backing vox

[DLR'sCock]

Originally posted by xk319
[B]
There has been some debate and speculation about the backing vocals though - being as Michael Anthony is not involved. No his voice is not being piped in or used in any way. What I was told sometime back after the band ditched the idea of a backing vocalist hidden backstage, was that Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen pre-recorded select backing vocals for use in a few vital spots, but otherwise vocals will all be handled on stage.

This I can see, and in my original statement I state, "I wonder how much of these backing vocals are pre-recorded"............so I gather most are real, but yes there is assistance as well when needed.
I must say Ed sounds better vocally than I expected, and again the kid has probably been trained properly.

[Bullethead #1]

It seems to me that there are no pre-recorded vocals in the rehearsal footage.

Being a working musician, I do know quite a bit about the technology which I really won't bore you all with.

There is a variety of processing gear with which the vocals can be "Enhanced” in real time..

One such product is the Antares Auto-Tune which for example can add compression, doubling and pitch correction. It even has a “Harmony engine” which can generate complete harmonies from a source vocal.

I’m not suggesting that they are using any or all of these technologies, but I wouldn’t be surprised.


The vocal parts of Michael Anthony, while important to the sound of classic Van Halen, really aren’t that difficult to sing if you have any vocal talent at all.

[RogueHorseman]

Well, harmonizers and the like have been stock in the trade for a good 20 years... or more like 30, really, because we had them in VO production facilities I worked in that far back.

And not to so much argue the point, but that does not constitute "pre-recorded" and is part and parcel of any live gig you'll see to some degree.

They have literally "made" certain singers in (and out of) the studio, too... say, big assed Britney Spears for instance.

[BrownSound1]

I ain't buying the pre-recorded backing tracks. That's just too much of a pain in the ass to keep right, because there HAS to be a trigger, and the tempo HAS to match up. You're not going to tell me that VH is going to go through this whole show being a slave to some click track somewhere. Suppose Ed plays an extended solo, or Dave decides to talk a little longer during So This Is Love...kind of fucks up the sync needed. Suppose Al starts the tune off a little faster or slower...fuck up the sync. It ain't as easy as pushing play on a CD player. :D

Now, bands these days who play everything the exact same way, or are heavily based on synths could do that, but a rock band like VH who has always been kind of loose? No fuckin' way.

[ZahZoo]

The technology to do pre-recorded backing tracks is very simple. Simple midi triggers and the pre-recorded shit is fed into the mains on a separate channel. Then mixed with the live show. In order to time them correctly all it takes is someone off-stage hitting a key on a keyboard at the right time.

With Wolfie being such a green-horn... I would expect VH to use a click track and feed it to both Wolfie and Alex.

Also click tracks are used more and more mainly because the light shows are all preprogramed per song with a few exceptions like solos and crap. The lighting controls can be tweeked real time to adjust for speed and that also will interface with the click track being fed to the band to syncronize all that shit.

When this thing rolls... compare bootlegs from show to show. You'll see the same setlist order, timing and even the same lighting effects per song repeated every night. It's a choreographed show from end to end... only during a solo spot will you find any improvised jams and the like. It's all show biz...

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by ZahZoo
When this thing rolls... compare bootlegs from show to show. You'll see the same setlist order, timing and even the same lighting effects per song repeated every night. It's a choreographed show from end to end... only during a solo spot will you find any improvised jams and the like. It's all show biz...

Yup.

Many VH tours in the past (w/Dave or Sambo) were like that, right down to Dave's raps in between songs. That was especially apparent during the 84 tour.

[xk319]

This snippet which pertains to this thread is from this ultra-positive review of the final dress rehearsal here

http://www.vhnd.com/articles/070919-02.shtml

""Little Dreamer," while it was performed well, was painfully out of key at times. Any thoughts that the band is using any backing track vocals are silenced by seeing something like that."

..."What did we witness? Pure rock-n-roll magic. Something that music has been severely lacking. The Mighty Van Halen is back... and I couldn't be any happier."

[Hummarstra]

ZahZoo, thanks for the great info.

[Douglas T.]

Leaked pro shot videos ... tight ship or what?

[Douglas T.]

Originally posted by ZahZoo
It's a choreographed show from end to end... only during a solo spot will you find any improvised jams and the like. It's all show biz...

Yes sir but it's realer than wrestlin'!

[DLR'sCock]

bump......