[Scerpella]

When one considers the investment it requires to own and transport 6-12 full concert keyboards for use by the front ensemble, (as well as various other aux perc equipment) why hasnt anyone seized the initiative and simply gotten rid of them in favor of electronic keyboards? If they need to be amplified, why not cut out the middleman and simply use a few Korgs or Yamaha keyboards out there set to xylo and marimba sound (and whatever else)

[Northern Thunder]

And set loose dozens of mallet players into the wild???

[Grandpa]

Don't give them any ideas, Dan.....

[Granny Smith]

why stop there?

[friceox]

Then why not replace all the brass sounds with synths?

Many front ensembles out there already utilize malletkats/xylosynths already. Electronic "keyboards".

[skywhopper]

Cavies already have (unless it's been dropped since Kalamazoo) a segment of their show maybe 10-20 seconds that's essentially if not literally completely scored to a heavily sequenced synth. I wonder what effect it would have on the perc scores if we went from a large pit with a variety of instruments to four or six synth players... Or why not eliminate the contra line in favor of bass on the synth? Would that hurt scores?

[wallace]

Granny Smith, on 19 July 2012 - 10:10 PM, said:

why stop there?

Right! We can get rid of the battery and the brass, too. All the MM can prance willy-nilly around the field with hula hoops and chairs and hobby horses and white rabbits and stilts and chutes and ladders and pink benches while little Jeffrey narrates a story about a dance derby that gives Tink 15 minutes of fame on Christmas day until the celebration screeches to a halt because of the murder of a Phantom Regiment member, but the day is saved by James Bond's guardian angel who keeps Spartacus from being cubed by a machine run by a demon who meets his demise by constantly risking absurdity in front of a mirror...

Whew! Now THAT would be one **** of a show!

This post has been edited by wallace: 19 July 2012 - 10:38 PM

[charlie1223]

Scerpella, on 19 July 2012 - 09:44 PM, said:

When one considers the investment it requires to own and transport 6-12 full concert keyboards for use by the front ensemble, (as well as various other aux perc equipment) why hasnt anyone seized the initiative and simply gotten rid of them in favor of electronic keyboards? If they need to be amplified, why not cut out the middleman and simply use a few Korgs or Yamaha keyboards out there set to xylo and marimba sound (and whatever else)

Have you ever played on the current electronic keyboards that most DCI pits already use? THEY SUCK. Major problems in the heat and the touch and quality is VERY VERY difficult to replicate from the acoustic. Yes, tech has come far, but no one in the marching world would ever say that an electronic keyboard is comparable to acoustic vibes and marimbas.

[Tez]

Because the sound of acoustic marimbas/vibes/etc... is only behind enhanced by amplification.... you still get some live sound.

[Michael Boo]

Northern Thunder, on 19 July 2012 - 09:49 PM, said:

And set loose dozens of mallet players into the wild???

An act that should be banned by the Geneva Convention.