HighSnobiety.com features alum's auto-tune technology

7/21/2016 Daniel Dexter and Julia Sullivan, ECE ILLINOIS

Although his name may not be instantly recognizable, Dr. Andy Hildebrand's pioneering engineer's spirit has influenced the song catalogs of current Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers who have used his auto-tune technology.

Written by Daniel Dexter and Julia Sullivan, ECE ILLINOIS

If you were asked to name the doctors of modern music, who would be on your list? Grammy Award winner Dr. Dre? Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John? How about ECE ILLINOIS alumnus Dr. Andy?

Dr. Harold Andy Hildebrand (PhD ‘76) may not have instant name recognition, but his auto-tune technology has been used by current Billboard Hot 100 artists like Drake, Desiigner, Justin Timberlake, and Rihanna. HighSnobiety.com highlighted Dr. Andy’s contributions to modern music in a recent article, “How an Oil Engineer Altered Music History Forever,” by Alec Banks.  

Before auto-tune, record producers and executives struggled to produce a perfect, polished tone that couldn’t be achieved consistently by most vocalists. Instead, singers performed repeated takes that were patched together to make one piece of music on pitch.

Auto-tune technology was originally used as a shortcut this process. But when producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling experimented, using the “zero” setting to make two bars of Cher’s 1998 hit, “Believe,” sound more robotic, perceptions began to change. The song helped shape perceptions, rebranding auto-tune as a method to make a song distinct instead of a secret tool to hide vocal imperfections.

The HighSnobiety.com article explains, “In recent years, Hildebrand has attempted to further bridge the gap between technology and musicianship by creating the Parker Auto-Tune MaxxFly Guitar which has instant string tuning, Solid-Tune Intonation and an extensive selection of guitar and pickup models. In layman’s terms, it allows people with the desire to play guitar but who lay the proper finger dexterity, the chance to jam like a rock god.”


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This story was published July 21, 2016.