questions? problems? suggestions? use the send feedback button in the app to tell us..
getting started
make sure you have everything you need.
a microphone
headphones (optional, but strongly recommended!)
a music-making app with midi support (also called a DAW)
open imitone.
enter your 16-digit key, if this is your first time.
open your DAW or music-making app.
you may need to set imitone as the app's "midi input". (look in the app's preferences or project settings for "midi input", "control surface" or "external device")
pick an instrument to play. (it may need to be switched on or armed for recording.)
don't want to use another app? — pick one of imitone's built-in sounds.
sing into your mic.
you can also hum, whistle or play an instrument.
whistling or playing high notes? pick the right range!
remember that presets are only suggestions. experiment with different settings as you learn.
tuner
the dark needle shows the pitch of your voice (or instrument). it helps you keep in tune.
experimental technology
click the atom icon to switch between experimental and classic tech.
experimental tech improves tracking & latency, especially when singing quickly or in echoing spaces.
classic tech uses less CPU and is more reliable in noisy spaces or when
using low-quality microphones.
pitch guide
a white tuning fork appears when pitch guide is working.
this is disabled when using exact pitch.
pitch bar
range
listen for voice. (B2 to C6 — bass through soprano registers.)
listen for whistling. (C5 to F7 — voice will be ignored!)
listen for voice and whistling. (B2 to F7 — this will increase CPU usage.)
key & scale
(the key of C, in a major scale.)
picking the right key and scale makes playing your song much easier.
play with scales until you find one with the right mood. then, try keys one by one until you find one that fits. (at imitone HQ we love blues scales...)
chromatic lets you play in any key, but is very difficult!
octave shift also known as "transpose"
shifting lets you play notes that your voice can't reach.
shift up to make imitone play higher notes. (great for flute, volin, and other bright notes.)
shift down to make it play lower notes. (great for bass, brass and other deep notes.)
control-click to shift by semitones instead of octaves.
piano roll
the notes you play with imitone will appear here.
keys & tracks
this keyboard shows imitone playing notes as you sing.
you can shift+click on keys to change the scale.
the notes you sing will flow down imitone's note tracks. (adjust zoom on the tracks by pressing shift+Z.)
following
control how notes play when your pitch slides around.
lock — like hold mode, but tries to avoid changing notes. (tidiest notes, but adds some delay)
hold — play new notes when you stop sliding. (tidier notes)
sweep — play new notes as you pass over them. (more responsive)
legato — change pitch as you pass over new notes. (some instruments don't support legato, and will sweep instead.)
portamento — glide between notes as you pass over them. (some instruments don't support portamento.)
bend — pitch can change freely, moving between notes.
(if instruments bend incorrectly,
try changing the bend range with the small button that appears.)
exact pitch — pitch bend, with no pitch correction. (useful for sound effects and free-form singing. also subject to bend range.)
hold the spacebar to temporarily change following:
lock & hold mode will become legato.
sweep, legato & portamento will become bend.
bend will become hold.
vibrato control
vibrato is the natural "wiggle" in your pitch. this button lets you choose how to handle it.
off — no vibrato effect.
imitate — control instrument vibrato with your voice. (vibrato is sent as midi CC 1, modulation wheel)
volume bar
the loudness of your voice is shown here, along with imitone's sensitivity.
trigger mode
how notes begin and where their power comes from.
sustain — for instruments that make steady sounds. winds, horns, strings, etc — sing "aah"
attack — for instruments that make sudden sounds. piano, guitar, bass, bells, etc — sing "daah"
if in doubt, choose sustain mode!
power control
turn this on to control how loud or soft notes are.
imitate expression — power changes with your voice. (only available in sustain mode. midi cc 11, expression controller)
imitate velocity — power comes from the beginning of the note. (only available in attack mode. midi key velocity.)
off — all notes play at the same power.
auto-adjust
intelligently changes volume & gate. it will blink when making changes.
turn it off to adjust volume yourself.
volume knob
its effect depends on whether power control is on. off (blue): the knob controls note volume. on (yellow): the knob boosts your voice.
gate volume
sounds quieter than this will not make notes. this is helpful for blocking out background noise.
dashboard
a few more general controls.
help & info
open the info screen.
open the manual included with your copy of imitone. there is also an online manual here.
send us a message! it will include your settings and some other info to help us assist you.
workload
shows how hard imitone is working. if the meter is high, imitone may start making mistakes.
if it's flashing red, there is not enough CPU power. this can also happen if there are audio sync problems.
if it's flashing blue, the audio is frozen. resetting your audio input often fixes this.
listening on/off
use this to switch imitone on and off. when sleeping, imitone saves power and sends no notes. clicking twice will resets certain MIDI issues.
sound on/off
this lets you hear what imitone hears, including the volume gate. use it to test your setup or listen to your voice.
always wear headphones when using sound check!
setup
select your mic and midi devices here.
a drawing of your audio and midi setup appears at the top. mouse-over any item for more information. problems are marked with colored icons.
audio input
choose your microphone here.
you can pick a mic channel to control imitone. usually channel 1 (or L) is fine.
windows users may choose from three audio modes:
basic
high latency. other apps may use the mic.
low latency
kernel mode. imitone will not share the mic.
asio
low-latency pro audio. requires special drivers. ASIO4ALL is a free asio driver for Windows.
🔁 use the rescan button to update the list of audio devices.
