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Less brass? (to fill another caption)


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Well - here goes!  Get those flamethrowers ready!

This year "Phantom Regiment" has elected to (from what has been posted here and according to those who have seen rehearsals) have less than their usual bras compliment to add more colorguard?

WHY !!!!

I am a Regiment Phan since 1978 and cannot fathom why they have done so -- but, as I always say --"I" am not a staff member, and just feel they could use those added horns.  I have watched/listened t Santa Clara (IE: former PR arranger we all know) and WOW!   Will Pitts has done some stellar writing - but the difficulty level shows and there just seems in sections that MORE is needed.  The show, in it's early concept so far conveys to a point what they are seemingly trying to -- but in sections, as many have already pointed out - is ragged and spotty.  The ending?  well... I get they are going with the old tried & true... but my, my that Katchaturian piece demands SO MUCH more and seems a shame how the chord transitions of the actual piece are just quickly cut into the ending.

Have many other corps done this?  Go with less brass to add to another caption?  I've seen sections of brass play other instruments (Crown comes t mind) and a few others -- but I don't think I've ever in my 30+ yrs of following the activity see this as being successful in any great sense... meaning SPECIFICALLY say, a brass line of 50-60 to have more color guard in this case.   

And, just a final note -- it must just be me but I feel like there is WAY TOO MUCH amplification and sound bytes added to where instrumentalists COULD be playing!  I can't wait to see this live... and, I wish Regiment all the best!  CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!   ( and add some organ!)

 

 

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Well - here goes!  Get those flamethrowers ready!

This year "Phantom Regiment" has elected to (from what has been posted here and according to those who have seen rehearsals) have less than their usual brass compliment of years past to add more colorguard to this years show. 

WHY !!!!

I am a Regiment Phan since 1978 and cannot fathom why they have done so -- but, as I always say --"I" am not a staff member, and just feel they could use those added horns.  I have watched/listened t Santa Clara (IE: former PR arranger we all know) and WOW!   Will Pitts has done some stellar writing - but the difficulty level shows and there just seems in sections that MORE is needed.  The show, in it's early concept so far conveys to a point what they are seemingly trying to -- but in sections, as many have already pointed out - is ragged and spotty.  The ending?  well... I get they are going with the old tried & true... but my, my that Katchaturian piece demands SO MUCH more and seems a shame how the chord transitions of the actual piece are just quickly cut into the ending.

Have many other corps done this?  If so, who & what years?  Go with less brass to add members to another caption?  I've seen sections of brass play other instruments (Crown comes to mind) and a few others -- but I don't think I've ever in my 30+ yrs of following the activity see this as being successful in any great sense... meaning SPECIFICALLY say, a brass line of 50-60 to have more color guard in this case.   

And, just a final note -- it must just be me but I feel like there is WAY TOO MUCH amplification and sound bytes added to many corps shows this year --- Regiment included, to where instrumentalists COULD be playing!  I can't wait to see this live... and, I wish Regiment all the best!  CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!   ( and add some organ!)

 

 

Edited by PRPhan4ever
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I tried to count and I think I came up with 60-65?    I MAY BE wrong, but hey.... if it works... I just think they need MORE volume...

 

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2 minutes ago, PRPhan4ever said:

Well - here goes!  Get those flamethrowers ready!

This year "Phantom Regiment" has elected to (from what has been posted here and according to those who have seen rehearsals) have less than their usual brass compliment of years past to add more colorguard to this years show. 

WHY !!!!

I am a Regiment Phan since 1978 and cannot fathom why they have done so -- but, as I always say --"I" am not a staff member, and just feel they could use those added horns.  I have watched/listened t Santa Clara (IE: former PR arranger we all know) and WOW!   Will Pitts has done some stellar writing - but the difficulty level shows and there just seems in sections that MORE is needed.  The show, in it's early concept so far conveys to a point what they are seemingly trying to -- but in sections, as many have already pointed out - is ragged and spotty.  The ending?  well... I get they are going with the old tried & true... but my, my that Katchaturian piece demands SO MUCH more and seems a shame how the chord transitions of the actual piece are just quickly cut into the ending.

Have many other corps done this?  If so, who & what years?  Go with less brass to add members to another caption?  I've seen sections of brass play other instruments (Crown comes to mind) and a few others -- but I don't think I've ever in my 30+ yrs of following the activity see this as being successful in any great sense... meaning SPECIFICALLY say, a brass line of 50-60 to have more color guard in this case.   

And, just a final note -- it must just be me but I feel like there is WAY TOO MUCH amplification and sound bytes added to many corps shows this year --- Regiment included, to where instrumentalists COULD be playing!  I hwait to see this live... and, I wish Regiment all the best!  CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!   ( and add some organ!)

 

 

Cadets have only 70 brass and a smaller front ensemble to fill out the guard.

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the goo is strong with some corps, but its also hard to tell how it sounds in the stands given the placement of speakers relative to the microphones. Live its easier to tell, and thats all the judges care about. 

If a corps can get roughly the same volume and quality from a smaller brass line, they are allowed to do so. That is the beauty of having a max MM level, if you want to boost one section you do it at the expense of another. Are the cadets singers taking spots from the pit or guard or brassline or drumline? I'm sure this was answered somewhere. 

The same thing goes with a decrease in low brass marchers in favor of electronically produced bass. Some corps have done so, and boosted other areas of the corps. Designers have the freedom to do so. I just know, personally, few things in life are better than an in your face brassline and experiencing it live. Its a hard balance, and has been the struggle of designing shows for decades though (not the goo necessarily, but how to balance music and visual design). 

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IMHO, there's really no discernible, in either decibels or depth, difference between, say, 64 brass and 75. Now, if they really do have "50 to 60" as above, I can see how it's possible that one could perceive a need for a few more on each part. Funny, I just read last night that Mandarins have 76 horns, and my first thought was, "Gee, I hope they don't only have low 30's in the guard". To each his own  :lle:.

 

Edited by grenadasmoothie
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I noticed that Phantom has seven high microphones evenly spaced along the front sideline (from the side one 20 yard line to the side two 20). Is this to amplify the entire horn line?

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