Amping the brass line

[Liahona]

FAST FORWARD TO 2017!!!!!

And where are we now folks?  I am VERY concerned now...

This VIDEO has not gotten enough traction IMO...there's been some discussion....but I AM VERY ALARMED actually...Is it cheating? well maybe I won't go that far...but I can say I DO NOT LIKE IT...this is a PERFORMANCE BASED ACTIVITY...SAD!

 

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by Liahona

[cube]

Great video and I agree completely. He makes a very good point with the fact that you may as well be sitting in your living room.

[jwillis35]

Not a fan. Don't mind solos if done well. Mics for an entire brass line (or even a full section) are simply not necessary. I get that in some cases an effect can be made. I'm always willing to give things a chance, but for the most part I think this sort of amplification is not worth it. 

[Liahona]

 

[hrnguy500]

Oh, that video is SPOT ON! I was at the Warrensburg show last year (2016) and noticed the amplification of the entire hornline. (Was sitting on Side 1 near the 30 yd line) Hearing the hornline through the speakers is really not an appealing sound. I want the natural acoustical properties of the brass instruments hit me right in the chest - not via the speakers. The video also comments on how you can hear something from a speaker right in front of you, yet the performers are 30 yards down the field. I recall looking all over for soloists and solis at that show because my ears couldn't acquire their true location. My ears tell me that the sound is right in front of me and yet my eyes tell me otherwise. 

 

2017 Bluecoats ballad really grinds my gears. They play to the back corner, amplify it so that the hornline can still make a crescendo. "Look! We can still play loud even while facing backwards!" Ummm no, you are just cheating with the volume knob. How about you play backfield and figure out how to naturally sound just as loud as facing forward? 

....plus playing to the back corner (empty stands) is one of the best moments for any hornline. Why muck it up with some volume knob? Bluecoats ballad would sound so much better if they just cut the mics out of it.

[DAvery]

While we are at it, can we auto tune also? And what about rounding out the timbre a bit of the upper brass? I mean where does this end? IMO, we need to start training the judges to listen for this.  There is a content caption, reward good breath support and intonation ; not electronically enhanced.  

[NakedEye]

I'm not really knowledgeable enough to understand how it all works and blends but what does stand out to me is:

I think what the Bluecoats have done over the past few years with mics and effects has generally been good. They have created different voices and atmospheres. Not clear on the 2017 show as I've not seen it enough yet to fully grasp how they are approaching it. Cadets use of the choir has been great. Cavaliers are creating some interesting distortions that add to their show. Blue Knights processing of the snare solo is extremely creative. 

Am so far NOT a fan of what SCV is doing. Even on Flo, it is really, really noticeable (to me - someone who is not usually keyed in to the nuances of a hornline) that a small ensemble is playing most of the difficult parts of the music with the help of amplification, while the rest of the horns are adding filler. Their designers specifically mention this in some of the video explanations. The sound is weird and it seems like a bridge too far to give the most challenging parts to the best-of-the-best and then make it louder. It does seem to go against the idea that the bulk of what we are seeing is supposed to be an evaluated live performance, created entirely by the full complement of musicians on the field. Some others may be doing this as well (Phantom?), but SCV is the one that jumped out at me.

Electronics and amps have really added some great stuff, but it may be time to define the parameters a bit more.

 

[ThirdValvesAreForWimps]

In my day the best sound won.

Now the best sound man wins.

[jjeffeory]

I'm waiting for all the "dino" comments...

All I have to say is the slippery slope is slippery and will get too slippery for some.

[BozzlyB]

Anyone who thinks this isn't already happening hasn't seen Bluecoats this year. There are mics all over their production.