Van Halen "Jump" Live

ck1979

March 25, 2009 - 07:45 PM GMT

@ Robby Lane. It was not quite a full half-step off or EVH would most certainly have been able to adjust. A trained ear can tell you that it was somewhere in between being in tune and a half-step off which is why there was no way to compensate on the fly. In other words, it was off by a fraction of a half-step. That's tough right there [for Ed to play through - or for anyone to listen to for that matter].

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bea b

March 24, 2009 - 03:24 AM GMT

where is the video? has anybody deleted it?

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The Ear

March 20, 2009 - 01:30 AM GMT

@robbylane -

You're right about not being able to tune a floating tremolo on the fly (as Ed uses) but you're wrong about the keyboard being tuned a half step off (...and you're right, it's no where near a 1/3 of an octave). Yes, Ed traditionally tunes down a half step but the backing tracks were playing back at the wrong sample rate. The difference in sample rate (presumably between 44,100 and 48,000 kHz, one way or the other) is not an exact half step. No matter which way Ed might try to transpose on the fly, he was screwed. I'm just amazed that he could/would play through all that chaos. And I'm further amazed that the crowd was cheering all that nonsense on.

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The Ear

March 20, 2009 - 01:29 AM GMT

@robbylane -

You're right about not being able to tune a floating tremolo on the fly (as Ed uses) but you're wrong about the keyboard being tuned a half step off (...and you're right, it's no where near a 1/3 of an octave). Yes, Ed traditionally tunes down a half step but the backing tracks were playing back at the wrong sample rate. The difference in sample rate (presumably between 44,100 and 48,000 kHz, one way or the other) is not an exact half step. No matter which way Ed might try to transpose on the fly, he was screwed. I'm just amazed that he could/would play through all that chaos. And I'm further amazed that the crowd was cheering all that nonsense on.

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squinney7007

March 19, 2009 - 11:58 PM GMT

It was a BACKING TRACK

VAN HALEN
Out-of-sync "Jump" backing track plays (2007)

Diamond Dave and the Van Halen family buried the hatchet and reunited for a comeback tour. Everything was going their way: sold-out shows, a nostalgic fan base, no brown M&Ms backstage. Blame one of the soundmen for blowing a good thing. At the band's Greensboro, North Carolina, tour stop, the famed (and maligned by some) keyboard riff to "Jump" was played back at a different sample rate. For those of you who aren't sound techies, here's all you need to know: the keyboard sounds totally out-of-key with the rest of the band. TOTALLY out-of-key. It was bad. Watch for yourself. One would presume the soundman was sent home packing after the show.

copy and paste:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/getback/101962/famous-concert-screw-ups/

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robikus

March 19, 2009 - 07:37 PM GMT

Think I'd rather listen to Bubba Phicheman!

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Angry Johnny

March 19, 2009 - 06:24 PM GMT

YIKES!! Sounds like the version my 8th grade garage band belted out back in the day...could be VH was going for an "Artsy" "Deconstructed" rendition of that gem...

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robbylane

March 19, 2009 - 03:40 PM GMT

Recordude is further off key than VH. A full octave is 12 frets apart on a guitar neck, so 1/3 of on octave would be 4 frets. In truth, the VH keyboard has ONE fret sharp, which is known as a semi-tone or half-step. What made it rough for Eddie is he uses a whammy bar with fine tuners and could note tune up instantly with those little turn-screws.. BUT, I am surprised that Ed did not just PLAY half a step up by moving his fret hand one position sharp, which likely would have been the best solution. Let me sum this up. Many rock bands deliberately tune a half step DOWN from standard pitch because it is easier to sing live for hours on end at a slightly lower key. I played bass in Rock bands that tuned down for every show. For some reason, the VH keyboard was tuned (or set) to standard pitch instead of half a step down, hence the sound clash. Still very embarrassing and, like everything else in this hi-tech world, caught on film!