RContra

1. BD 2. Bloo 3. Crown 4. Boston 5. SCV 6. Blue Stars 7. Cavaliers 8. Cadets 9. Phantom 10. Mandarins 11. Crossmen 12. Colts (!!!) 13. Blue Knights 14. Madison The heck with placements. What an incredible group of shows 1-14. Loving every single production so far.

What I love about 2022 so far is that despite these score gaps, we’re going to see both of these corps absolutely rip it up Finals night. The Midwest is having a heck of a year this season. Love me some Cavies, Stars, Phantom and Bloo. Absolutely wonderful programs.

Agree. Should have been bigger. With that said, I LOVE Phantom’s visual design this year! But the BS guard and brass is in another league compared to my beloved Regiment.

Check that math. If Perc scores what brass did tonight, they’re only .8 down. A pointless observation by me, I admit. lol Still - it’s interesting that 2/3 of this drum corps is somewhat hanging with one of the big dogs.

Ultra-brief thoughts: -Crown sounds great as always. Show isn’t my trip of tea, but the performance is undeniable. -Cavaliers easily have my favorite unis this year. Love the look. Modern and yet unquestionably Cavaliers. -Phantom is back. -Blue Stars brass and guard are fantastic. What’s going on with their percussion? If they were scoring how the brass line is, they’d be mere tenths from Cavies. -Crossmen’s concept is so fun with the beginnings and endings. Music selection really vibes. -Colts! Red Team is throwing down this year! Favorite Colts show since… hell, maybe ever??

Just wanted to take a moment to mention that their accel/decel brass feature is one of the coolest things I've ever heard on a field. Can't wait to hear it in Lucas Oil.

Not sure what's going on with the percussion. As for the brass and guard thing (ya know, the two captions that beat the Cavaliers that night), thankfully those two sections are collectively responsible for a lot of the sheets. It's a long season, and opening night scores are (mostly) meaningless. Hope those kids have a great season regardless of what happens.

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That’s a Texas-sized negative. Sure, you can put low C in tune. Any other alt. fingering gained is borderline moot. Anything heavier than current Yamahas is borderline unacceptable with today’s physical requirements on the visual side. An extra valve isn’t only not worth the weight and cost - I would actively pay money to keep it *off* of my horns. 😀

Unless the Cadets totally overhaul their drumming image (which is possible), Mapes & Grom write stuff that's way too hip for that line. Not a knock on Cadets percussion, just a difference in approaches.

I know this seems like trolling, and it isn't exactly said tactfully, but there's some truth to this. Announcements incoming soon.

Exciting stuff! What's got me curious at the moment - as a contra player who has marched both Gs and Bbs, my concern is in performer health. With today's physical demands, the Yamaha horns blow the competition out of the water in terms of ergonomics. How will a 5/4 horn remain light enough? Talk to any member who has switched from Jupiter to Yamahas about how their entire summer is affected by the size and weight of those horns and they all say the same thing -- the Yamahas are so much easier on their bodies and lead to a much better drum corps experience. Not to naysay at all. :) I'm hoping you knock this one out of the park! Just curious about how you keep the visual side and performer health considered while making the horns.

Wait until you see their setup. :) Genius.

When you see what those light tops and dark pants do from an effect and clarity standpoint up top, that's when the design really makes sense -- especially in bigger stadiums. The old uniforms didn't do the group any favors from an ensemble visual standpoint, though it was a cool individual look.

24 mellos? Can you name me the corps and year of any hornline that's ever had that? I feel like that number has to be impossible. Not counting last year's BK opener, what's the biggest mello line anyone has put on the field for an entire show?

Love that look. Just out of curiosity -- how do you guys go about painting all the washers?

Tell the girls to drum better, then.

Judge list is with the corps. Semis looks... interesting... for a few groups. I dig the prelims and finals panels.

I have no dog in this fight, but as a bit of a math geek, I looked back through recaps this season and I would suggest you do the same before throwing out a snarky reply like that. Torchia absolutely scores them significantly outside the norm.

Ditto to what you said about the difference in Yamaha models. As for the new Jupiters... They're really sounding darker and more open with each model, but the weight of those horns is absolutely inexcusable, especially considering the size/weight and sound of the current Yamahas. The Jupiter engineers #### well know what these modern contra players do physically, and to make horns that are still that heavy is absolutely irresponsible. If you're going to make marching horns, you need to have an understanding of your effects on the students. Ask any tuba player since 08 who went from a Jupiter line to a Yamaha line how their summers were different.

Good lord, the attempts at humor on DCP... Anyway, go Wisconsin.

This. 100% this.

I'm reasonably sure this logic is completely... illogical... but it would be a fun sight to see. :)

Um. Wut? Good job finding a two-month-old list of pizzas, I guess...?