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Blue Devils and Mics


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I have been reading through some of the topics but I haven't come across this yet. Does it bother anyone else that Blue Devils have 2 mics pointed at the field? It's obvious that the trumpet soloists are using them as they stand directly in front of the mics each time, exception is the opening soloists. Even the trio stands in front of one of the mics.

I have been to 3 of the shows this last weekend and I understand now that the corps is so amplified that you couldn't possibly hear the soloists if they were not in front of a mic. Yes the horn line is loud. But the pit is so amplified that at times I felt as if I was at a rock concert.

I enjoy the show, musically it is well executed and performed, but the use of mics for soloists and for the horn line when ever they are up front seems a bit much. What's next wireless mics on each horn?

Just my thoughts on the matter.

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I support electronics, but am not a fan of soloists playing into microphones, unless it's along the lines of what the Bluecoats did last year... creating a different audio effect with the miking/synthesizing. That, IMO, fit their show and was handled well.

If Phantom's featured soloist didn't need a microphone from what seemed like a mile away last season, then nobody does as far as I'm concerned.

Isn't that supposed to be part of the training of a marching musician who performs outdoors... to project your sound throughout a stadium?

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Sitting down low at semis last year, watching Cavies, covering ears during the microphoned screaming soloists. It was awful (IMO).

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What's next wireless mics on each horn?

Sssshhhhhh! Don't give 'em any ideas!

Gary in Vegas

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i've actually seen some high schools use wireless microphones already, so it's just a matter of time.

The band I work with used them for a clarinet/flute trio in our show last year which didn't bother me and I can understand why we did it.

When I was watching the show at Clovis and realized what I was watching and hearing, I turned around and saw a lot of vets rolling their eyes. There was also a lot of talk after that show by some of us dinosaurs remembering the days when a BD solist didn't have to be mic'd to be heard over the corps. The conversation included vets from BD, SCV, Freelancers and a few other corps.

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Meh.

Cavaliers did it last year . . .and while I'd rather see it done the old fashioned way, as long as it isn't horribly distorted, it's fine by me.

So did the bluecoats. lol.

But dont expect a bash thread about anything unless the blue devils did it. The scouts, cavaliers, blue coats, crown or phantom can come out with a clarinet section wheeled around on motorized carts and flutes riding around on segways and nobody will care. But if the Blue devils do it, its a serious issue that destroys the activity. lol

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The band I work with used them for a clarinet/flute trio in our show last year which didn't bother me and I can understand why we did it.

When I was watching the show at Clovis and realized what I was watching and hearing, I turned around and saw a lot of vets rolling their eyes. There was also a lot of talk after that show by some of us dinosaurs remembering the days when a BD solist didn't have to be mic'd to be heard over the corps. The conversation included vets from BD, SCV, Freelancers and a few other corps.

Maybe someday the dinosaurs will realize that its not a matter of "have to be" mic'd. Its a choice. Im pretty sure the same if not better trained players than back in the day.

You dont have to like it, but please stop with the "oh we didnt HAVE to do that. We were SOOO MUch better".

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