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Synthesized Timpani


MikeN

Hypothetical Discussion  

87 members have voted

  1. 1. What if a corps replaced their timpani with a synthesizer?

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Hmm, didn't know that...what about the celesta patches that Crown used last year, and SCV will likely use this year? The celesta could arguable be called a percussion instrument...and about using a non-sampled synth patch that sounded like a timpani? I'm betting that if a corps used a synth patch to replace their timpani, even a sampled one, DCI wouldn't care; they haven't exactly been incredibly strict about enforcing their rules (2007 BD with the voice-modulated "laugh," 2008 Cavaliers using the modified slide whistle and yang qin)

Piano is a percussion instrument too and there were multple corps using piano sounds. I am guessing that they just meant that you couldn't use electronics to replace battery instruments.

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Just so it's known, not every corps had their pit amped, either. I marched in an Open Class (yes, OPEN Class) front ensemble, for eight years actually, and we've never had amps. And, on top of that, at one or two shows this past summer, one judge actually said that the pit was TOO loud; and not because the rest of the corps was playing too soft, or they went to play at a softer dynamic and thepit didn't. But the judge basically told us to turn down the amps, and like I said, we weren't using any amps...

My point? A front ensemble IS able to play loud enough without using amps.

:rolleyes:

illegal use of logic and fact. 10 yards, loss of down :worthy:

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I could argue that 128 discrete chunks are enough....but it's moot when the synth is tied into a mixing board, and someone is riding the gains throughout the show.

If the response of the keyboard were linear from 0 to 127 then it probably would be more than enough. In the context of an ensemble its basically impossible to tell the difference between one level and the next one up. The mixing board shouldn't be any more of an issue for the synth player than it is for the folks playing any of the acoustic instruments that are mic'ed.

I have a mallet kat and the granularity of the response to volume is nowhere near linear. You play softly enough and there is no volume at all. Eventually you ramp up and all of a sudden you hear something. I am guessing that my kat is not a good one.

The difference between playing a synth and a real instrument is like the difference between shooting a bullet out of a rifle and throwing one.

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illegal use of logic and fact. 10 yards, loss of down :rolleyes:

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=132707

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i gave up on that thread after 4 paragraphs

You got bored with it that quickly?

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Because I enjoy watching someone play a REAL set of timpani. That's like asking if we should replace all NFL players with robots... in the end it would be more cost effective, no one would get hurt, and it would be basically the same... but it's not the same, and not different in a good way.

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That's just such an epic fail I don't even know where to start. An electric bass sounds NOTHING like a timpani, no arranger worth the dirt they stand on would replace a timp with an electric bass, if anything at all it would be the synth replacing it and at least doing a fair job of replicating the sound.

I agree that they don't sound the same as I am a human being who has semi-functioning ears. This is what I was trying to say: WGI lines used to have timpani that they were writing bass-like parts for, then the electric bass rolled around in the activity and a lot of those groups found that they could ditch the timpani and have that musical role performed by the electric bass.

Maybe indoor lines were more willing to ditch the timpani because the 32's are just such a pain in the ### to get through doors into gyms, but I think drum corps would be just as willing to get rid of them as they're just so unmanageable on tour. With the exception of a very few groups they just get lost in the sound anyways.

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yes.

...understandable.

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