Would you be okay with GNR tuning down live?

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

4 hours ago, YourMother'sDruthers said:

He needs to just sing in a lower register in every song, like Elton john has since the 80s.

I agree. Axl needs to adjust his vocals to how he can sing now.

I don't want Axl to wind up like Vince Neil who can't sing a damn note and constantly points his mic to the fans and we wind up singing most of the song. lol

I'm sure a vocal coach could help Axl out. But honestly, I think Axl sounded more like Axl with Slash and Duff than he did with the other version of GNR.

[Gimpy Hewitt]

8 hours ago, t-p-d-a said:

why? Axl Rose can still hit the notes, see This I Love or AC/DCs songs. There is no reason to tune the songs down. The problem is the technic of his voice. His rasp is gone... and his breathing is bad..

Well the last leg shows he has some very big problems reaching up on this I love

[sl4yer]

21 minutes ago, Gimpy Hewitt said:

Well the last leg shows he has some very big problems reaching up on this I love

Only in first few shows, later he was doing a good job on this song 

 

[Gimpy Hewitt]

40 minutes ago, sl4yer said:

Only in first few shows, later he was doing a good job on this song 

 

Fair enough I stopped keeping track as the leg progressed

[Ant]

4 hours ago, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

I agree. Axl needs to adjust his vocals to how he can sing now.

I don't want Axl to wind up like Vince Neil who can't sing a damn note and constantly points his mic to the fans and we wind up singing most of the song. lol

I'm sure a vocal coach could help Axl out. But honestly, I think Axl sounded more like Axl with Slash and Duff than he did with the other version of GNR.

Kneel down ....sinners... streetwise religion... greeed!... crowned kiiinng..... dream teens.....  trash queens!!!... blessings — finalringaaaohhhh!!

We may have Mickey but at least we get most of the words... the basic structure remains intact...  .

Welcome to the jungle.... fun n’ games... everything ya want.... know the names... people’ll find... what ya need.... Anythingyawaant!!.. notfrommeeeya... jungle.......  the jungle!!!

Edited October 14, 2018 by Ant

[ChineseDemocracy2004]

A few of the Chinese Democracy songs are in wacky tunings aren't they? Axl struggles with them too.

[gnfnrs1972]

Maybe Axl needs to tune down that belly so he can breathe better. I know this from personal experience.

[BOSSY78]

14 hours ago, guitarpatch said:

The top of his range has really never been an issue for him. Tuning down won’t really solve much of anything. The GNR catalog requires him to change registers pretty frequently over the course of a 3 hr set. That’s the main issue that people perceive. When he’s off it’s usually more due to his middle register and jumping back and forth from it. 

ACDC sounds more consistent because those songs don’t really deviate and are similar in range.  

Thing is Axl wasn’t consistent even 25 yrs ago. It’s always been hit or miss to a degree. However when he’s on it’s still freakin transcendent to this day. Victory or Death

You hit it right on the money. I've been saying this for a while now.

The hardest thing is jumping between the different ranges and some songs are done in several. 

GnR songs are much harder to sing because of that than AC/DC imo.

Sure AC/DC is no easy feat it demands a lot of power all the time. Axl has proven with AC/DC his voice can hold the power. 

People need to give it a rest. He performs a 3 hour show at many ranges and does it well. I have no issue with understanding that.

[BOSSY78]

13 hours ago, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

I agree. Axl needs to adjust his vocals to how he can sing now.

I don't want Axl to wind up like Vince Neil who can't sing a damn note and constantly points his mic to the fans and we wind up singing most of the song. lol

I'm sure a vocal coach could help Axl out. But honestly, I think Axl sounded more like Axl with Slash and Duff than he did with the other version of GNR.

I'm guessing the clean voice he speaks of and used on CD may be comfortable for him but as he said many fans responded badly to it and didn't like it.

So no matter what he does someone complains.

I have seen them live and he sounds great. Videos don't do his voice or the show justice and each concert is different. 

I mean they are performing 3 hours sometimes twice a week.

[Tom-Ass]

On 10/14/2018 at 8:07 AM, DTV88 said:

Was just re-watching RIR 2017. Axl struggles with his lost voice so much in the Coma outro. He goes to the low voice for a bit, and it sounds pretty damn cool. Then he goes back to trying to hit notes that his voice just can't seem to do anymore. I'm not sure what his thought process is here. It's like he's trying to give fans the correct vocals even though he knows certain ranges of his voice are completely gone. 

And then there's Wichita Lineman; he hits all the correct notes and it sounds good. 

If there are any newly recorded vocals in the future for Axl, there surely won't be much in the way of the old screams.

I don't think it was Download but I remember a recent COMA where he did the same thing. It seemed like a mistake but that one line in his lower register voice sounded so much better. I agree with everyone that he would sound better using a lower register voice over Mickey in some songs. It would be different than the originals but would sound much better. His lower range voices are just as unique and bad ass. He can also still hit the screams when he needs to. 

[Tom2112]

I think he actually sounds better the higher the key of the song. When he is comfortable he goes to Mickey. If you really want to hear the fiery Axl voice they may need to tune up rather than down. 

The reason to tune down is a vocalists inability to hit the high notes. Say what you will but he can still hit the high notes, so no I don't they should or need to tune down. If they did and it sounded good then I would have no problem, as long as it was done right and didn't end up sounding sludgy.

[Tom2112]

On 14/10/2018 at 7:12 PM, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

I agree. Axl needs to adjust his vocals to how he can sing now.

I don't want Axl to wind up like Vince Neil who can't sing a damn note and constantly points his mic to the fans and we wind up singing most of the song. lol

I'm sure a vocal coach could help Axl out. But honestly, I think Axl sounded more like Axl with Slash and Duff than he did with the other version of GNR.

Are you joking? 2006 Axl, 2010 Axl... Vs 2016-present. It's no contest.

He sounded very good opening up the tour on the first trek and then he slipped and returned to the level he was so gig at during the 2012 run... Which was and us more than reasonable.

[Tyler Drama]

Only example I know of GNR tuning down:

This I Love, performed one key lower. For some reason they only did it at this show.

[Gimpy Hewitt]

15 minutes ago, Tyler Drama said:

Only example I know of GNR tuning down:

This I Love, performed one key lower. For some reason they only did it at this show.

I actually really dig the sound of that tuned down, makes the catharsis of emotion feeling a lot more present tuned down like that

[Iron MikeyJ]

It really amazes me how some of you STILL dont understand the truth of the situation. It's like a couple of others have said, it's how Guns songs are all over the place vocally. That's WHY ACDC sounds great, they are EASIER for him to sing. They are FULL BLAST ALL THE TIME. If Axl were to do a new album, and stick with one register per song (preferably higher or lower), he would sound GREAT. It's going from mid to high, back down to mid or low to mid to high, back down to mid is where he struggles. EVERY song you guys point to him having problems with, are the songs where he does this. Why does he sound great on the Seeker? It's all lower with a few screams. Why does he sound great on ACDC? It's all high with a few screams. 

I agree, I would rather Axl adjust to how he can sing them now, as opposed to try and sing them like he did back in the day. Why doesn't he? Because he STILL has nights when he can do it, better than just about ANYONE. But he also has more nights now where he is off. 

Also for the record, Myles sings EVERY Guns song in a Mickey register. Yet so many people think he sounds great. I feel that's because we all want 1988 Axl, and 2018 Axl just isn't that guy anymore. So him having a night where he doesn't sound like 1988 Axl, we hold against him. While Myles has NEVER come close to 1988 Axl, so we accept his mediocrity. But you can't tell me that Myles sings Rocket Queen from the current tour better than Axl sang it on the last leg. 

just random shows with similar video quality. 

Not bashing Myles, just pointing out the hypocrisy I see.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Iron MikeyJ

[Ralphelmo]

Myles sings it on the key from the start to the end, effortless. Axl can't sing this song physically, there's just not enough air in his lungs and it sounds bad. You're pointing out the timbre, which is 100% matter of taste and apparently you don't like it. Picking Myles over Axl in Rocket Queen, Sweet Child O' Mine and Paradise City is a nobrainer to me. You'll never again see Axl pulling off the RQ outro or Paradise City breakdown. As an excuse for Axl, Myles admitted that RQ is the hardest GNR song to sing. Axl is good when he has to sing through his throat, like in AC/DC. He can't do miracles with his diaphragm because he's just not fit enough, he could and still can work on it, he just doesn't give a shit. And this "Myles sings EVERY Guns song in a Mickey register" - dude, he's a tenor (Axl is baritone), he has to sing it an octave higher to have it in key. Robert Plant would sound very similar in GNR repertoire. And for the record as you forced an answer, those videos you posted - not just Myles sounds better, also entire band. Slash didn't hire him because he wanted him to sound like Axl, but because he could do justice to entire Slash's catalogue thanks to his four octave range and vocal abbilities. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by Ralphelmo

[WhazUp]

Changing the key of the song will give it a totally different vibe, at least for me I attack the key to a song to its core identity.  With GNR, I would rather Axl just focus on doing as well as he did only 2 mere years ago as opposed to instrumentally starting to alter things

[shootingstar]

The topic question is based on the wrong premise that Axl struggles with high notes. 

Hi does not. It's in his mid register he uses Mickey. So tuning down would probably make it even worse. Songs like SOYL or Nightrain would be mickey. 

[Tori72]

Why would they not? I think Aerosmith and Bon Jovi did it with some songs, didn’t they? If it fits better to Axl’s voice it would make an overall more intense experience of everyone, I think...

[Tori72]

On 19.10.2018 at 6:17 PM, Iron MikeyJ said:

It really amazes me how some of you STILL dont understand the truth of the situation. It's like a couple of others have said, it's how Guns songs are all over the place vocally. That's WHY ACDC sounds great, they are EASIER for him to sing. They are FULL BLAST ALL THE TIME. If Axl were to do a new album, and stick with one register per song (preferably higher or lower), he would sound GREAT. It's going from mid to high, back down to mid or low to mid to high, back down to mid is where he struggles. EVERY song you guys point to him having problems with, are the songs where he does this. Why does he sound great on the Seeker? It's all lower with a few screams. Why does he sound great on ACDC? It's all high with a few screams. 

I agree, I would rather Axl adjust to how he can sing them now, as opposed to try and sing them like he did back in the day. Why doesn't he? Because he STILL has nights when he can do it, better than just about ANYONE. But he also has more nights now where he is off. 

Also for the record, Myles sings EVERY Guns song in a Mickey register. Yet so many people think he sounds great. I feel that's because we all want 1988 Axl, and 2018 Axl just isn't that guy anymore. So him having a night where he doesn't sound like 1988 Axl, we hold against him. While Myles has NEVER come close to 1988 Axl, so we accept his mediocrity. But you can't tell me that Myles sings Rocket Queen from the current tour better than Axl sang it on the last leg. 

just random shows with similar video quality. 

Not bashing Myles, just pointing out the hypocrisy I see.

Idk, is Axl turned down in the mix? Miles just seems to be louder?

I think Miles sings more effortlessly compared to nowadays Axl but Axl still has got his timbre and „colour of the voice“? Don’t know if this is the right way to put it. I actually prefer Axl even though he’s no comparison to himself. We all know that.

I’m funny with GnR songs. I could criticize Axl’s voice (and the way he may or may not have taken care of it) endlessly but I am never ever satisfied with any other singer trying to sing a GnR song. It just never sounds right. Not the right attitude, not the right sense of distortion, of rawness... 

[janrichmond]

i don't understand the question...

[Gibson87]

On 10/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, ChineseDemocracy2004 said:

A few of the Chinese Democracy songs are in wacky tunings aren't they? Axl struggles with them too.

Better is in Drop C#, which is just the half-step down version of Drop D. The title track is in Drop D and Madagascar is in standard. Shackler's is in Drop B (C# maybe?) Everything else is regular Guns tuning

[Gibson87]

6 hours ago, Tori72 said:

 Not the right attitude, not the right sense of distortion, of rawness... 

I think the attitude is what gives Axl the edge over Myles or any other singer when it comes to GN'R songs. Overall, Axl's a much better performer and I'm sure that plays into it somehow.

That said, I like Myles and he kills with Alter Bridge and SMKC.

[Legendador]

How stupid is to compare Axl to Miles.

Let´s see:

• Axl is 56 / Miles is 48
• Axl mixes drive with clean voice / Miles is clean voice all the way
• Axl is a baritone / Miles is a Tenor
• Axl sings for 3 to 4 hours straight / Miles sings for 2 hours tops
• Axl runs the stage for 3 to 4 hours / Miles stands still during the entire show

Axl chose to sing in a more ChiDem clean voice, his voice is not shot, if you don't believe it just listen to the AC/DC concerts (it was the good old rasp all the way, every note was just perfect).

• 80s/90s - rasp and crazy drive
• 2001/2002 - clean voice
• 2006 - rasp
• 2010/11/12/14 - clean mixed with rasp
• AC/DC - rasp and crazy drive
• Not in This Life Time Tour - more clean than rasp

Quit your crying, people.

 

[Tyler Drama]

7 hours ago, Legendador said:

How stupid is to compare Axl to Miles.

Let´s see:

• Axl is 56 / Miles is 48
• Axl mixes drive with clean voice / Miles is clean voice all the way
• Axl is a baritone / Miles is a Tenor
• Axl sings for 3 to 4 hours straight / Miles sings for 2 hours tops
• Axl runs the stage for 3 to 4 hours / Miles stands still during the entire show

Axl chose to sing in a more ChiDem clean voice, his voice is not shot, if you don't believe it just listen to the AC/DC concerts (it was the good old rasp all the way, every note was just perfect).

• 80s/90s - rasp and crazy drive
• 2001/2002 - clean voice
• 2006 - rasp
• 2010/11/12/14 - clean mixed with rasp
• AC/DC - rasp and crazy drive
• Not in This Life Time Tour - more clean than rasp

Quit your crying, people.

 

Just gotta say.. 2010 and 2011 were drastically different dude. 😂