Hi all,
I’ve recently upgraded to Cubase Pro from Artist and am very happy with my decision to do so. Obviously one of the biggest drivers in that decision was VariAudio.
It’s very streamline, very easy to use and very effective.
HOWEVER, I have noticed very obvious artifacts emerging when I do even a little bit of pitch quantizing or curve straightening - the vocal will clearly distort. In some cases this is actually a nice sound as it adds a bit of crunch to the vocal but that’s not the point - it means it’s adding an effect I’m not after and was not intended. The Mic I’m using is an sE2200a condenser mic.
Has anyone had a similar problem? Any solutions?
Thanks!
Martin
No probs here with it…no distortion at all. 
It’s dependant on the quality of the performance and recording, of course, but even with an accurate performance and a clean recording with good levels, shifting the pitch by too large an interval will cause artifacts. This isn’t what you’re describing though…
I don’t encounter any distortion when pitch shifting a small interval, and, unless the vocals are using wild vibrato or glissandi: I’m able to straighten curves and quantize without a problem.
I find variaudio, for most purposes is clean, but I always avoid moving any sibilant sounds. When auditioning, the audio sounds quite rough, but no bad artefacts in the final output. I would only rarely move vocals more than a semitone, to shift a harmony for example. Normally it is fine tuning.
It’s probably the most important feature of Cubase for me, used every day for many years.
Are you processing raw/dry vocals? Or processed? i.e. do you use external processing when recording into Cubase? The dryer/cleaner the vocal takes the better the results. Even room ambience can effect the results in my experience.
But generally i find Variaudio to be brilliant on vocals and don’t experience artefacts/distortion as a rule. However, very much depends on the amount of correction being applied. Have you tried affecting only pitch, or only time quantizing and seeing which is causing your issues?
I think most people agree that shifting left/right along the timeline is variaudio’s weaker point vs Melodyne. Whereas pitch correcting (up/down) is strong.