Quick Start Guides for DAWs » Quick Start Guides for VST3 DAWs » Real-Time Processing
- Instantiating RePitch Elements
- Adding RePitch to a Track
- Removing RePitch Elements
- User Interface
- Resizing the RePitch Elements window
- Select a Scale
- Applying a Macro
- Capture Audio (realtime)
- Snap Notes to Measured Scale
- How to choose Manual Editing
- Switching Macros
- Rendering Your Audio
Overview
In this Quick Start Guide, we will discuss a basic workflow for VST3 DAWs using RealTime processing. If your DAW can use the ARA workflow, we strongly recommend doing so.
To use this section, make sure that:
- Make sure that your DAW and RePitch plugin are up to date.
- Check to see if you are able to use the ARA workflow. If you are able, we recommend doing so.
- This section assumes you already understand the basic functions of your DAW and it's user interface.
We will work with a generic track called 'Lead Vocal', but this workflow can be followed with any track in your DAW containing audio that you would like to process.
Instantiating RePitch Elements
When using RePitch as an realtime plugin, it will be available in the same way as any other plugin in your DAW. We suggest checking your DAW's documentation if you are unsure on how to instantiate or add a plugin.
Adding RePitch to a Track
Adding RePitch to a track is generally done as an Insert or Effect/FX depending upon your DAW's terminology.
Studio One | Add RePitch as an Insert in either the Mix panel or the Inspector Panel of the track you would like to work with. Click the small + icon indicated by the red arrows in the below image. Then select 'RePitch Elements VST' from the menu. |
Cubase/Nuendo | To add RePitch as an insert, select the track and click the small drop down menu under Insert in the Channel panel on the left side of the user interface. In the below image, it is indicated by the red arrow. ![]() This will open the below menu, where you can select 'Other -> RePitch Elements VST' to add RePitch to the track as an insert. |
Removing RePitch Elements
To remove RePitch elements, check your DAWs documentation on removing ARA plugins. Generally, you can repeat the above steps for instantiating the plugin, but select the option similar to 'None', 'Remove', or 'No extension'
Studio One | Click the small downward pointing arrow on the right side of the RePitch Elements insert and select 'Remove' from the dropdown menu. |
Cubase/Nuendo | To remove RePitch, mouse over the insert in the Channel panel, and click the small button that appears on the rightmost third, as indicated by the red arrow below. Select 'No Effect' from the menu that appears.
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User Interface
Once RePitch has been added via any of the above methods, the plugin window will automatically open.
Studio One | ![]() |
Cubase/Nuendo |
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Resizing the RePitch Elements window
If RePitch Elements is unpinned from the Edit section of your DAW interface, you can resize it to almost any size by dragging the corners or edges of the plug-in window.
Process Your Audio
In order to process our audio, we will select a Scale and a Macro. These options define how RePitch Elements will process our audio. There are Macros available for many common use-cases. Users can also create and save their own Macros. Macros are described further in this section.
Select a Scale
In order to quickly tune our selected vocal, we will use one of RePitch Elements' built in Macros.
First, we will select the Chromatic scale from the Scale menu in RePitch Elements.
Clicking the drop down menu will show our current available scales. You can select the 'Scales...' item to add scales to this list later. For now, choose Chromatic.
Applying a Macro
Next, select a Macro from the Macro drop down menu. The Macro menu is at the top of the RePitch Elements plugin window, highlighted below in red.
From the drop down, we'll select 'Normal Pitch Range > Snap Notes to Selected Scale'. This will tune our audio to the nearest chromatic pitch.
Capture Audio (realtime)
In the real-time versions of RePitch Elements, we need to Capture our audio before we can work with it. Before Capturing your audio, we suggest setting up a loop around the audio that you would like to capture. This will make it easier to capture the audio, and to listen back to the results after processing is applied.
To begin the Capture process, we will first click the Capture button at the top of the user interface to arm RePitch Elements for recording. The Capture button is indicated in the below image by a red arrow.
The Capture button will now change to a red square and say 'Stop'. This indicates that RePitch Elements is armed and ready to capture any incoming audio.
We can now press our Spacebar to start playback in Pro Tools. RePitch will begin capturing any incoming audio, shown by the grey waveform that is drawn in behind the advancing playback marker (the vertical yellow line). Keep playing the audio until everything you would like to work with has been captured.
Once your audio has played back and been captured, press the spacebar again to stop playback in Pro Tools. RePitch Elements will immediately apply the selected Scale and Macro processing to our audio clip.
Other Useful Options
Snap Notes to Measured Scale
You could have also chosen the Macro below
Normal Pitch Range - Snap Notes to Measured Scale
This Macro would automatically detect the most likely tonic and scale from the notes in your audio track, and then move the detected note blocks in your audio to that Measured (i.e. detected) scale's note frequencies.
If you want to add your own Scale to be selected and tuned to, simply click the Scale display control shown below
and when this menu opens
Click Scales... and you'll see the window below
In the line that says Scale at the left, click the drop down menus to add your Tonic and Scale Mode and then click Add and then Save.
Your added scale should now be in the Scale window.
Now make sure the Macro is set to Snap Notes to Selected Scale and all further audio captures will use that scale and Macro automatically.
How to choose Manual Editing
Generally, you'll want to select one of two primary automatic tuning options above. However, the 'No Snapping Notes to Scale' macro shown below applies no automatic processing, leaving you free to make manual changes.
The controls for manual changes are discussed in detail in the Pitch Editing Tools and Time Modiciation Tools sections.
It's important to understand that once you've selected a Macro, you can change the Macro or Scale before you use it on the next captured audio or before you re-run the new Macro on the captured audio.
Switching Macros
If you have already run a Macro, switching to another Macro and running it by clicking "yes" in the window below will always discard all existing processing, so you will see the confirmation dialog below. A similar dialogue will appear in your DAW of choice.
If you’ve not done any manual editing or want to start over, click YES.
If you click NO, you will see the changes made on screen, which will show the Scale and setting to be used in the next application of RePitch Elements' processing, whether with a Macro or Right Click menu.
Macros are described further in this section.
Rendering Your Audio
To render your audio, we suggest checking your DAW's documentation on Rendering, Bouncing, or Commiting audio regions.
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