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So what are we going to do about it?


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6 hours ago, E3D said:

Thank the aliens that happened. 

Or thank Jeff Ream and his sources.

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8 hours ago, MikeD said:

Since the 'best' use of amps and electronics creates a better sound, of course it should be rewarded over a unit that does not do a good job of using them. It isn't the presence of something, but the usage made of that something that matters. 

Different, not necessarily better. Not necessarily better than unamplified sound, I mean.

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1 minute ago, N.E. Brigand said:

I don't know BOA well enough to say for sure whether any of the leading bands do this. There is at least one small band (Alter) that appears to mic every player. They're so tiny I doubt they can risk miking only their "top" players (one per section?).

The town I live in split into two HSs back in time for the 2002 school year. I have been working with the HS band since 1994, my son's freshman year. In 2002 we had a grand total of 32 people on the field, 19 winds, 6 percussion, 6 guard and a DM. At one show we had more parents helping than kids on the field.

In order to be heard at all, we wireless micced most of the winds...all except the first trumpet and the piccolo players. I don't really have an issue with it.

 

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29 minutes ago, Schnitzel said:

Figure this out on your own.  Just think about what you're asking, and who would be in a position to know these things . . .  it does say "wireless miking 26 players the whole show  ," right?  There are MANY others, but you have to do your own factfinding. No offense, but I have no need to prove anything to you - think about it.

Oh sweetheart, *you're* the one with the burden of proof here! You can't make a (rather bold) assertion and then tell me it's my job to investigate that assertion. This is how healthy conversations work: you say "here's my controversial statement, and x, y, & z pieces of evidence to back it up." Then I ask questions to clarify and you can either answer those questions or tell me you are unaware of the information I am looking for. That's how dialogue works, kitten.

And, for the record, you just repeated yourself, which still doesn't answer my question. I am still inquiring: were those 26 miced top players live the entire time, or were their respective mics switched on and off as needed for solis & small ensembles (a very common practice that eliminates the need to move drill up to the mics on the front sideline). That clarifying question is actually incredibly integral and inseparable from the matter at hand and the whole reason (I assume) that you brought this assertion up in the first place.

So, yes, it's your job now that your assertion has been made, to back it up with verifiable examples.

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16 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

I don't know BOA well enough to say for sure whether any of the leading bands do this. There is at least one small band (Alter) that appears to mic every player. They're so tiny I doubt they can risk miking only their "top" players (one per section?).

I adore Archbishop Alter : ) to me, that is a completely separate idea, because they are micing all 10-20 wind players, age 13 or so (I'm assuming) to age 18. The implication by the two lovely humans with whom I am arguing is that multiple top level ensembles mic their best players for the entire show and then blend that into the ensemble sound of 150 horns, and I call bullsh*t.

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No.

 

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11 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Different, not necessarily better. Not necessarily better than unamplified sound, I mean.

I was referencing this statement..."My outmoded opinion is that the contest is becoming more about which corps has the most sophisticated sound system, best use of electronics, mics, etc. "

I was not making a jvalue udgement of an un-micced group vs a micced group. I was saying that a group that uses whatever components they want to use "best" will score higher than a group that does not use whatever-it-is as well. Might be electronics...might be their snare line...etc.  

 

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Last time.  Don't care whether you believe or not.  Gave you a specific example.  Mics never went off.  Happens a lot in band and corps.  You choose what you want to believe.  I owe you nothing, kitten.

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23 minutes ago, Schnitzel said:

Last time.  Don't care whether you believe or not.  Gave you a specific example.  Mics never went off.  Happens a lot in band and corps.  You choose what you want to believe.  I owe you nothing, kitten.

I'm super into our pet names for each other now. 

And, you finally provided in your last post for the first time what I was looking for all along: that the mics never went off. Thank you!  You hadn't provided that up to this point, and as I mentioned before, that's a pretty integral nuance that this entire argument hinges on. That's some useful information that I can process and potentially be proven wrong with. I still argue that one band doing it once does not equal a trend, although I certainly was unaware of TWHS doing it in 2013. 

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4 hours ago, Jake W. said:

That *IS* specific enough, thank you so much! So, now my questions are: were the 26 players' mics on the entire time, or just for solos & solis? Because what everyone is claiming is that various top level high school marching bands are micing their best played throughout the show and blending that into...a full ensemble sound...that fits in with the non-miced full ensemble sound? And, if The Woodlands did pull that off, do you have some other examples? One group does not a trend make. Do TW regularly take that route with their full ensemble sound? I need specifics on this claim.

I have lots of other examples. I am a competitive band director myself. In a big marching band and BOA state. I hang with these guys, I compete against them, I play golf with them.

I am not going to call them out in a public forum.

They mic their best players in each section. Sometimes discreetly (mics under uniforms, etc), sometimes not so (walk near them during visual warmup and see cords hanging off of brass instruments). They mix 12... 18... 20... etc of their best players into the pit mix. A small sample from each section of the band. This doesn't mean that what you hear is only these top players, rather it is the quality players that are mixed in and then that 'ensemble' sound can be produced and layered into what is heard from the box.

The field judges are still sampling player to player. And since that sound is decent (and the bands have good reputations as well!), they are getting credit for what's going on on the field. But they get a TON of credit from the box.

As another poster said, use your brain. It's not hard to see, not really even that hard to hear.

And watch DCI. They are doing it too.

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