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hairbear

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Everything posted by hairbear

  1. edited because of a "quadruple post". Hey.. it IS almost 4 in the morning. LOL!
  2. Having experience with sound systems and being a bass player in bar bands, I can say this about the electronics issue: Sound systems can be affordable and simple, or they can be as much as your wallet can handle. For what DCI corps are doing, it requires a full range speaker system consisting of bass dumps, mid range cabinets plus horn "hi packs", multiple sound system amplifiers mounted in a rack, a "snake" (multiple microphone cables bundled together)and at least a 16 channel mixing board. Add the microphones required, stands, extra cables, road cases for all that gear... well... it can get pretty "pricey" depending on the quality. If a corps uses a synth and an electric bass, add the cost of those instruments and the amplifiers for them. Once you have all this gear, add the cost of adapting all of it for transportation to and from the front sideline. The final factor is the brand name. Good systems cost big bucks. I've got over 3 grand invested in my personal instruments and amplifiers. I use "Eden" bass cabinets/speakers with an Ampeg 350 watt amplifier. Thats 1,200.00 dollars. My basses cost 1,300.00 each and I haven't included the cost of stands, cables and cases. So... For a DCI corps with all the electronics "bells and whistles", Jeff Reams estimate is just about on target. While I'm at it, don't forget the cost of maintenance on such equipment. There is a good reason why such gear is packed in road cases that can withstand a herd of stampeding elephants. The stuff is fragile. My quess is that most DCI corps use a system in excess of 1,000 watts for the bass dumps, 800 watts on the midrange speakers and 150 or more watts on the high frequency horns. A good "sound man" in my business can make as much for a one nighter, as the musicians onstage. He (or She) has to be able to "read" the acoustics of the space the system operates in and mix the sound accordingly, so that all frequencies and instruments are balanced. Mixing sound in an outdoor venue (or a "Dome")is difficult, at best. I suspect this is why Jeff (and possibly others here) recognize that some DCI corps have yet to "get it right". First, there is a learning curve. Second, those corps have time limits imposed on them, for setting up the front ensemble and getting a level check. Whoever has the task of mixing the sound has very little time in which to "read" the venue. There are ways around that. A corps could choose to just amplify the mallet instruments, but that would still require a full range system, because the marimbas are 4 plus octave instruments. Example: The bass keys of a Marimba would be lost with a simple midrange limited system. You need amplified bass dumps, in order to hear those notes. I haven't seen a DCI corps sound system up close, nor have I studied how the corps manage the task. I do know this: at 60 years old, I don't enjoy hauling a sound system in and out of bars and clubs. I am considering downsizing the amount of gear I pack into a gig.
  3. No problems here in Cincinnati. High winds overnight, missing a few roof shingles. Snow this morning. No power outage. Wind blew all the leaves off my trees. Bonus: wind then blew the leaves elsewhere. No need to rake.
  4. My condolences and prayers for Rich and his family.
  5. Shenendoah Sound was in fact VERY close to Cincinnati tradition, scoring just under them, in DCA Class A prelims. I'd call that competative. Now... about that "target" issue: Dick, did I ever tell you the story about my combat training (81150/AZR)at Lackland AFB? LOL!
  6. Thanx Dick! That Italian place, the restaraunt... Dinner on me next year at finals! (You won't have to sit in the corner this time! LOL!
  7. "Handguns on the field? drinking and smoking on the starting line, turning busses over"? Gee... Maybe I was safer in Vietnam, back in 72/73?* lolol! * Just joking. Jeff was safe. He was only 3 years old.
  8. All this talk about rookie talent night has me thinking: I was never forced to do anything stupid or embarressing when I joined Steel City. (I did stupid and embarressing stuff, willingly) Westshoremen was much the same. No rookie talent night for me.
  9. I'm not counting Bush out of it. I remember 1986.
  10. I keep mine in my car. If I go to a drumcorps show, so does my car. and my badge. * Current guess who photo: One third of a triple tounging trio?
  11. I have seen this photo before. It will take several hours before my brain kicks in, this early in the morning. It is then, that I will realize who the subject(s) are.
  12. I hope you didn't toss in a beer and some Corn Nuts, when you shipped him, Tom!
  13. Ah yes... West Virginia, where the "state quarter" is two dimes and a nickel.
  14. Yes Jeff. There is a Sideling Hill on I-68 right before Cumberland. Says the guy who took I-68 east, to Annapolis for DCA finals.
  15. For the record: Fred Farkle is not the chicken that flew in 1980, at DCA finals. (That rubber Chicken disintegrated with advancing age) Fred is her 32 year old offspring. He was hatched in the back of an Ohio Brass Factory bus. He was fed a diet of Beer and Corn Nuts. (It went horribly wrong). He started his young life as a "free range chicken", running up and down the bus isle. We had to hang him from the rear view mirror of the bus, for the rest of the trip home. The startled look you see on his face today was the result of a "near miss" with a Roadway semi truck on I-76 Westbound, in the vicinity of "Sideling Hill".
  16. That sounds like alot of work. I'm older now. I want to take a nap.
  17. If you are going to send wardrobe, send a Parka! (He don't need gloves)
  18. I was 30 years old. I was in Ohio Brass Factory, sitting in the stands eating a hotdog. Wondering why I wasn't in Steel City.
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