BOSMarcher Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 No, you just want everyone to use the same stuff thus making them have the same 'sound' and creating no differences between most. I am not sure if I care one way or the other regarding amps, but couldn't you make the argument that every corps being limited to only the traditional instruments in the pit makes everyone sound the same, too? I am not saying it does, but if that is your argumnet, I would think making that argument with our current pit setup holds more weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOSMarcher Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I know you use "tink-tink" jokingly, but allow me to just say that amplification allows pits to be heard with softer mallets, which means you hear more of the fundamental tone of the bars, and much less "tink" from contact. Tell me any of the Rennicks' pit books of the last decade with Phantom and SCV would have been more enjoyable without the lush mallet arrangements facilitated by amplification. This brings up a good point. Pits can now be voiced with more depth. Before amps, you could not have as many voices because so many parts had to be doubled in order to be heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 This brings up a good point. Pits can now be voiced with more depth. Before amps, you could not have as many voices because so many parts had to be doubled in order to be heard. Even with parts doubled, a DCA corps can have as many as 64 different pit parts. Is that too limiting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOSMarcher Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Even with parts doubled, a DCA corps can have as many as 64 different pit parts. Is that too limiting? I think you may be making a different point than I am. I am just stating that with amps, less people are needed to double parts. This makes more room for additional orchestrating. With that being said, there is not a corps out there that would make a 128 member front. Obviously, corps staff do and will continue to take into account the overall balance of an ensemble. Sadly, until corps reach 128, most groups will not have to worry about having to decide between a bigger pit or larger numbers in another section. It seems that most people want bigger corps to grow the activity, but some seem to imply that they only want that if it is in the other sections of the corps. On another note, other posters have pointed out costs in this thread others for amps, but the cost of miking a pit has been pointed out to be relatively cheap. You can get a great deal on a high quality microphone for $99. The speakers are the most expensive part, but that cost does not change based off the number of members in the pit. Speakers and subs will set you back around $2,000 or less. As a director of a band that uses this equipment, I can tell you that I spend a lot more money on instrument repairs over time than on replacing speakers and subs, though adding that equipment completely changed the sound of my percussion ensemble. I did not like the idea of amps, but I am certainly a believer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I think you may be making a different point than I am. I am just stating that with amps, less people are needed to double parts. This makes more room for additional orchestrating. Worded that way, you have probably done the best job of explaining this perspective that I have yet seen. But it is still wrong. You can orchestrate however you want in a DCA corps today. Use the same methods that hornline and battery have always used - choose the number of players in each section and on each part, and adjust their dynamics. All of those parameters are available to pit percussion. In 2014, amplification will merely provide the pit with a workaround to those methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Sadly, until corps reach 128, most groups will not have to worry about having to decide between a bigger pit or larger numbers in another section. It seems that most people want bigger corps to grow the activity, but some seem to imply that they only want that if it is in the other sections of the corps. which brings up a question, how many/which corps actually marched 128 members last season,...............? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 which brings up a question, how many/which corps actually marched 128 members last season,...............? maybe 4 or 5 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Worded that way, you have probably done the best job of explaining this perspective that I have yet seen. But it is still wrong. You can orchestrate however you want in a DCA corps today. Use the same methods that hornline and battery have always used - choose the number of players in each section and on each part, and adjust their dynamics. All of those parameters are available to pit percussion. In 2014, amplification will merely provide the pit with a workaround to those methods. True. Plus for me, the beauty of the drum corps sound is the pure brass sound which to my ears sounds 1,000 times better than woodwind/brass/synth/guitar combos. For me the pit was never the focus: more like icing on the top. I hate that the emphasis these days appears to be on the supplemental rather than the core: I mean corps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 maybe 4 or 5 . Bucs, MBI,.......and,.........? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Bucs, MBI,.......and,.........? empire and i don't know who else. i wasn't there. hurcs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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