Land_Surfer

I wish they (PR) would announce their musical selections much earlier so that the public (Phans, et al) can begin familiarizing themselves with recorded versions in order to get a better understanding and/or appreciation for the arrangements and show theme, and ultimately build anticipation and enthusiasm for the show.

You won't improve the show by adding more. Limits were placed on Drum Corps for a reason, to encourage and select only the best players / performers and push the creative envelope. Relying on electronic insurments, amplification and static props results in less emphasis on the individual performers and will eventually make all corps look and sound the same (ordinary).

They would free up quite a bit of creative resources if they would eliminate the electronics designer and team.

What's wrong with the exclusivity of drums (all percussion), bugles and color guard? The thrill of watching & listening to an "unplugged" drum and bugle corps is to hear & watch how they can do so much with so little. It's called creativity and it isn't artificial and makes for a true meaningful educational, entertaining and memorable experience for all (designers, instructors, performers, judges and audience). I cant imagine any benefit that electronic instruments or amplification could lend to improving a show so well performed as this. This is real drum and bugle corps at its finest. My fear is that we aren't too far away from corps not being able to perform like this any more. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta9pIxU03To Closer with visual M&M https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YYVaHmgrLr8

Those corps "so heavily imbued with electronic manipulations of sounds and/or artificially created electronically produced musical passages" are not drum and bugle corps!

Would love to watch and listen to just one more of Dan's horn lines create some major "structure damage" (for old time's sake), and maybe re-invigorate the drum corps industry.

Welcome to the wonderful fun of online discussion forums, where the accusers are as much at fault as the accused. They always have and always will be a free-for-all. Just let it go.

I doubt very much if most DCI marching members are familiar with the "who's who" of the creative and instructional personnel in the DCI world outside their own corps, and most marching members remain relatively unknown. DCI definitely benefits the creative and instructional personnel much more so than marching members, at the cost of the marching members who are paying a premium for an experience that is made or broken by corps staff. I doubt very seriously if the creative staff considers the capabilities of the marching members when designing a show. That would be counter productive to progressive minds with a progressive showman mind.

If PR does what other corps do then they'll just be another "me too" corps. That's not (or wasn't) PR!!! In the real world you have to continually make and sell value to succeed, and being a "me too" product offers little to know value and those are the products that just fade away without notice. Regiment wins when they leverage their roots!

What good is a better design if they don't move up in placement? This activity cost way too much to be pouring resources into without significant results.

It certainly will if they don't focus more on their core competency and what has made them who they are.

Unfortunate, but true. I long to hear again the dark, rich, soulful sounds that only a PR hornline could produce under Dan's guidance. No offense to anyone else, but Dan developed hornlines so mighty that their sonorous sound nearly dismantled many a football stadium, unlike any other.

"The best corps to never win!" Some of the most passionate years! Horn lines so rich, technical and powerful; no one could possibly understand a need for electronic instruments and amplification. The deep passion of those seasons before winning DCI will never be the same as long as electronics and amplification are used.

Silly is right! It all started about 15 years ago when certain directors (et al) decided they needed to extend drill design off the field into the pit area, thinking there was some advantage to it (no real visual advantage yet). Next, the "warm-up" was changed to a segway into the show. That really isn't working out well for all either. The warm-up is / was one of the most exciting parts of watching a corps. I can tell you from first hand experience marching that the warm-up got the members blood pumping! The crowd was cheering the chord progressions were exciting the look of excitement and determination on the guards faces as they were setting up was reassurance of a great show! That flame is gone! Then came electronics. Let's make DCI a stage show. Let's make something special and unique ordinary!.

Brass instruments don't need to be amp'd. They are very clear, unless the performer is sub par.

Why? Drum corps don't need to be amplified, they generate enough tone and dB acoustically to not need any help, no matter the corps. Worked just fine 10+ years ago, works just fine today!!!

What are good uses of amps in DCI?

The amplified anomaly you speak of resembles a phasing issue, the sign of an unpolished horn line and it use to lower the score.

Electronics need to go before they ruin the sport! Next year's winning show should be called "Unplugged!"

At a rock concert! Why would a brass instrument need to be amplfied on a football field? Unless they are draining their spit valve, all brass instruments are very audible when played, especially by a drum corps member. There is no justifiable reason to amplify a horn line or any percussion. If so, the playing member(s) and their instructional staff forgot what their primary stage is. Amplification distorts sound, and there is no way sound mixing is effective with the sound board so close to the ensemble.

Prime, like Jim Wren, is a brass arranger of the highest order. They are to field brass arranging what Stokowski was to the great masters. Their arrangements were pure and exciting!!! That said, I doubt Prime would accommodate synthesizers and amplification in his arrangements. Doesn't need to. Check out any of the top 5 scoring years of Star and 83 & 84 at Garfield Cadets. All of those arrangements rival anything today... more so because they are acoustic.

Never has there been a time where a drum corps needed to be amplified on the field! A well designed and developed corps can fill any stadium with sound. There is nothing worse than to hear only a few horns amped over the rest of the line as they pass by a mic vs. the entire line playing in unison, and in tune! Amplification makes it hard to judge by both audience and judges, and there is no practical way of mixing sound and do it right when the mixing board is front and center behind the podium. It's counter to all sound mixing logic!!! No corps has the resources to purchase and maintain the technology (and employ the staff to operate it) to ensure that the amplified sound is the same quality as pure acoustic brass and percussion. Amplification and electronic instruments to a drum corps is becoming like steroids to professional sports!!! That said, it wouldn't surprise me if auto-pitch correction technology isn't eventually adopted so that corps don't have to be so picky about the quality of performers they need. Amplification and electronic instruments also widens the gap between corps based on "haves and have nots" vs. the capabilities of the members. There is no way I would pay today's premium dues to play second chair to a keyboard or amped vocalist! It is not educational and should be considered an insult to hardworking musicians. Not long ago, the difference between a good show and great show was proportional to the amount of hard work and training put forth by members and staff. Today, it hinges on a mixing board and power supply. Technical difficulties use to be minor issues - today they can make or break a show.

It would not surprise me in the least if the recent creative trends deployed in DCI shows are more for the benefit of the design staff than the marching members. Today's DCI is like watching BIG 10 college sports vs. the Olympics.

Really?

They look and sound like a marching band.