BozzlyB Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The problem IMO lies in the staff's efforts to have the effect sound balanced, at the box, which unfortunately means the lower 2/3 of the stands leave covered in overflow goo. Back when it was just hornlines trying to reach the box the only consequence of sitting lower in the stands was leaving with out a face. Despite this being a constant issue every year now it seems to get by the people pushing the buttons, or just outright dismissed as (fans who MUST be sitting at home watching on the computer....) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The problem IMO lies in the staff's efforts to have the effect sound balanced, at the box, which unfortunately means the lower 2/3 of the stands leave covered in overflow goo. Back when it was just hornlines trying to reach the box the only consequence of sitting lower in the stands was leaving with out a face. Despite this being a constant issue every year now it seems to get by the people pushing the buttons, or just outright dismissed as (fans who MUST be sitting at home watching on the computer....) In 2009 at Indy, I sat 1 row above the box on the 50. In 2010, I sat about 10 rows below the box on the 50. Both years, the goo was plenty thunderous. I can't imagine it sounded that much different to the judges. Some of what you say is true - it's worse if you're sitting low and right in front of the speakers - but I think some of this is the staff's preference for the pit bass volume and overall pit volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The first composer I saw actually include it in the score of one of his pieces was Stephen Melillo several years ago in Stormworks. There is a full description here: http://www.stormworld.com/news/padbass.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWonka Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Yeah the use of the Synth PAD is in now, specifically PAD Bass. All we can do is hope it goes away. I guess they think dropping it an octave or two below the tubas and hammering it home with those speakers some how creates a drum corps musical "experience" someone would want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 In regards to marching band, the use I've seen most of the time is to fill out the bottom end of the sound . . .most high school bands (this is referring to an average high school program, not a large size BOA group) have a small or weak low brass section, and it helps cover up those deficiencies. I suppose the DCI rationale is to try to make corps sound "rounder" and fuller at impact points and to try to cover the real (or imagined) deficiencies mentioned above. Horn lines, especially those of World Class DCI corps, that have 80+ brass . . .and sometimes with 18-20 tubas, don't really need it, IMO. the thought, as it was explained to me was it allows for a deeper rangethan the tubas/contras whatever you call them allow. the problem is,because it's amped, it's usually overpowering to the point of shaking your seat like you're in your car with megadeath cranked to 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Plus, now we have More contras/tubas to go with the added synth, which makes no sense at all. You could basically eliminate the contras and add 20 more trumpets to balance the technotronic bottom sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 If you go watch some high school marching bands and WGI drumlines, you'll find the the thunderous goo there. That's where it came from! I find the goo far less abusive in WGI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralTsoChicken Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 The reason it is so prominent in the BOA circuits is because they use blastophone instead of contras. These instruments create a sound that is blatty and lack a lot of the lower end sympathetic sounds. They aren't woofy and bassy like we like to hear. They have added the bass synth pads to get that sound of the concert contrabass in the marching band setting. The problem with this when applied to drum corps, is that a good contra section sounds much more like a concert contrabass section than a blastophone. So now you have drum corps that sound like half the cars in compton with subs in the trunk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tez Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 the thought, as it was explained to me was it allows for a deeper rangethan the tubas/contras whatever you call them allow. the problem is,because it's amped, it's usually overpowering to the point of shaking your seat like you're in your car with megadeath cranked to 11 Even if it was "balanced" perfectly, the actual tone does not blend with brass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Even if it was "balanced" perfectly, the actual tone does not blend with brass. I don't disagree. i'm just stating what i was told Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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