Almost 40 years of changes at DCI, what do you think are the best 3

[garfield]

You know, there is another option. Like every other instrument in drum corps, if you need more sound from it, use more of them. When corps found that 2 or 3 mellophones were not enough, they added more. They did not just tell the 2 or 3 players to play so loud it hurts... and they did not lobby for electronic amplification of mellophones.

They still judge execution in the pit, don't they?

[snaredude08]

You know, there is another option. Like every other instrument in drum corps, if you need more sound from it, use more of them. When corps found that 2 or 3 mellophones were not enough, they added more. They did not just tell the 2 or 3 players to play so loud it hurts... and they did not lobby for electronic amplification of mellophones.

1) With each additional keyboard comes exponentially more logistical trouble than any other instrument.

2) As the numbers get much larger, the spread from end to end of, say, the marimba line makes it almost impossible for them to play together.

[Kansan]

You know, there is another option. Like every other instrument in drum corps, if you need more sound from it, use more of them. When corps found that 2 or 3 mellophones were not enough, they added more. They did not just tell the 2 or 3 players to play so loud it hurts... and they did not lobby for electronic amplification of mellophones.

These corps already have HUGE pits full of mallet instruments. From what I have noticed, they are a bit overpowering. I've also noticed an excessive amount of Tubas being used, yet they can't be heard for most of the show. The High Brass is punching through fine and the Baritones are fine as well.

It's a little perplexing Corps used to use 6, 8 or maybe 10 Contras and they could be heard. Today the Norm is 10, 16, 18 or even 20 Tubas and they are somehow lost in the sea of sound emitting from the pit.

On the other spectrum, the pits get so loud I cringe at times.

[onfirepro]

These corps already have HUGE pits full of mallet instruments. From what I have noticed, they are a bit overpowering. I've also noticed an excessive amount of Tubas being used, yet they can't be heard for most of the show. The High Brass is punching through fine and the Baritones are fine as well.

It's a little perplexing Corps used to use 6, 8 or maybe 10 Contras and they could be heard. Today the Norm is 10, 16, 18 or even 20 Tubas and they are somehow lost in the sea of sound emitting from the pit.

On the other spectrum, the pits get so loud I cringe at times.

And it makes the corps sound weaker. Everything is a contrast, and the human ear is good at distinguishing what the natural volume of an instrument group should be. When we hear mallets and special effect percussion punching through at the same relative volume as the rest of the corps, it diminishes the perceived power of the brass. Maybe it should be called "pit and bugle corps."

[cixelsyd]

1) With each additional keyboard comes exponentially more logistical trouble than any other instrument.

I do not understand. If this were true, corps would have stopped at one marimba and one vibraphone, especially now that we have amps.

2) As the numbers get much larger, the spread from end to end of, say, the marimba line makes it almost impossible for them to play together.

Which would make it truly exceptional to see the better corps pull it off... just like when they get nine snares to sound like one, or horns from goal line to goal line playing together.

[N.E. Brigand]

I've also noticed an excessive amount of Tubas being used, yet they can't be heard for most of the show. The High Brass is punching through fine and the Baritones are fine as well. It's a little perplexing. Corps used to use 6, 8 or maybe 10 Contras and they could be heard. Today the Norm is 10, 16, 18 or even 20 Tubas and they are somehow lost in the sea of sound emitting from the pit.

Bruckner8 has suggested that many corps are using too few tubas, not too many--and not because of the pit. See this post where he explains at great length.

[snaredude08]

I do not understand. If this were true, corps would have stopped at one marimba and one vibraphone, especially now that we have amps.

Not necessarily. The added cost/bother of any particular piece of equipment does not always increase in a purely linear fashion. Case in point, the raising of corps size to 150 because it would make better use of the (somewhat) fixed costs of the 3-charter-buses-for-members-per-corps. 5 marimbas/ 4 vibes might be right around that magic number for which much more might make logistics get much, much worse.

Which would make it truly exceptional to see the better corps pull it off... just like when they get nine snares to sound like one, or horns from goal line to goal line playing together.

Sure, and it also would be truly exceptional to see a corps perform a top-6 level show blindfolded the entire time, but that doesn't mean it can or should happen. Past a certain point of difficulty, you get out of the realm of reality. The bottom line remains that, for percussion instruments, you can't get as wide of a spread and it still be cleanable. The sound itself is too articulate.

[cixelsyd]

Not necessarily. The added cost/bother of any particular piece of equipment does not always increase in a purely linear fashion. Case in point, the raising of corps size to 150 because it would make better use of the (somewhat) fixed costs of the 3-charter-buses-for-members-per-corps. 5 marimbas/ 4 vibes might be right around that magic number for which much more might make logistics get much, much worse.

Okay, I see. So the equipment trucks were filled at the pit size we had in 2002-2003, therefore we could not add more keyboards. But then how did we find space for the speakers and sound board? I am still not understanding you.

Sure, and it also would be truly exceptional to see a corps perform a top-6 level show blindfolded the entire time, but that doesn't mean it can or should happen.

Have you seen the 1983 Bridgemen drum feature?

Past a certain point of difficulty, you get out of the realm of reality. The bottom line remains that, for percussion instruments, you can't get as wide of a spread and it still be cleanable. The sound itself is too articulate.

Have you seen Carolina Crown, either 2012 or 2013?

No, wait a second. Any corps with a battery and a pit introduces a field spread wider than that of the pit alone. Is that not cleanable?

[snaredude08]

Okay, I see. So the equipment trucks were filled at the pit size we had in 2002-2003, therefore we could not add more keyboards. But then how did we find space for the speakers and sound board? I am still not understanding you.

I mean, that's just a guess on my part, I don't know that for a fact or anything. But regardless, keyboards are kind of a pain in general, and everyone seems settled on the range we've got now, so I'm guessing that there's some decent reasoning for it that might be part logistical.

Have you seen the 1983 Bridgemen drum feature?

Yep. I moreso meant actual drill. Either way, doesn't really matter, since it was just the first example that sprang to mind.

Have you seen Carolina Crown, either 2012 or 2013?

No, wait a second. Any corps with a battery and a pit introduces a field spread wider than that of the pit alone. Is that not cleanable?

If I had to guess, I'd say they pulled off the concert bass/timpani thing since they were basically just being used for gigantic hits. Quarter notes and eighth notes and things of that nature. When I say that distance makes cleaning much harder, I was thinking mainly of keyboards, which are obviously pretty different in how you play and listen than the big impact drums.

[charlie1223]

You know, there is another option. Like every other instrument in drum corps, if you need more sound from it, use more of them. When corps found that 2 or 3 mellophones were not enough, they added more. They did not just tell the 2 or 3 players to play so loud it hurts... and they did not lobby for electronic amplification of mellophones.

I'll just cut your argument at the head and say Front Ensemble Percussion is unlike any other instrument in drum corps. Not even close.