New Rolling Stone Interview

[danielb]

What do you think "he's getting too out of tune for auto tune means " means?

Is this coming from their sound engineer?

In the clips I provided, Arnel is so off key at times that the software can't adjust automatically to the desired note.

Kindly post links to these clips. I am curious to see what you are talking about.

[Journey/Survivor]

You have made up your mind, and you're gonna stick with it, just the same way as you are saying that people are doing the other way around. There are a couple of people who post in this forum that I don't know why they even bother? Seeing as it seems to be their mission to shit all over Journey. It gets really fucking old after a while! But, I suppose that I just answered my own question about why they still post on here? It appears to be so they can shit all over the band.

Fil uses facts and analysis. You're going personal and emotional because of the opposite - you don't have any.

I'm not sure how "my mind is made up" when I just said how the band recently stopped using autotune at Arnel's personal request. Why would I say that If I was pushing an agenda? My only objective is the truth. We had types like you during the 2005 lipping scandal accusing fans of all sorts of pernicious motives.

As for those who allegedly "shit all over Journey".... did you actually read the RS article? The band is doing a fine job of that themselves. Arnel, in particular, sounds like he's in a waking nightmare.

The majority of posters in this forum are very respectful - ESPECIALLY in comparison to the days of Perryloons vs. Wigglers, Tapegate, etc. But if you have a problem, you could certainly always run to the moderator.

I apologize for being a little too strong in some of the wording that I used. I was having a bad day! But I'm just annoyed in general at how certain people on this forum act like it's their mission in life to put the band down. Someone thinks that the band may be doing something, so they run to Fil, or whoever else to expose it. If "it" is even true or not?

[The_Noble_Cause]

I apologize for being a little too strong in some of the wording that I used. I was having a bad day! But I'm just annoyed in general at how certain people on this forum act like it's their mission in life to put the band down. Someone thinks that the band may be doing something, so they run to Fil, or whoever else to expose it. If "it" is even true or not?

That's fair. We are all fans here. Let's cool it.

[Gideon]

Neal addresses the article’s revelations and substance via Facebook statement:

Over the years, Journey has always been about the music and the fans first.

There’s been some recent press and speculation that doesn’t reflect the full picture. Touring at this level involves many moving parts, and decisions are made collectively with our team, including management, agents, and promoters.

Like any long-running band, there are moments where people feel the pressure differently. I respect that, and I have nothing but appreciation for what everyone brings to the stage.

For clarity, no one was ever prevented by me from making their own personal decisions. At the same time, we were all advised by our representatives that there are contractual obligations tied to touring that need to be honored.

My focus has always been — and remains — delivering the best possible experience for our fans and keeping the music alive.

— Neal Schon

[Onestepper]

Arnel's latest FB post definitely makes it appear he's going through it.

[danielb]

Arnel's latest FB post definitely makes it appear he's going through it.

He's signed a contract for the tour...

[Onestepper]

Arnel's latest FB post definitely makes it appear he's going through it.

He's signed a contract for the tour...

Not sure anyone is saying he didn't.

[Monker]

You ask why he is off pitch here and there and refuse to accept the answer. Then you post what reads like some AI generated thing when you asked it how it works, or something straight from a manual.

I have a couple things to add to what TNC said. First, Fil explained, and showed examples, where autotune can be set to sometimes be slightly sharp or flat at times. That alone should give you a hint that that autotune is more sophisticated and has settings beyond what you posted.

If you look into it a page deeper you will find that it can be set to only tune in a specific range. Way back when he fixed all his issues with a new ear monitor I said that he now sometimes sounds like crap with his midrange but his high range sounds perfect. That makes no sense to me. Autotune can be programed to ONLY tune his higher range and allow his midrange to be his real voice....completely unable to hold a note or be in key. Then you set it to sometimes tune to be slightly sharp or flat to make it sound more like a real voice and 'hide' the autotune use.

Finally, TNC is correct. Autotune jumps to the closest note. So, if he is WAY off and it just grabs the closest note and that could be the wrong note.

IMO, autotune has been used from the time of his magic ear monitor. They made it selective and tried to hide its use. Then they screwed up by leaving it on during the talking. And, I don't blame Arnel...It's the "band" (Neal) telling the sound guy whether to use it or not. Arnel may not even know when it is on. Same with things like the end of Separate Ways, which always sounds the same. I think they turn down Arnel's vocal and use prerecorded voices. Again, Arnel may not even know.

Also, I find it pretty convenient that playing a halftime show to prerecorded music is given a pass when it was argued to the point of insult that Augeri should have the integrity to refuse to perform with prerecorded vocals. NEAL SCHON performed to prerecorded guitar during that performance - and nobody here even cares. Nobody is saying he should have refused the idea. So hypocritical.

IMO, the bottom line is "Journey" has no where near the integrity that some people here think it does. It has even less now then then when Augeri was with them, IMO.

So far, I haven't seen anything to support they're using autotune on this tour. If they had been, why would Arnel continuously be off pitch here and there?

This was already addressed - "autotune tunes chromatically so if Arnel is closer to the note a 1/2 step below it will auto tune him down to incorrect note rather than up to correct one."

As I wrote previously, why would they use Autotune configured with a setting that adjusts Arnel's vocal to hit the wrong notes? The whole purpose of Autotune is to make a singer sound good. I trust Journey can afford sound engineers that know how to work Autotune.

When Auto-Tune is set to "Chromatic," it is instructed to treat all 12 semitones in an octave (every white and black key on a piano) as potential, valid target notes.

How it works: Auto-Tune calculates the pitch of the incoming vocal in real-time and snaps it to the mathematically closest note in the 12-tone scale.
The Problem: If the intended note is D (a whole step up) but the singer (Arnel) is flat, falling 1/2 step below and closer to C#, Chromatic Mode will "correct" the voice down to the C# rather than up to the D.
The Result: The, singer sounds perfectly in tune, but on the wrong note, which can create a jarring or "wrong" harmony depending on the melody.

How to Fix This
If you are having this issue, here are the standard ways to solve it:
Switch from Chromatic to Scale Mode: Instead of Chromatic, select the specific key (e.g., D Major) and scale (e.g., Major) of the song. This restricts the notes the software can pull to, ensuring it only chooses notes within that key.
Remove Notes (Custom Scale): In the software's advanced view, you can manually "remove" the wrong note from the scale (e.g., remove C#). If C# is removed, Auto-Tune will be forced to skip it and jump to the next closest note, which would be D.

[danielb]

I am still waiting for any evidence to be posted. Fil covered Sacramento + the halftime show (prerecorded), not the current tour, afaik.

[kmjrr]

Singers can have problems in the mid-range while their lower and higher registers are fine.

Also, saying that Arnel singing off key can still be auto tune suggests that all the current pop singers using auto tune and sounding perfect are in fact very close to the actual notes. Auto tune is much more capable.
Yes, this is an AI answer:
"Auto-Tune can be programmed with the specific notes, scale, and key of an actual song to ensure a vocal performance perfectly matches the musical backing. This process, often called Targeted Tuning or MIDI-Controlled Pitch Correction, involves feeding the musical notes of the melody into the Auto-Tune plugin, allowing it to know exactly which note the singer should be hitting."

[Monker]

Singers can have problems in the mid-range while their lower and higher registers are fine.

Also, saying that Arnel singing off key can still be auto tune suggests that all the current pop singers using auto tune and sounding perfect are in fact very close to the actual notes. Auto tune is much more capable.
Yes, this is an AI answer:
"Auto-Tune can be programmed with the specific notes, scale, and key of an actual song to ensure a vocal performance perfectly matches the musical backing. This process, often called Targeted Tuning or MIDI-Controlled Pitch Correction, involves feeding the musical notes of the melody into the Auto-Tune plugin, allowing it to know exactly which note the singer should be hitting."

The question was asked if autotune is being used why is Arnel off and on pitch so often. I answered it with a bunch of reasons why that can happen...among them was the fact that autotune can be directed at a certain range of frequencies and ignore others. Meaning, his real voice could be ignored in the mid-range and tuned in his high range. That allows him to be off pitch for most of a song. Or, it can be programmed to tune the note to be slightly flat or sharp to make it sound more real and hid its use.

I have no clue what your point is here. Saying autotune is more capable is actually agreeing with what I am arguing. That there are abilities then just telling it to tune a voice.

[Monker]

I am still waiting for any evidence to be posted. Fil covered Sacramento + the halftime show (prerecorded), not the current tour, afaik.

Absence of evidence is not evidence that something is not true.

If you can't see how they used autotune and prerecorded music (including Neal's guitar) has been used in the recent past opens up the very real possibility that it is being used RIGHT NOW then you are blinding yourself to reality.

IMO, if something happens and a suspected concert gets sent to Fil and he says it is all autotune and prerecorded vocals and maybe even instruments, I will not be surprised at all. It seems you will be completely shocked. The integrity and trustworthiness of this band (Neal) is very, very low.

[danielb]

If you can't see how they used autotune and prerecorded music (including Neal's guitar) has been used in the recent past opens up the very real possibility that it is being used RIGHT NOW then you are blinding yourself to reality.

I'm glad you're using that word. Possibility. Ie, just speculation until proven otherwise. Get Fil to review footage from the current tour. I'm happy to be proven wrong

IMO, if something happens and a suspected concert gets sent to Fil and he says it is all autotune and prerecorded vocals and maybe even instruments, I will not be surprised at all. It seems you will be completely shocked. The integrity and trustworthiness of this band (Neal) is very, very low.

Televised performances are usually not live, so I don't see why that's a big deal in the first place. Neal's still at the top of his game, no need for any assistance.