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If you're going to use a backing track...


nadroj

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...make sure it's set at the right frequency. This is an old video and many of you have probably seen it before but I just discovered it and (for some reason) can't stop watching it. Wow. I wonder what went through their heads when they strummed that first chord. And how do you even pitch to that? You don't, apparently.

 

[video:youtube]Mjx_GjyXCs4&feature=player_embedded

Hammond SKX

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If you're going to use a backing track... DON'T!

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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I've seen this before, but it's still awesome. ;)

 

I seem to recall it was caused by the CD track (44.1 kHz) being played back on a DAT machine (48 kHz) or something similar?

 

James

x

 

Or Mr. Van Halen being stoned out of his mind...

 

Funny.. the bass and the vocals are in tune...

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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I think it was the guitar tech's fault. The keyboard track is always 1/2 step higher.... was the same here in Atlanta. Eddie got handed a guitar in standard tuning and couldn't compensate!
Roland Jupiter 80, Roland FA-08, Yamaha MOXF6, Nektar Impact LX61, Macbook Air
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The song was set up to play in a different key so David Lee Roth could hit the notes. Eddie grabbed the wrong guitar. What you hear is him playing a guitar that is not tuned to the backing track's key. The bass is in the correct key. At that point in history Eddie was too drunk to notice.

 

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He clearly noticed there was a problem.

 

The track is in the same key & tuning as in every other video from that tour.

 

They play it a half-step HIGHER live (C#), not lower (so nothing to do with DLR "hitting the notes").

 

EVH played the same guitar from the last song (as always on that tour).

 

Supposedly the neck was displaced from a hard hit at the end of the last song.

 

EVH was trying to adjust, (probably thinking the problem was everything but neck displacement) but just should have asked the tech for another guitar.

 

 

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I was going by what I heard described on Howard Stern. It was quite a while ago. The discussion could have included general live performance scenarios. It could have been that he forgot to grab a different guitar instead of grabbing the wrong one.

 

It is not clear at all that EVH was aware of a problem though. Look carefully and you will see him doing what he does during a lot of songs. If he was aware of anything weird he had no idea how bad it was and in this case it means he was oblivious.

 

Who would have continued playing the song fully aware of how bad it sounded? He continues oblivious to the crap coming out of the system. They should have stopped and regrouped. A band starting a song over because of technical problems is not unheard of.

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Except that the crowd did not seem to notice or mind, probably because most of them could not tell the difference either.....

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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This clip is a travesty. But I can tell you that playing a venue like that with that amount of sound reinforcement, everything is such a roar/blur, that he did really the only thing he could do: KEEP GOING. (Of course, he could have dropped out and let the band finish too.) Stopping the encore to address glitches would just be ridiculous. Its just unfortunate that everything anyone does now is preserved for posterity. But hey.thats the price of fameand infamy.
Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me.
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I disagree with "Never stop the show." This is a perfect example where it's just plain wrong. He could have gotten a good laugh out of it, but instead he gets what he deserves: ridicule.

 

But yeah, we've discussed it to death. I did some careful comparisons the last time this went around (first time for me), and there's direct evidence that a lot of the theories are just plain wrong. I don't remember which theory fit best, but I think it was an improperly tuned guitar.

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There are some perfectly good reasons to stop this definitely qualifies to me, but as rule in most cases can be handled without everyone stopping. I have replaced a PA power amp with a spare in the same rack during an impromptu drum solo. The owner of the club was so impressed he gave us an extra $50 which of course went to our drummer!

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So what key is sweet home Alabama actually in ?? :cool:

 

Oh no, while I haven't seen that debated on these forums yet (haven't been here long enough) it's a subject of great debate in SO many musical circles. Can't dep for a covers band without having everyone (even the drummer) debate this.

 

As for this video, I did say I thought most of you would have seen it! In regards to them going on with the show, I think if they stopped mid-encore, took a break, fixed it then came back for a second sub-encore, it would have been much worse. The fact that they keep playing despite the problem makes it professional (even if most of the live audience didn't know a thing was wrong). But saying that, really, the whole "if something goes wrong, don't stop - keep going" thing is a common staple of musicianship that's often the first thing anyone is taught. (of course this doesn't apply if you're a classical pianist and someone's phone goes off whilst you're playing...)

 

 

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They are an awesome band , but they are getting what they deserve by using a backing track/s , and that's all there is to it :D.

 

Brett

 

I'd say that they could have had a KB player on the tour instead of using backing tracks, or made sure everyone was on the same page. If the guitar was not the right tuning for the song, it might have been better to walk over to the guys tuning the guitars and grab the right one.

 

EVH guitar sounds awful.

 

 

Mike T.

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"if something goes wrong, don't stop - keep going" thing is a common staple of musicianship that's often the first thing anyone is taught. (of course this doesn't apply if you're a classical pianist and someone's phone goes off whilst you're playing...)

 

 

Since there is keyboard playing throughout, Eddie could have stopped playing, took off his guitar, and got the correct guitar from his guitar tech in about 20 seconds... or he could have just retuned his guitar himself in real time in about 30 seconds. If he was not wasted...

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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Saw them in Mobile the early-mid 1980s, back when Eddie was sober and DLR was the drunk. Roth sat on the edge of the stage with a bottle of Jack Daniels for a number of songs. They were awful.

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People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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the whole "if something goes wrong, don't stop - keep going" thing is a common staple of musicianship that's often the first thing anyone is taught.
But, that's usually in reference to a clam or mistake, like playing the wrong chord or note at one point. In this case, there is at least one instrument that's wildly out of tune with the others for the entire song.

 

Imagine if you're one of those who uses the Transpose button on your keyboard for some songs. You just finished a song where you play it with Transpose on, but you forgot to turn it off for the next song and that song is in standard tuning (no transpose). The song starts and you suddenly are hit with the fact that you're clashing terribly with the rest of the band. Do you just keep playing as if nothing is wrong? Or do you try to correct the problem by turning off Transpose? Maybe you can't do that easily and you transpose back manually to compensate. Or maybe you stop playing while the band continues (if the song isn't dependent on your parts). But you don't keep playing the wrong thing no matter what, as if nothing is wrong.

 

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[video:youtube]

 

Gee... had had time to take his guitar off, and throw the monitor off the stage at someone... but I guess he did not have enough time to change his guitar when he was playing off key. What a jerk!

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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