Autotune... Superbowl... Billy Joel...

paulnowo · 5th February 2007, 12:21 AM

That was one of the most disgusting and public uses of Autotune I have ever seen. Maybe that's what the music buying public needs to realize that digitizing every voice isn't going to benefit anyone.

Wow... what an embarrassment.

drumkideric · 5th February 2007, 01:58 AM

Amen. That made me cringe.

GravityRobert · 5th February 2007, 02:10 AM

Video?

allencollins · 5th February 2007, 02:14 AM

gotta love prince though. Right now he's playing an ugly strat
but other than that, God love em. He rules

ziegenh5 · 5th February 2007, 05:59 AM

I was waiting for this thread to pop up. Why in the world would you autotune one of the greatest vocalists of all time? I can't imagine why he would allow that to happen. Absolutely disgusting.

mhartman · 5th February 2007, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allencollins

gotta love prince though. Right now he's playing an ugly strat
but other than that, God love em. He rules

Amen Brother. Prince's performance was EPIC. Purple Rain performed in a downpour on the world's biggest stage really hit the spot.

PlatinumSamples · 5th February 2007, 06:10 AM

Prince's performance was better than the game!

Rail

astronmr20 · 5th February 2007, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulnowo

That was one of the most disgusting and public uses of Autotune I have ever seen. Maybe that's what the music buying public needs to realize that digitizing every voice isn't going to benefit anyone.

Wow... what an embarrassment.

Hmmm... I'm usually quite sensitive to autotune, but I didn't hear it.

Perhaps it's because he began REALLY sharp the first bar or two, then seemed to "hear" what was going on and "nailed it."

Guess my autotune detector is broken tonight. Might have been the pre-game guiness.

DJGoody · 5th February 2007, 06:34 AM

Dude, no offense, but if you didn't hear that....... well, you know the rest.....

ABGen · 5th February 2007, 06:42 AM

here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98HKmPFqFYw

that sucks - i took my mom to see him live last year for her birthday - i never even considered that he might be using autotune live

wow

kenn.michael · 5th February 2007, 06:48 AM

yikes.....

but Prince was AMAZING!!!!!

Jazzpunk · 5th February 2007, 06:51 AM

Somebody's so fired.

Winey · 5th February 2007, 07:02 AM

Sounded like he started out a little shakey, then someone panicked and turned the AT up to the full on chromatic Cher mode.
That was crazy.

C Heat · 5th February 2007, 07:07 AM

But why would AT have made him OUT of tune?

H-Rezz · 5th February 2007, 07:10 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98HKmPFqFYw

Ha ha ha ha, That's horrid , what were they thinking ?

RusRant · 5th February 2007, 07:12 AM

Yeah, it sounded autotuned, but it was out of tune almost the whole time. And his timing was pretty bad as well. But IMO who cares, it was Billy Joel. Not a fan here.

hollowsea · 5th February 2007, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C Heat

But why would AT have made him OUT of tune?

That's what it does to vibrato and bent pitches. Not saying he wasn't off at any time, but they obviously had AT set to a setting that doesn't allow good singers to do what they normally do. If you want to sound good with autotune, you must sing every note right on and without vibrato. That's not his style and that's why he sounded like crap with the Cher effect on his voice. Though it sounds like he noticed what was going on and tried to sing straight for the rest of the performance. I wonder what it actually sounded like.

FinishMedia · 5th February 2007, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziegenh5

I was waiting for this thread to pop up. Why in the world would you autotune one of the greatest vocalists of all time? I can't imagine why he would allow that to happen. Absolutely disgusting.

Allow it to happen? You think a guy like Billy Joel has people telling him to use auto-tune? I dunno...maybe he does...i never worked the super bowl....but i would think it was his choice and it turned out to be a bad one...he sounded real nervous to me...maybe that's why he wanted some digital help...

from what i've heard...playing the superbowl is the scariest live event there is.

I do agree though...he's a great vocalist and it sucks that it ended up sounding that way.

GearBit · 5th February 2007, 08:27 AM

After reading all the hype I was expecting some crazy jumpy auto tune freak out.
You could definiately hear it in the timbre and there were some minor jumps n wiggles but I seriously don't think anyone will get fired over it.
Remember that the rest of the world does not listen through audio dork ears.

Prince on the other hand....awesome as usual. His solo in purple rain with all of the "wrong" notes n noise was beautiful and spine tingley.

lm66 · 5th February 2007, 04:26 PM

If it was autotuned, I guess the AT did'nt work correctly cause most of the notes are out of tune.

This schocks my ears more than any artefacts.

-Noodles- · 5th February 2007, 04:45 PM

I'm not really a fan of BJ (.. !!!) but i agree that it was a rubbish preformance.

Even my girlfriend looked up to the tv and exclaimed "what the hell is this shit?"..

blackcatdigi · 5th February 2007, 04:53 PM

Sounded like a H/W TC Intonator set to the wrong key. Whoever was running it may be toned deaf. Horrible sounding and completely unnecessary.

Sign O' the Times...

Soldier777c · 5th February 2007, 05:35 PM

That was horrible, indeed.

Instead of setting it to chromatic (which sounds like what they did), they should have just set it on a basic B flat major scale . . . at least the flutter would have been between notes that are actually in that melody.

needlz · 5th February 2007, 06:30 PM

Yvan Eht Nioj

2xBassist · 5th February 2007, 06:34 PM

Autotune Sucks...

I bet the piano was out of tune as well ... pouring rain...etc... In those battle conditions, how long can it stay in tune....

theblue1 · 6th February 2007, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lm66

If it was autotuned, I guess the AT did'nt work correctly cause most of the notes are out of tune.

This schocks my ears more than any artefacts.

I think what you're hearing is his voice being pulled a half-tone off (must have been set to chromatic mode).

I'm sure it's a very difficult singing environment but I can't help but feel I would have much preferred an un-"corrected" performance with real human flaws, instead.

jsvalmont · 6th February 2007, 01:13 AM

supaheef · 6th February 2007, 03:16 AM

Seeing that vid made me search around Youtube for some other Billy live tracks. My god can that guy sing live! Check out the Long Island 1982 ones specifically, because he is totally ON in those vids. Billy has such a wonderful natural tone to his voice, you could give him a rolled-up piece of cardboard to sing through and it would probably sound great.

It's unlikely his "end" of the audio would know anything about the autotune. It couls have been added at the TV end, who would most likely have received stems live from the band's mix. Either way, it's a massive shame to hear that kind of treatment to a songwriting legend. 6th highest selling album of all time! Get off his back guys, bow down to the man.

heath.

Duardo · 6th February 2007, 04:27 AM

Quote:

You could definiately hear it in the timbre and there were some minor jumps n wiggles but I seriously don't think anyone will get fired over it.

Yeah, that's not going to happen...as much as it's talked about here, has anyone seen it mentioned on Yahoo or MSN, or in any newspapers? Will they spoof it on SNL? As obvious as it may be to us, to just about everyone else there was no problem. Nothing like a Milli Vanilli or Ashlee Simpson moment...

-Duardo

5th February 2007, 12:21 AM	#1
paulnowo Gear maniac Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 164	Autotune... Superbowl... Billy Joel... That was one of the most disgusting and public uses of Autotune I have ever seen. Maybe that's what the music buying public needs to realize that digitizing every voice isn't going to benefit anyone. Wow... what an embarrassment.

5th February 2007, 02:10 AM	#3
GravityRobert Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 435	Video? __________________

5th February 2007, 06:10 AM	#7
PlatinumSamples Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,166	Prince's performance was better than the game! Rail __________________ Platinum Samples www.platinumsamples.com •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

5th February 2007, 06:42 AM	#10
ABGen Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 393	here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98HKmPFqFYw that sucks - i took my mom to see him live last year for her birthday - i never even considered that he might be using autotune live wow __________________ MySpace Dual Opteron 285 (2.6Ghz) Duo Cores on Tyan S2895 K8WE \| XPPROSP2 w/3GB switch \| 4GB ECC \| 1.8TB \| RME Fireface800 \| UAD1 x 4 \| Central Station \| Cubase 4 \| BlueSky 5.1 \| Tranzport \| Access Virus TI desktop \| Korg Radias \| Intuos Wacom Tablet \| Keystation 88 Pro \| Rode NTK \| Reflexion \| SBS 13 slot PCI Expansion \| VST / Plug in Heaven \|

5th February 2007, 04:26 PM	#20
lm66 Gear maniac Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toulouse (France) Posts: 197	If it was autotuned, I guess the AT did'nt work correctly cause most of the notes are out of tune. This schocks my ears more than any artefacts. __________________ Laurent Marc. Vibrations percuphones

5th February 2007, 01:58 AM	#2
drumkideric Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Nashville Posts: 574	Amen. That made me cringe.

5th February 2007, 02:14 AM	#4
allencollins 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended. Member to contact GS admin. Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Rosedale Cemetery Singing Beach, MA Posts: 4,879	gotta love prince though. Right now he's playing an ugly strat but other than that, God love em. He rules

5th February 2007, 05:59 AM	#5
ziegenh5 Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 735	I was waiting for this thread to pop up. Why in the world would you autotune one of the greatest vocalists of all time? I can't imagine why he would allow that to happen. Absolutely disgusting.

5th February 2007, 06:34 AM	#9
DJGoody Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Woodstock, NY Posts: 1,186	Dude, no offense, but if you didn't hear that....... well, you know the rest.....

5th February 2007, 06:48 AM	#11
kenn.michael Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 277	yikes..... but Prince was AMAZING!!!!!

5th February 2007, 06:51 AM	#12
Jazzpunk Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,789	Somebody's so fired.

5th February 2007, 07:02 AM	#13
Winey Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 518	Sounded like he started out a little shakey, then someone panicked and turned the AT up to the full on chromatic Cher mode. That was crazy.

5th February 2007, 07:07 AM	#14
C Heat Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: In a house by the sea Posts: 2,642	But why would AT have made him OUT of tune?

5th February 2007, 07:10 AM	#15
H-Rezz Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,689	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98HKmPFqFYw Ha ha ha ha, That's horrid , what were they thinking ?

5th February 2007, 07:12 AM	#16
RusRant Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: B'ham, AL Posts: 816	Yeah, it sounded autotuned, but it was out of tune almost the whole time. And his timing was pretty bad as well. But IMO who cares, it was Billy Joel. Not a fan here.

5th February 2007, 08:27 AM	#19
GearBit Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sydney Posts: 5,568	After reading all the hype I was expecting some crazy jumpy auto tune freak out. You could definiately hear it in the timbre and there were some minor jumps n wiggles but I seriously don't think anyone will get fired over it. Remember that the rest of the world does not listen through audio dork ears. Prince on the other hand....awesome as usual. His solo in purple rain with all of the "wrong" notes n noise was beautiful and spine tingley.

5th February 2007, 04:45 PM	#21
-Noodles- Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 604	I'm not really a fan of BJ (.. !!!) but i agree that it was a rubbish preformance. Even my girlfriend looked up to the tv and exclaimed "what the hell is this shit?"..

5th February 2007, 04:53 PM	#22
blackcatdigi Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: upstate, sc Posts: 1,506	Sounded like a H/W TC Intonator set to the wrong key. Whoever was running it may be toned deaf. Horrible sounding and completely unnecessary. Sign O' the Times... __________________ Sincerely, Casey SC Digital Services Bob Olhsson wrote on 17th September 2002, 12:56 PM: "Music is being used to sort consumers rather than to entertain people."

5th February 2007, 05:35 PM	#23
Soldier777c Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 1,022	That was horrible, indeed. Instead of setting it to chromatic (which sounds like what they did), they should have just set it on a basic B flat major scale . . . at least the flutter would have been between notes that are actually in that melody. __________________ It's not about the sonic quality of the track, or even the music itself . . . it's about the Bears going to the Super Bowl. 92' Trinidad Fundadores - the 1073 of cigars!!

5th February 2007, 06:30 PM	#24
needlz Gear maniac Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 214	Yvan Eht Nioj __________________ With patience and plenty of saliva the elephant deflowered the mosquito. –Heinlein

5th February 2007, 06:34 PM	#25
2xBassist Gear Head Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 44	Autotune Sucks... I bet the piano was out of tune as well ... pouring rain...etc... In those battle conditions, how long can it stay in tune....

6th February 2007, 01:13 AM	#27
jsvalmont Gear nut Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dallas, Tx Posts: 112	eek.

6th February 2007, 03:16 AM	#28
supaheef Gear maniac Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In a small box full of flashing lights - Brisbane, Australia Posts: 250	Seeing that vid made me search around Youtube for some other Billy live tracks. My god can that guy sing live! Check out the Long Island 1982 ones specifically, because he is totally ON in those vids. Billy has such a wonderful natural tone to his voice, you could give him a rolled-up piece of cardboard to sing through and it would probably sound great. It's unlikely his "end" of the audio would know anything about the autotune. It couls have been added at the TV end, who would most likely have received stems live from the band's mix. Either way, it's a massive shame to hear that kind of treatment to a songwriting legend. 6th highest selling album of all time! Get off his back guys, bow down to the man. heath.

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