Michael Boo Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 D%^&it Michae!!!!!!! THERE IS SPIT ALL OVER MY COMPUTER NOW!!!!! :spitting: :spitting: :spitting: Send me the bill and I'll add it to the pile with all the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedb1975 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 There is a very simple and obvious reason why this had not been used in a battery setting yet. The battery moves, but the sound source is stationary and in FRONT of the performers. This is a phasing nightmare. Have you ever tried to talk on the phone with a slight echo and delay, where you hear your voice just slightly behind? It becomes impossible to talk. It is the same sort of thing here. This could work only if the battery was stationary for the duration of playing and the sound source was immediately behind them... or if there was a reasonable enough speaker (projecting enough to be audience audible) connected to the device. One final way it could work and one that is most ideal... is that the source from the instruments on the field is connected to a computer. This computer is running a software application with receivers that detect the individual performer's exact physical distance from the receiver and has their anticipated movement and velocity (based on dril charts). The software would basically process the sound as if it were an acoustic instrument, using algorithms to mimic natural acoustic behaviors, sending the signal to the speakers on this sort of elastic delay based on the distance from the speaker and movement of the player. It would be an interesting experiment... but not so practical and a hell of a lot of work. Where I do see these instruments as being VERY interesting, however, is in CLEANING a line. Score is in the computer... software analyses the performer's playing and marks the score in spots that need to be fixed. Learn and clean on digital... fine tune on acoustic. Did you not read the 2nd paragraph of my post? Here's the problem with use in the battery. The amps for all of our electronics are up front, correct? The snareline depends on the sound of their fellow drummers next to them to "play clean". Obviously with this instrument, there is no sound next to them. It's all coming out of the amps. Even if a corps put the amps in the back, time delay and echoing is going to cause problems. The ONLY way I can see this used effectively in a battery percussion setting is for the battery to have some form of in ear monitor system. But even with THAT, how will the rest of the drum corps stay together. I suppose you can attach some sort of a small monitor/amp to your hip or to the harness, but then it would not be loud enough for anyone outside the area of the battery to hear. THEN...you would STILL need to have it come out of the pit amps for a quality sound in the audience ear....which means that the drumline is going to constantly be fighting the echo of their sound coming from right in the front of the field. I said everything you did about the problems of "phasing", only I took it even a step further and talked about how drummers depend on the drummers NEXT to them to line up with the sound comming from their own drum. You can't play clean diddles with the players next to you if the sound isn't coming from right next to you. Which means that what you said here... This could work only if the battery was stationary for the duration of playing and the sound source was immediately behind them... or if there was a reasonable enough speaker (projecting enough to be audience audible) connected to the device. ...would not even work. Drumlines play clean by what they hear coming from their drum in relation to the drums next to them. Which is why (in case you didn't notice on the video) even the three pros in that video could not keep their diddles together in the "Checkerboard" exercise. And that was only 3 guys (who know what they are doing). Imagine a 9 piece snarline trying to do it. Forget it. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedb1975 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 None, but I'm sure if the price was right, Arrow, Avon, Carmel or any other such BOA Finalist would humor the guy and do a demo just for kicks (and pub)... To "demo" the product would mean to "endorse" the product. No self respecting BOA Finalist is going to waste their time or risk their reputation ("pub") endorsing this goofy contraption. Therefore, I would say that the guy found the perfect band program to demo it. This product is PERFECT for a small band program with limited competitive aspirations and limited members in their pit to create some cute electronic sound effects without a 12 person pit (or even no pit at all). "Broken Arrow".....would not be caught dead even aknowledging this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 You can't play clean diddles with the players next to you if the sound isn't coming from right next to you. Two words. Shock collars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I trust System Blue, and System Blue was paid a lot (or a little...I don't really know...but I assume at least some) of money to put these on their snare line and swear how awesome they are. Although this was just a print add..I think. I'm pretty sure I've never seem them on the field with System Blue. Didn't System Blue even have a set of head phone on each drummer? Still they must be awsome. I think most high schools should really buy head phones, Roland marching pads, and assorted accessories so their drumlines can be just like System Blue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) I trust System Blue, and System Blue was paid a lot (or a little...I don't really know...but I assume at least some) of money to put these on their snare line and swear how awesome they are. Although this was just a print add..I think. I'm pretty sure I've never seem them on the field with System Blue. Didn't System Blue even have a set of head phone on each drummer? Still they must be awsome. I think most high schools should really buy head phones, Roland marching pads, and assorted accessories so their drumlines can be just like System Blue. (This paragraph edited to reflect that most of the discussion was about the link presented by Troon8 and not the link to the Roland equipment presented by the OP.) The Troon8-linked complex contraption that was worn by an individual at Huron High School in Michigan, not the talented snare drummers in the video currently up. The equipment Roland produces that is used by System Blue (both being either DCI sponsors or affiliates) is sent by God to the grateful masses and should be in everyone's living room. The Rube Goldberg-esque equipment featured in the original video should be in a story on The Onion website about sonic mosquito repelling. Edited February 17, 2012 by Michael Boo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) I trust System Blue, and System Blue was paid a lot (or a little...I don't really know...but I assume at least some) of money to put these on their snare line and swear how awesome they are. Although this was just a print add..I think. I'm pretty sure I've never seem them on the field with System Blue. Didn't System Blue even have a set of head phone on each drummer? Still they must be awsome. I think most high schools should really buy head phones, Roland marching pads, and assorted accessories so their drumlines can be just like System Blue. If "System Blue" thought they were so awesome, why are we four years into this products existance and we have still not seen them on the field. This proves my point. "If the price is right", any of the best will gladly "humor" a product with a demo or an ad. That doesn't mean that they really did care for the product. It certainly does not mean that System Blue thought they were "awesome". Come on. Lets not be naive here. System Blue only did the ad for the money or the Blue Devils would be going into their 4th season of using these instruments. "Headphones"? You've got to be kidding me! Edited February 17, 2012 by bmjfelts1988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) Well, you should know that the OP pulled a switcheroo and this afternoon changed the video that we had been talking about for the video that is now up,... I didn't switch anything. It's the same video that I had posted originally. I came back and wrapped the video into view for DCP rather than just living the link. The Rube Goldberg-esque equipment featured in the original video should be in a story on The Onion website about sonic mosquito repelling. I think you are confusing the high school video someone else posted with the original video of the 3 talented snare drummers I posted. I made no change to the video that was on my original post other than to wrap the video for DCP. Edited February 17, 2012 by bmjfelts1988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) I didn't switch anything. It's the same video that I had posted originally. I came back and wrapped the video into view for DCP rather than just living the link. My humblest apologies and please forgive me; but what the heck am I thinking about regarding the video of the contraption demonstrated by the Huron HS marching band? Edit: Egad, you're right. (Double apology.) What most of us were talking about was Edited February 17, 2012 by Michael Boo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 My humblest apologies and please forgive me; but what the heck am I thinking about regarding the video of the contraption demonstrated by the Huron HS marching band? Edit: Egad, you're right. (Double apology.) What most of us were talking about was All good. Yes, @troon8 is your guilty party on the "contraption" (as it now should very approprately be referred to from now on). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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