Michael Boo Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The Mussers and the Deegans both had resonators ... The ones for the Marimba were fairly long, although the still didn't project well. The marching marimba had a really cold tone like a xylo.I remember hearing about a corps that made fake resonators out of tp and paper towel tubes to get the visual effect of having resonators without carrying the weight ... I guess the judges hear what they see. And in 1976, Troopers put a "scoop" under their xylophone for projection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 .........in the picture, it appears to have a second set of bars on the downward facing side of the keyboard,..........am I just seeing things here? You're looking at the "xylo" part of the xylo-vibe. Look a little more closely at the top keyboard and you'll notice that the accidental bars are raised above the natural bars instead of on the same plane, which would make me consider this a xylo-bell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The marching units from '79 on weren't a whole lot better, but they were a little smaller and had the damper bar you could hit with the heel of your hand. We used to compare/contrast the Musser/Deagan instruments with the Cavies in '79 after shows. The general consensus was that the Musser keyboards sounded better, but the Deagan keyboards were easier to march around in. Then we'd have a laugh at how the Cavies had Geoff Thursby playing the vibes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 You're looking at the "xylo" part of the xylo-vibe. Look a little more closely at the top keyboard and you'll notice that the accidental bars are raised above the natural bars instead of on the same plane, which would make me consider this a xylo-bell. Yeah, but they were vibe keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The general consensus was that the Musser keyboards sounded better, but the Deagan keyboards were easier to march around in. I'd agree with that ... Deagan had better harness as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I'd agree with that ... Deagan had better harness as well. Santa Clara sure could make those Deagans sound pretty good, tho..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 (edited) Santa Clara sure could make those Deagans sound pretty good, tho..... One year, I think it was '80 ... Bayonne actually used a set of Deagen something or others later in the season. They put a Musser sticker on front for the instructor's, "promotional arrangement" with the company. 1978 the guys from Vanguard's keyboard line did variations on a them of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for I&E ... It was mind boggling. Those guys had chops. Edited May 23, 2008 by DCIHasBeen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 We used to compare/contrast the Musser/Deagan instruments with the Cavies in '79 after shows. The general consensus was that the Musser keyboards sounded better, but the Deagan keyboards were easier to march around in.Then we'd have a laugh at how the Cavies had Geoff Thursby playing the vibes. Geoff is performing with me in the pit of the Cavalier Alumni Corps. I taught him how to play bells when he joined the Cavalier Cadets while I was instructing them. The reference to having a laugh at Geoff playing the vibes is that the vibes were a large and heavy instrument to lug around and Geoff might have been the shortest member of the corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 One year, I think it was '80 ... Bayonne actually used a set of Deagen something or others later in the season. They put a Musser sticker on front for the instructor's, "promotional arrangement" with the company.1978 the guys from Vanguard's keyboard line did variations on a them of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for I&E ... It was mind boggling. Those guys had chops. I'm the one who drove HasBeen over to SCV's rehearsal, where we heard their arrangement of Mozart's "Variations on 'Ah vous dirai-je, Maman.'" Yes, it was spectacular. The line was led by Gary Gilroy, who won the DCI title with SCV and then won the title the next year with Blue Devils. He went on to become a successful composer and university band director and is deeply involved with the live music for the Beijing Olympics. We won't talk about the guided tour of Miss Amana and my curiosity about what lay behind Door No. 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 We won't talk about the guided tour of Miss Amana and my curiosity about what lay behind Door No. 3. ... or why GR didn't offer to share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.