What's up with all the mic'd brass this year?

[oldbandguy]

The solos we are talking about (Phantom and Bluecoats) are definitely not miced because they need to be louder.

As for Bluecoats, tonight their miced soloist was run through some kind of harmonizer to create a very specific effect. I guess it fit with the show and was a pretty awesome solo in and of itself..... if you like that kind of electronic sound, which is heavily used by the Bluecoats this year.

I think the way the Bluecoats are using the harmonizer on the baritone solo is great. When I first heard it I immediately thought of Don Ellis. In this case I feel it adds a great deal to the quality of the show...and the soloist is doing a great job of playing.

I also want to give props to their mello/horn soloist on the ballad. OUTSTANDING!

[KeepItReal]

I SAID MORE AUTO TUNER!

Yeeeah!

[bccadet09]

Yeah, remember that one time BD had a baritone soloist in 2006? Me neither, because you could barely hear it on the finals recording.

[whistling baritone solo]

[Mello Dude]

YES, THIS! I hate getting in on this, but Bb instruments are a better choice for two simple reasons regardless of opinions of volume or whatever else.

1. Kids just getting into drum corps can immediately play on an instrument they're familiar with, reducing the learning curve and making the time to learn and clean music that much shorter.

2. They are sellable anywhere, enabling corps to get new instruments more often, rather than toting around horns until they're good for nothing but scrap.

But, they are supposed to be the best of the best playing? Yes, we can see how well corps are doing finance-wise by replacing horns after every 1 or 2 seasons. A GOOD musician can play a variety instruments in any key. Trumpets especially as we are required to play C,D Eb etc. The easy button seems to get pressed a lot in drum corps today, there is NO surprise here about mic'd brass at all. And again, this G vs Bb debate will never go away because we never had these issues to the degree we see them today. Volume of the horn line, soloists that can't be heard over a pit that is out of control, drums that don't project or have any sort of real musical identity (snares here).

Bb instruments were a business decision, not a musical one. An identity lost is something hard to come back from. Many people from both sides had to weigh the good and the bad of dumping G horns...and year after year it looks to be a another bad decision that further makes drum corps NOT drum corps, IMHO. So, I will be putting my 88 BD music, with those terrible G bugles, on right now. Because I would rather listen to it than 2010 BD any day....you know I like listening to actual music...but I digress.

[jplattSCV]

I SAID MORE AUTO TUNER!

Yeeeah!

I can't wait until we hear the auto tuner laid over the top of "DUT. DUT. DUT. DUT..."

[Mello Dude]

I can't wait until we hear the auto tuner laid over the top of "DUT. DUT. DUT. DUT..."

LMFAO! This!

[grandechai]

"Phantom's miced solo is very strange....... it is during a pretty soft section and the player was playing very quiet, but it was not turned up loud at all so you could still barely hear it. The player was facing sideways, almost away from the audience to play into the mic, but I could still hear them acoustically better than through the speakers. If they turned towards the audience the solo would have probably been fine even if they played at the same dynamic. I'm not sure what Phantom is trying to do here. It didn't work in my opinion."

I asked a friend of mine who teaches there, and he said the only instruments that are miced are the pit. The horn soloist is definitely not miced.

I need coffee.

[ssorrell]

Mic'd brass?

Wow. With each passing year I lose more and more interest. This does not bode well for me this year.

Call me an old fart, I don't care, but amping the brass, whether it is a soloist, a duet, or whatever, is just another nail in my drum corps coffin. I would have never thought I would care this little about this activity. But hey...it's evolved into something I can't appreciate any more. You guys can have it if it continues down this path...

I'm not against the multi key horns. They've won me over. No big deal for me.

Amps for the pit...well, I haven't been won over on this issue. Moreso than not, the pit is too loud and distracting now.

Amps for the brass...if the arranger needs to amp a soloist because they want them to play soft and subtle, then maybe, just maybe the football stadium is not the proper stage for such a repertiore. Write for your medium, your stage, and your audience.

[rcawth]

Phantom's miced solo is very strange....... it is during a pretty soft section and the player was playing very quiet, but it was not turned up loud at all so you could still barely hear it. The player was facing sideways, almost away from the audience to play into the mic, but I could still hear them acoustically better than through the speakers. If they turned towards the audience the solo would have probably been fine even if they played at the same dynamic. I'm not sure what Phantom is trying to do here. It didn't work in my opinion.

Phantom Regiment's soloist is NOT mic'ed at anytime during the show, 100% positive.

Edited June 23, 2010 by rcawth

[Cron]

But, they are supposed to be the best of the best playing? Yes, we can see how well corps are doing finance-wise by replacing horns after every 1 or 2 seasons. A GOOD musician can play a variety instruments in any key. Trumpets especially as we are required to play C,D Eb etc. The easy button seems to get pressed a lot in drum corps today, there is NO surprise here about mic'd brass at all. And again, this G vs Bb debate will never go away because we never had these issues to the degree we see them today. Volume of the horn line, soloists that can't be heard over a pit that is out of control, drums that don't project or have any sort of real musical identity (snares here).

Bb instruments were a business decision, not a musical one. An identity lost is something hard to come back from. Many people from both sides had to weigh the good and the bad of dumping G horns...and year after year it looks to be a another bad decision that further makes drum corps NOT drum corps, IMHO. So, I will be putting my 88 BD music, with those terrible G bugles, on right now. Because I would rather listen to it than 2010 BD any day....you know I like listening to actual music...but I digress.

I never said G bugles were terrible at all, in fact some of my favorite shows were played on them, some of my favorite are also on Bb too. I'm just a fan of corps who don't have a lot of money being able to create some revenue by selling older horns. With the G horns this was nearly impossible as the higher tier corps didn't want the old ones and there was no where else to sell them. The evolution of the G bugle went from slides that grew old and useless to slide valve combos, same story. Then 2-valve, and finally three valve, when the three valve horns got old and beat up from season after season of abuse because there was nowhere to sell them before they reached that point, a switch to a sellable brass instrument seems the logical conclusion. As for the volume argument, it just doesn't hold up for me. Phantom and Crown are producing plenty of power for me, and yes I've stood in front of plenty of powerful hornlines playing G bugles as well. If corps were using G horns today and reached a point where those horns were too beat up to use for another season, what could they do with them? I know that replacing the Bb horns every season or 2 doesn't totally cover instrument cost, but at least its something where before revenue from this source wasn't even an option.