Bubblegum, a free plugin from Your Smile is Art, claims to let you drag a single note out of a recorded chord. Its developer built it after problems with their own copy of Melodyne. Test that claim before you pay for a commercial editor. This guide maps the plugin's documented features against three common jobs, then gives you a 15-minute test to run on your own audio.
Every claim below carries one of two labels. Documented spec means it comes from the MusicTech report on Bubblegum, which describes the developer's feature set. Not tested by us means we have not verified it, so you need to check it yourself.
What you are comparing, and what is missing
The comparison has three sides: Bubblegum, a paid note-editing tool such as Melodyne, and a real-time tuner such as AutoTune Go. MusicTech describes Bubblegum as a graphical, piano-roll-style editor inspired by Celemony's Melodyne. It is free to download from the Your Smile is Art website, with optional donations (documented spec).
One gap matters up front. MusicTech's report does not detail Melodyne's current features, editions or pricing, so this guide makes no claims about them. Celemony's own pages are the place to check before you set a budget. The only Melodyne-related statement used here is MusicTech's: Bubblegum does not offer the full feature set of established commercial pitch editors (documented spec).
Dimension 1: Which editing jobs it covers
The documented feature set is broader than a simple tuner. Per the report, Bubblegum analyses recorded audio and shows the detected notes as shapes in a piano-roll view. You can move notes to other pitches, shift them in time and change their duration. It works on polyphonic material, so you can edit the notes inside a chord individually (documented spec).
Global Pitch and Formant controls can be linked to shift a whole recording together. A quantize function snaps detected pitches to the nearest semitone as a starting point. Six editing modes add finer control: Main, Vibrato, Drift, Slide, Volume and Formant (documented spec).
The report names the controls but does not say how well any of them performs. Pitch detection accuracy on chords, audio quality after heavy edits and how natural the formant shifts sound are all not tested by us. Do not assume any of them from the feature list.
| Job | What the documented features suggest | Recommendation | Label | |---|---|---|---| | Fixing a vocal line | Note pitch, timing, duration, Vibrato, Drift, Slide and Formant modes cover the usual levers. Semitone quantize is a rough first pass, not a finish. | Try it first if you already tune by hand. Keep your current tool for anything on a deadline until Bubblegum passes your test. | Features documented; vocal quality untested | | Tidying a guitar chord | Polyphonic note editing is the headline feature, so moving one note inside a chord is in scope. | Worth a trial. Use a chord you know has one flat or sharp string. | Capability documented; accuracy untested | | Creative resampling | Global Pitch and Formant controls can be linked, and you can move, stretch and reshape individual notes. | Best fit for a free tool, since experiments cost nothing and artifacts may suit the sound. | Features documented; audio quality untested |
The recommendations in the third column are inferences from the feature list, not test results. This pairs well with adam sub8 pro vs sub10 pro: which suits a small studio?.
Dimension 2: Transfer workflow versus real-time tuning
The report describes the workflow in two steps. Load Bubblegum on an audio track, then use its Transfer function to capture the material. Once the audio is transferred, you edit the detected notes in the plugin's own timeline (documented spec).
AutoTune Go works differently. MusicTech describes it as a real-time vocal tuner, now available in FL Studio, including on the free tier of FL Cloud (documented spec). The report frames Bubblegum as the hands-on alternative: control over individual notes in recorded audio rather than automatic tuning on the fly.
The practical split follows from that, though it is an inference. If you want a vocal nudged toward the key while you track or mix, a real-time tuner fits. If you want to fix one sour note, shorten a late chord stab or rework a phrase, a capture-and-edit tool fits better.
The report does not say what happens when you swap takes or change the clip after Transfer. Test that step, because it decides how painful revisions will be (not tested by us).
Dimension 3: Will it run on your system?
The report lists Windows and macOS in VST3 and AU formats, with a Linux version still in beta (documented spec). Work through this checklist before you download anything. See a closer look at are universal audio plugins worth it? a level-matched test for additional background.
- Operating system: Windows or macOS means a supported release. On Linux you are in beta territory, and the report gives no detail on stability or plugin format.
- Plugin format: Your DAW must load VST3 or AU. The report does not say which format ships on which OS. AU is an Apple format, so Windows users should expect VST3 (inference). Confirm on the download page.
- Other formats: The report does not mention AAX, a standalone app or any deeper DAW integration. Treat all of them as unconfirmed.
- Workflow fit: Transfer needs the plugin on an audio track. Check that your DAW lets you insert it there and play audio through it.
- OS version and DAW compatibility: The report names no minimum OS versions or tested hosts. Both are not tested by us.
Dimension 4: Documented gaps and what only testing will show
The one documented gap is MusicTech's statement that Bubblegum lacks the full feature set of established commercial software. The report does not list the missing features, so do not assume a particular one.
The background matters too. The report says the developer, M Fusina, started the project after problems with their own copy of Melodyne and set out to build a simpler alternative (documented spec). A simpler, free tool from a small developer is a reasonable thing to try. Whether it comes with support, regular updates or long-term stability is unknown. That is an inference from the free, independent model, not a documented fact.
The report also says nothing about latency, accuracy, audio quality, CPU load, undo behaviour, project recall or how the plugin handles noisy, breathy or heavily layered recordings. All of those are not tested by us. If a paid editor has earned your trust on client work, those unknowns are the reason to stay with it. If you edit for yourself and can redo a bounce, the risk is small.
Also read: see srv-330 reverb emulation vs stock reverb: a/b test guide
A 15-minute test before you choose
Use your own material, with one short clip per job. Keep the original untouched so you can compare by ear. No published benchmark can tell you whether the result is good enough for your songs.
- Minutes 0 to 3, install and load. Install the right format for your OS, then scan for it in your DAW. Insert it on an audio track.
- Minutes 3 to 6, vocal. Transfer a 10 to 20 second vocal phrase with one clearly off note. Move that note, then try the Formant and Vibrato modes.
- Minutes 6 to 10, chord. Transfer a guitar or keys chord with one note you know is off. Move only that note and listen to the others.
- Minutes 10 to 13, creative. Link Pitch and Formant, shift a whole loop, then stretch or slide a few notes.
- Minutes 13 to 15, workflow. Save, close and reopen the project, and check that your edits survived. Then try undo and a second Transfer.
Pass or fail, in your own judgment:
- The plugin loads and runs without crashing in your DAW.
- Detected notes match what you hear in the clip.
- Your edit sounds acceptable in the full mix, not just solo.
- Untouched notes in the chord stay natural.
- The project reopens with the edits intact.
- The time spent fits how you work.
Here is how to read the result. If you pass most of the list on your own material, Bubblegum may be all you need, and the cost of finding out is a download. If it passes on vocals but struggles with chords, use it for lighter jobs and keep your main tool for the rest.
If it fails on stability or recall, or you edit client work to deadlines, a paid editor still earns its price. Compare any paid option against Celemony's current pages first. If you want pitch correction without a capture-and-edit step, a real-time tuner such as AutoTune Go in FL Studio is the better choice.
