!

VocAlign’s automatic detection was more than accurate enough for just about everything I loaded in.

Make Mine Align?

All in all, Synchro Arts have taken an already very capable tool, and added some genuinely useful features that make it even quicker and easier to use. The ARA2 integration will be all that’s needed to convince many Pro Tools users to invest, but there are plenty of noteworthy changes that should make upgrading worthwhile for others too. In particular, Process Groups and SmartPitch are both significant improvements that will make VocAlign 6 Pro very tempting for anyone working with complex vocal stacks.

There’s also the more expensive Revoice Pro 5 (reviewed in SOS March 2024) to consider. VocAlign Pro’s latest features definitely narrow the gap, but that remains the do‑everything product in Synchro Arts’ range. The key distinction now lies in the pitch‑correction: VocAlign is capable of matching tuning between tracks but provides no control over the tuning itself, other than how closely it’s matched to the Guide; Revoice Pro is equipped with a powerful set of pitch‑correction tools, including the ability to adjust pitch modulations such as vibrato in detail. If that sort of thing is less important to you, then VocAlign Pro may now do everything that you need for a smaller outlay.