Don Felder Auto tune

I know many people claim Don Felder uses auto tune but have we conclusively decided that? His live concert stuff sounds very robotic and it very smooth (Not necessarily in a good way) and it often screams auto tune usage especially since he's singing songs he has never done and ones that don't fit him that well. But if you listen to some other stuff it seems that maybe his voice is just like that. This version of HC with Sammy Hagar has no mic shown and it sounds like his vocal in concert. It seems like that weird quality might just be his normal voice. He has also called out musicians who use it and although I side with the band over the firing, he is still seemingly a genuine good guy and I don't think he would contradict himself like that. Any help would be appreciated because it's a debate i'd like to see solved

HC clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mHdbknoNrY

Normal concert clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swFT_f8KRMs

I definitely don't think he's using AutoTune at all...that's just his normal voice.

I quite like his singing, I think he's far better than some give credit for. Is he Don Henley or Glenn Frey, no, but not many are, lol. I think he does justice to the tunes. I would love to see him in concert. I wish he'd tour more actually.

I was and still am a huge Felder fan, though I've grown to appreciate or at least understand Frey's opinion on the subject too. I still think it was a mistake firing him, though in recent years he's kind of proven that he can be difficult to deal with and I lost some respect for him after some of the things he did or said after Glenn passed. That's when my mindset changed some, though I still love Felder, I think he's one of the very best guitarists and underrated, even moreso than Joe, but he isn't as perfect as I once thought and I feel that maybe he wasn't so innocent, though I don't think Glenn was an angel either. I'm over it now. That said, I'll still defend him where it feels right. And this, for me, feels right.

We have discussed this in some thread. Seems to me he often uses a prerecorded and autotune'd lead vocal. Compare different live versions of the same songs and they are identical.

Here, in Take It Easy, the prerecorded track appears on the wrong beat when the final verse starts (I guess the drummer lost the click at some point) and Don must sing the rest of the song live. You can hear the difference soundwise. And no Autotune -> more pitch "problems": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HegtSeolbcM

Don sometimes misses the word "'cause" in the line "'Cause I'm already standing on the ground", but still we hear the word. Like here at 1:03 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjUj8qF47xA

It looks impressive how Don always nails the high wails in the middle of Witchy Woman in the original key, but I don't think he sings them live. But like I've said before, personally I don't mind him using a prerecorded vocal track, because I don't think it's his singing people come to hear. It's the guitar playing.

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Originally Posted by WalshFan88

I definitely don't think he's using AutoTune at all...that's just his normal voice.

I quite like his singing, I think he's far better than some give credit for. Is he Don Henley or Glenn Frey, no, but not many are, lol. I think he does justice to the tunes. I would love to see him in concert. I wish he'd tour more actually.

I was and still am a huge Felder fan, though I've grown to appreciate or at least understand Frey's opinion on the subject too. I still think it was a mistake firing him, though in recent years he's kind of proven that he can be difficult to deal with and I lost some respect for him after some of the things he did or said after Glenn passed. That's when my mindset changed some, though I still love Felder, I think he's one of the very best guitarists and underrated, even moreso than Joe, but he isn't as perfect as I once thought and I feel that maybe he wasn't so innocent, though I don't think Glenn was an angel either. I'm over it now. That said, I'll still defend him where it feels right. And this, for me, feels right.

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I don't know if it's clearly not auto tune, it still has that metallic and fake edge to it when he sings. But I never hated his singing. I really like Visions and I wish there were more times when you could hear him sing. His solo stuff doesn't help, the music drowns the vocals out. But there is a reason why he was singing the bass notes on SBR LOL. The hiring was a mistake but I don't care particularly for Felder's argument. I think he's ok, definitely not bad but some songs are just not good for his type of voice. Heartache tonight is not a song he should do and I'd prefer if he focused more on songs where he had a tangible effect, there really isn't a reason why he should PFE. I do hope he tours more so I could see him sometime.

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Originally Posted by chaim

We have discussed this in some thread. Seems to me he often uses a prerecorded and autotune'd lead vocal. Compare different live versions of the same songs and they are identical.

Here, in Take It Easy, the prerecorded track appears on the wrong beat when the final verse starts (I guess the drummer lost the click at some point) and Don must sing the rest of the song live. You can hear the difference. No Autotune and more pitch "problems": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HegtSeolbcM

Don often misses the word "'cause" in the line "'Cause I'm already standing on the ground", but still we hear the word. Like here at 1:03 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjUj8qF47xA

It looks impressive how Don always nails the high wails in the middle of Witchy Woman in the original key, but I don't think he sings them live. But like I've said before, personally I don't mind him using a prerecorded vocal track, because I don't think it's his singing people come to hear. It's the guitar playing.

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The publisher blocked that video but I'll try to see it a different way. Sorry for going over a talked about subject I looked it up and didn't find anything.

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Originally Posted by YoungEaglesFan

The publisher blocked that video but I'll try to see it a different way. Sorry for going over a talked about subject I looked it up and didn't find anything.

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I could be mistaken. Perhaps Autotune wasn't discussed. I remember talking about my lip sync suspucions and posting links.

It was discussed in a couple of threads:
https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/...totune&page=20
https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/...une#post332551

I can't tell if it's auto-tune or pre-recorded tracks or he's singing live. There are some videos where I assume he's singing live, because I can't hear him.

Well I finally got to see him last week and up close I'm not sure what to think. The vocals don't sound too natural indeed most of the time, very "processed" ut even on close inspection of my videos I find it hard to believe he's lip syncing (unlike say Roger Waters where's it's often pretty obvious). On the other hand there are guitar parts in HC that are not being played live so I guess it's possible. That would mean he's perfected the "art" of lip syncing ;-)

Here's HC : https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7lktik

GREAT SHOW BTW ;-)

EDIT - oh and he seems to be reading lyrics off a phone under the mic (although he had a large prompter at his feet) so would he bother if he was lip syncing ?

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Originally Posted by webvan

Well I finally got to see him last week and up close I'm not sure what to think. The vocals don't sound too natural indeed most of the time, very "processed" ut even on close inspection of my videos I find it hard to believe he's lip syncing (unlike say Roger Waters where's it's often pretty obvious). On the other hand there are guitar parts in HC that are not being played live so I guess it's possible. That would mean he's perfected the "art" of lip syncing ;-)

Here's HC : https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7lktik

GREAT SHOW BTW ;-)

EDIT - oh and he seems to be reading lyrics off a phone under the mic (although he had a large prompter at his feet) so would he bother if he was lip syncing ?

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IMO he has been lip syncing for a few years, but it's just my opinion based on hearing several identical vocal versions of the songs and also the fact that he sometimes forgets to "sing" the word "'cause" in PEF, but we still hear it.

Yeah I looked at the HC video for London and the "crowd singing" part came at exactly the same spot.

That could also explain why he didn't restart "Rock You" in Paris when he had no sound coming from his guitar for 3/4ths of the song ! I suppose the loops are triggered by the keyboard player ? A bit disappointing I must say...

And then there's the video on YouTube where the vocal in the final verse of Take It Easy starts a bit early, so he has to sing the rest of the song live - and sounds fine to me.

On the other hand, Austin just posted a Long Run clip in another thread where the vocal sounds live to me. One note very much out of tunein the first verse. He's reading the lyrics, but that doesn't mean he's singing live - he still would have to "mime" the correct words if he was lip syncing.

Whenever I say that Don is lip syncing, it's not a fact, just an opinion. Maybe he's singing live AND there's a track as well. That would explain the "'cause" we hear that he doesn't sing.

Sure, we're all scratching our heads ;-)

What TIE video is it ?

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Originally Posted by WalshFan88

I definitely don't think he's using AutoTune at all...that's just his normal voice.

I quite like his singing, I think he's far better than some give credit for. Is he Don Henley or Glenn Frey, no, but not many are, lol. I think he does justice to the tunes. I would love to see him in concert. I wish he'd tour more actually.

I was and still am a huge Felder fan, though I've grown to appreciate or at least understand Frey's opinion on the subject too. I still think it was a mistake firing him, though in recent years he's kind of proven that he can be difficult to deal with and I lost some respect for him after some of the things he did or said after Glenn passed. That's when my mindset changed some, though I still love Felder, I think he's one of the very best guitarists and underrated, even moreso than Joe, but he isn't as perfect as I once thought and I feel that maybe he wasn't so innocent, though I don't think Glenn was an angel either. I'm over it now. That said, I'll still defend him where it feels right. And this, for me, feels right.

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Boy does JD Souther's quote of "Time passes, things change' ring true right now as I'm reading this. My opinion here hasn't aged well, even to my own viewpoint.

Since this comment I've actually gone to see Don front row opening for Styx and REO Speedwagon and yes he was clearly using Auto-Tune (so much easier to hear it blasting through a PA!) and no, I do not like his singing any longer. And now that I've heard it live, it's easier to pick up on it when watching clips. Some are more obvious than others. He would be well served by getting a singer or two, which I have mentioned both in my concert review and in other threads since this comment was posted. Don is definitely Auto-Tuning at least half if not more of the songs he sings. More so the DH ones, at the concert I saw.

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Originally Posted by webvan

Sure, we're all scratching our heads ;-)

What TIE video is it ?

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12:36. A very smooth transition from a track that is now in a wrong place in the bar to live singing. But I guess they had prepared for such things. Anyway, I still can't say for a fact that that's happened there, but it sure sounds like it. https://youtu.be/HegtSeolbcM

Don was just here in MS two weeks ago. I wanted to go, but I also heard the reviews from ya'll. So it wasn't worth the 3 hour drive to Biloxi. Plus I didn't have money to go by a ticket. That was also basically the problem. If I really wanted to see him, I could had saved.

Yeah something's up there ! So either he "catches up" or they switch to live singing ? There's a volume difference around 12:48, maybe when the backing vocals kick in. It must be a big PITA to get these things in sync, and what's on the "tape" ? Just the vocals or some background, acoustic guitars maybe ? Seems to be more trouble than it's worth !

And here, at 1:03 mark, we hear the word "'cause" although he doesn't sing it. https://youtu.be/QjUj8qF47xA

My personal opinion is that Don has been lip syncing for a few years now, but he doesn't need it. IMHO he could still sing well enough to be a "guitarist that also sings".

Well I did find him a bit "nervous" the other day in spite of all the smiles. It's possible (even likely) that he's not a natural entertainer and he's just stressed out when being the main center of attention so having a recorded voice (his fortunately !) is one less thing to worry about...The way he went out of his way to introduce his musicians as playing with X, Y and Z and thanking his new record company BMG goes in the same "direction" I'd say. Not your average ruthless rock star ;-)

Saw him in Plymouth, NH last night and my heart sank a little when he completely missed the first lines of Already Gone with the vocals still blaring out. Still, it was a really fun night and it seemed like everyone had a blast.

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Originally Posted by roogalator

Saw him in Plymouth, NH last night and my heart sank a little when he completely missed the first lines of Already Gone with the vocals still blaring out. Still, it was a really fun night and it seemed like everyone had a blast.

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I'm not sure if I'd mind Don lip syncing if it was something people knew and accepted. It's comments like "he sounds great. Glenn Frey sucks" that bother me. People make him out to be better as a singer than he actually is and throw those anti-Frey comments in their praises.

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Originally Posted by roogalator

Saw him in Plymouth, NH last night and my heart sank a little when he completely missed the first lines of Already Gone with the vocals still blaring out. Still, it was a really fun night and it seemed like everyone had a blast.

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Wow, just wow! Can't believe he would make a mistake like that!

Not at all surprised, I have to say. Still doesn't make it not disappointing, seeing as how I idolized the guy (and I still do for his guitar work). Thanks for sharing that, roogalator!

So he's definitely using tracks and very likely never singing live and just lip syncs. Add the fact that the tracks are heavily auto-tuned. Who exactly is he trying to kid? Have some pride left. Get. A. Singer! (or 2)
Couple all of this with what we were talking about with his scrolling on an iPhone while "singing" (so he can "mouth" the right words, rather), and you have an extremely unprofessional show with an artist who needs to hang it up or get someone else to actually SING. I think one of the reasons he was causing turbulence in the Eagles was not only his pay but rather the fact he wanted to be the frontman. He was never happy playing second fiddle to Glenn or Don. So by god when he gets his own band with his own name, he will be calling ALL of the shots, singing ALL of the songs, and stealing the spotlight 100%! I think knowing all of that, one could say that maybe Glenn wasn't the one with ego trouble. Maybe afterall Don was the passive-aggressive narcissist who wanted to hog the spotlight and make all of the money. It's kind of sad.

Felder has never been a good singer, Henley and Frey told him that much in the 70s and they said it in HOTE. Visions is atrocious from a vocal standpoint (add to that that the song is mostly forgettable), no wonder why DH didn't want him singing VOL! He's a great guitarst and writer of guitar parts. That is it, nothing more nothing less. He is not capable of singing or IMO writing good lyrics. Just read some of the lyrics on Road To Forever and American Rock N' Roll. He's no Henley when it comes to lyrics and he's no Frey when it comes to arrangement! Heavy Metal is by far the only tune of his I actually like and listen to.

If he wants to go out and perform material sung by two of the greatest vocalists of all time, then you need to have someone who can actually pull it off and do it justice! Especially when he's performing songs that had nothing to do with him like the first two Eagles records. I can maybe understand TIE, but PEF and Tequila Sunrise? Really?! That's not even in your wheelhouse Don. C'mon. If he wants to go out and live in fantasy-land and pretend that he is Glenn Frey onstage, by all means. That doesn't make it any less pathetic/sad. Be happy with being an elite guitarist who was in a great band and who started "Hotel California".

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Originally Posted by chaim

I'm not sure if I'd mind Don lip syncing if it was something people knew and accepted. It's comments like "he sounds great. Glenn Frey sucks" that bother me. People make him out to be better as a singer than he actually is and throw those anti-Frey comments in their praises.

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People are bitter and don't want to accept the reality of what Glenn and Don have said from the beginning. They also don't want to accept the fact that Don was the problem, not Glenn. Don was the one with the overreaching ego and his need for more and more control in the Eagles camp. I know this because I was like them once, but then I did some digging and found that I was very wrong. I had blinders on. Don Felder was a malcontent. If David Geffen can say that about Don Henley (which I still agree with), I think Felder was even more insufferable, worse than Henley. I think Glenn was actually quite humble, compared to DF.

They have to get their digs in still. Kind of like Felder, they haven't moved on. The man is now dead and no longer in the band. They STILL feel the need to cast stones at him. Birds of a feather do flock together. It should be no surprise that his hardcore anti-GF fans are just like him. He attracts what he puts out there. That's old news. But at some point, considering that it is literally over and done with, get over it already!

One thing I don't get is that if Don lip syncs, why does he play HC in a lower key these days? Perhaps he sings live sometimes. That iPhone scrolling performance of The Long Run sounded live to me.

Here he sings some wrong lyrics instead of "You should be home, but you're not", so he was definitely singing live. The lip syncing might be an age thing. Eagles melodies are not sung in a very low register.

https://youtu.be/bJnH-eJmMRo

Pretty good singing too ! I suppose he feels he can't do that anymore for whatever reason. Again I thought he looked "stressed" the other day, not very confident in his abilities. Maybe there were too many "mistakes" over the years and he doesn't want to have to worry about it.

As a side not I prefer his current bassist and guitar player, especially bass player, that one looked, hum..."heavy" !

Severe sync issues with Don's vocal track and the rest of the band are apparent here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INWHa2y8qaw

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Originally Posted by thebagels

Severe sync issues with Don's vocal track and the rest of the band are apparent here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INWHa2y8qaw

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Is that a track or is he just singing sort of rubato - kind of answering the background vocals? Seems it's even in a differenr tempo. He catches up right before the chorus starts and I don't know how a track could do that - unless he started singing live at that point because he had no choice.

It's a shame, really. It'd be so much better and frankly a lot more dignified to admit defeat on the singing, get a singer, and then no one would be able to say anything about it.

I really feel bad for those going to his show unless they are just guitar lovers who don't care about the songs being done well vocally, which in that case I could see you still liking the show. I liked it from that perspective, but the vocals wore on me with every passing minute!

It's not like Don completely can't sing either. I found this video from 2014. He's really singing live here (little imperfections here and there), and he can hit the high notes in "Witchy Woman" and the high part in "Heartache Tonight" in his real voice. I don't know why he feels the need to lip sync almost every performance now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzO6KHm2MBk