GreenMelloMan

First of all, I would like to say that there are a LOT of horn line licks that I like...I mean a LOT. I'm just goin' to put a couple that I've heard within the last day or two... *The run/rip at the end of BD's '93 opener. *A mellophone rip (SHORT but sweet) at about 2:03 into Cadets '00 opener. *The soprano solo at the beginning of SCV '95. *The runs in Cavaliers '95 closer that ends with the soprano soli. *All the little mellophone parts in Cavaliers '00 opener. --Like I said, there are a lot more...these are just a few of the shows I've recently listened to and could name quickly off the top of my head.

BENGE ALL THE WAY!!!! Although...the whole merging thing happened and now it's UMI all the way! UMI mello mouthpieces RULE!!!!!

All I'm going to say is compare the drill velocity and intensity of both brass and percussion lines in the Cavaliers to the placements in both captions...it takes some awesome teaching to get top scoring horn and percussion lines with that kind of balanced playing quality under that kind of stress. 8^)

There is something else...F Mellos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehe...

Good point, but this is another thing I've discussed with people before. Many people think that BD has a good hornline, but not necessarily the best balance because with the jazz twist they put on a lot of their stuff, they tend to favor the soprano/alto voices over others...I've heard people say Cadets, Cavaliers, and SCV generally have the better balance most of the time...(out of the current top few corps...I'm not gonna talk about EVERY SINGLE corps hornline balance on here...).

Ok, in the past, I've argued with a friend over certain values and interpretations in sound quality. The biggest thing that often comes up is that of Phantom Regiment vs. other corps such as BD. The other person says that PR's sound quality is gross...that the low brass plays crass and *beyond good tone* ('93 and '96 [3rd movement is most noticeable for '96] being the most noticeable examples), whereas other corps stay within the characteristic sounds of the particular instrument...my argument is that the style that PR plays with is effective from an audience stand point. It's exciting and emotional (then he says it's loud but gross, and the only reason they place[d] so high is because of very good staging and a well-written production)...you get the general idea. What do you people think on this topic? What presents a good show, tone-quality wise? Who has the best tone-quality vs. a not so good, but effective tone-quality? Other thoughts? --And just for a side note, Phantom '93 is one of my fav. shows... :D