Celemony Melodyne Uno 1.12 :

A few years back a company called Celemony released a software package that promised to help you edit audio files like midi. This meant that you would be able to change audio in the same way as you can change midi notes (only works with monophonic material at the moment): change pitch information without having the side effects that normal pitch changing does (with a limitation of about an octave). Now sometime later, Celemony has released a cutdown package they hope will attract more computer musicians - Melodyne Uno.

This package is a major cut down from its big brothers : CRE8 and Studio versions. The amount of tracks has been cutdown to one (from 8 and unlimited) and the program works like stand alone audio editor now. The only way that Uno can contact the outside world is through the rewire slave protocol. The Melodyne Bridge, which enabled Melodyne to run as a plug-in in your sequencer, has also been dropped.

The good
A lot of you readers by now are wondering: what good is there if so much has been cut down? Well first the price of Uno is a inexpensive €169 compared to the €319 (for CRE8) and €599 (for Studio). Secondly Uno has a new, improved processing engine that should give it a small engine towards its 'big brothers'.

The third good thing is the two macros included : Correct pitch and quantize time. Correct pitch as its name suggests is a function that with two user given parameters (Correct Pitch Center & Correct Pitch Drift) tries to move the audio parts to their 'correct' places - very useful with vocals that have some parts off note. Quantize time on the other hand quantizes notes to their right place in the grid. These macros are great adds on top of the other tools to especially the beginners, as they provide a solid way to get results with minimum effort.

The best thing about the Melodyne Uno is that it still works well. The technology simply works although it has its limits. And with the new macros the software can be used to some extent without touching the helpful manual.

The bad
So what is the bad? Well first of all it isn't compatible with Cre8 or Studio versions which isn't a big flaw, but rather a small minus. Then the absence of Melodyne bridge leaves a gap that the Rewire capability can't fully cover (although the latest update helps some).

Besides it seems like the creative uses of the program cannot fully be unlocked without more than one track. It feels like having a reference track would be the thing that would elevate my creativity with the program.

Conclusion
A good piece of software that has some of the best pitch correction technology that money can buy, but perhaps Celemony have cut it down a bit too far (from it's 'big brothers'). Still it remains a good choice for many that want to edit/correct the pitch of monophonic audio files. Some maybe put off by it being a standalone application, in fact I would rather have it a VSTi plug-in. But as it is, Melodyne Uno does what is supposed to do and does it fairly well. That said, if you have the cash I would recommend getting one of the more expensive Melodyne products, especially now that there is going to be version 3 with polyphonic recognition.

+Very easy to use macros and good "expert tools"
+Inexpensive
+Great recognition
+Great editing possibilities
+Rewire support (especially with the version 1.12 update)

-Can't be used as a plug-in
-Cannot work with the files of the CRE8 or Studio versions
-Seems too much 'cutdown'

8.0 - Melodyne Uno does what it is supposed to do and does it well. The sad thing is that it doesn't integrate too well with all setups and of course leaves you hungry for more.

Melodyne is best at the editing of drums and vocals. (click picture for bigger view)

Note : You can get the studio version of Melodyne for a limited time for 100 US$/Euros less! More information here.      

Reviewed by Aleksi Haapajoki