Antares introduces what they consider to be the quickest and easiest tool for making realistic harmonies. Known mainly for their Auto-Tune pitch correction software, Antares have created a solution for automatic harmonizing that attempts to one-up Akai's Decabuddy. The setup looks fairly simple, and implementing it as a VST should be easy (if it's anything like Autotune).

There are four independent harmonies. Should you really need more, you can double up the application in whatever sequencer you are using. The software also provides a variety of harmony generating modes, humanization features, and a healthy amount of quality presets.

The controls are very straightforward, with options like throat indicating a different quality in tone. Vibrato can be controlled below each voice, with rate and pitch options. Each harmony can be panned and levels controlled to create the perfect mix.

In the Harmony Control window, you have the option to set the overall chord that will be followed. In the case of Antares demo snapshot, the chord is set to C and Major 7th sustained 4th, which I am sure will produce interesting results.

The Humanization controls allow you to make your alternate harmonies sound more, well, "human". Pitch variation, timing variation, and a naturalizing control give you options to "dirty up" the voice a little. Again the Throat Length Control also helps change these tones.

One extreme disadvantage is the required presence of a USB key. If every software company releasing an editing suite, or sequencer, or vst keeps requiring these to be present, we will all be buying mammoth usb hubs very soon. Hopefully, Antares will reconsider this and take the USB key out of the picture in future releases.

To hear samples, you can check out a comparison on the website between two tracks:

Original Track

Processed With Harmony Engine and CHOIR

The Antares Website also offers samples of several other clips. Each of these has a different sound, including one they say is techno, but is obviously something more in the realm of soccer mom house. Oh well, it happens.