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Cavies sound guy out of control


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I noticed the same problem before Allentown, in Lawrence, MA-and mentioned same in one of the review threads for that venue. At least one other corps (was either Cadets or Boston Crusaders, I honestly don't remember which) had the same problem in Lawrence when their pre-show started and the sound tech corrected it almost immediately.

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Sitting in row 2 right in front of the speaker was downright painful.

And it was even worse where I was, down on the field recording them.

When I work in industrial settings, hearing protection is required for environments louder than 85 dB. Nothing I have been subjected to on the day job compares to the sound pressure levels as I recorded the Cavaliers from down on the field. I had to plug my ears for self-preservation, and as I looked behind me, I saw many fans in the lower seating areas doing the same. ForTus, their 2012 show was 15 Minutes of Pain.

There is no need for the speaker volume to be cranked up that loud....unless they were trying to cover up something. I did notice that in the drum feature, they cranked up some electronic noises in sync with the snares so that every difficult lick would have a corresponding belch from the speakers drowning it out. Might fool some spectators, but the field judge can still tell your snareline is dirty. But there's nothing in the pre-show that needs to be covered up....just that ear-popping whoosh at the start, and the creepy voiceover, "In the future, everyone will lose their hearing in 15 minutes".

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until the judges start docking these corps multiple points for out of balance synths the entire show, this will keep happening.

yup

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When I saw them in June, relatively high up at Muncie, I definitely had this feeling. When the brass would come back in after any synth, it sounded muted and distant. The speakers had numbed my ears. Sorry to hear that it continued throughout the season. Cavies' show this year very much fit in with a lot of my worries about where A&E is heading. :shutup:

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They design the shows for the judges ears. If you were sitting near the judges you would have received the proper balance. Live sound is a really tough and sensitive gig in this activity and it's pretty much impossible to make everyone happy. In the end this thing is a competition so the corps are going to balance the show for the people in the green shirts.

I don't think this is all of it, though. They had the worst sound mix of any corps I saw all season, and I sat pretty near the box when I saw Cavies.

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Unfortunately I was only able to see Cavaliers on FN. The sound coming from the pit during semis was painful. At times I could not hear the brass or battery because they were drowned out. With every stroke of the xylophone it felt like having nails hammered into my brain. This is pretty bad considering that my personal years in Drum Corps I was a member of the pit. Before amplification of course. Hopefully this will work as a learning experience and not be a problem again.

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It wasn't a problem at all. It was supposed to be that loud. DUBSTEP YO! It was setting up that whole Club feel. Yeah it was loud .. hurt my ears .. but it made sense.

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I noticed the same problem before Allentown, in Lawrence, MA-and mentioned same in one of the review threads for that venue. At least one other corps (was either Cadets or Boston Crusaders, I honestly don't remember which) had the same problem in Lawrence when their pre-show started and the sound tech corrected it almost immediately.

Oh, yeah, that was the Cadets. I remember because after the way that woke everybody up, the narrative about "not a creature was stirring" just didn't seem to fit.

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Just unplug the d@&n electronics!!! Seriously, what is so hard about that??? Have corps just forgot how to be creative anymore???

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