Synth Doubling Brass****

[TerriTroop]

My personal preference is to hear the hornline and drumline and pit do their thing by themselves. I like it better because it sounds better - especially when the horn lines are working so incredibly hard to blend, tune and time their work perfectly. I've already related several times in threads about such things my feelings about SCV 2009 and how deflated I felt at the big push of "Ballet for Martha" at the end with the synth covering up what had to be a magnificent brass sound. I was wayyyyy up in the 50 yard line section of the Alamodome, so it wasn't just the "box blending".

I've heard synth used well in some cases. I liked Crown's Rach Star show concept. Having a virtuosic pianist was interesting and it was well programmed. However, they also used the synth for unnecessary chordal support.

Even with my homer feelings regarding Troop, I found the synth in their recent shows annoying from time, though it's minimal this year. I wonder if they, or someone else, would be willing to demonstrate that it's not necessary to have synth at all in the coming years. Wouldn't it be awesome to have judges (and audiences) say "wow, you make all that sound and effect with just your acoustic instruments, and it works really well! +GE for you!"

I know this topic keeps coming up, but I think it's important. I like electronica in certain avenues. I enjoy all kinds of different sounds and textures, but in the drum corps world I would prefer the sounds be made acoustically as much as possible.

[Phillygwm]

There's not much that annoys me more than a great low brass line overpowered by a synth. I don't know if it's unique to Allentown but it seems most noticeable there. I guess I'd be OK with an Open Class or weaker World Class corps doing it, but it detracts from corps like Phantom, etc.

This has been talked about many times before, but I feel like it needs to be addressed again since it has been around 4 years from the induction of synth to DCI.

In my personal opinion if you use the synth to double brass whether it be only on impacts/chords, or even the whole book, it is an insult to the players.

Whether it is a hornline of 20 or of 80, I feel that synth has no place playing along with the brass. For sound effects or solos/unique parts sure whatever but NEVER with the horns.

What do you guys think?

Am I the only that cares/feels it detracts from the sound when I hear the fake low end?

Or that it's an easy excuse to make up for a weaker low brass/hornline?

Should judges discredit corps that use to much as it hides weaknesses?

If anyone can shed some light as to why this practice is so prevalent and allowed, that would be awesome. Thanks!

[Peel Paint]

Even with my homer feelings regarding Troop, I found the synth in their recent shows annoying from time, though it's minimal this year. I wonder if they, or someone else, would be willing to demonstrate that it's not necessary to have synth at all in the coming years. Wouldn't it be awesome to have judges (and audiences) say "wow, you make all that sound and effect with just your acoustic instruments, and it works really well! +GE for you!"

Corps like Troopers that were slow to move from G bugles to Bb brass did not earn as much scoring credit as those who did, and I expect the same thing would happen in GE Music if a corps eschewed synth where a judge imagined it would enhance effect.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Peel Paint

[Spandy]

I generally dislike doubling the brassline unless it is used [well] for a specific effect (One example that comes to mind is Glassmen playing Saint-Saëns' third symphony last year, and using an organ patch on the synth to play the organ part with the horns). Otherwise I just feel like it is a cop-out for the corps and a distraction for the audience.

Edited to add:

Really I would love to see corps switch from having a dedicated synth player (or two), obligating them to write parts for them for the entire show, to having member/s of the frontline jump onto synth at specific points to provide only the necessary parts or effects.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Spandy

[Rochester New York]

In my opinion the use of synths evacuates the music caption scores of any legitimacy. The fact that judges are assigning music "achievement" scores to brass lines whose sound cannot be distinguished from a synthesizer--or, as is clear from many of the posts here, who cannot be heard clearly because of a synth--is truly astounding to me.

[CrownStarr]

Edited to add:

Really I would love to see corps switch from having a dedicated synth player (or two), obligating them to write parts for them for the entire show, to having member/s of the frontline jump onto synth at specific points to provide only the necessary parts or effects.

I got to watch Crown rehearse this weekend, and one of their synth players actually doubles on quite a bit of percussion—I saw triangle, cymbals, slapstick, and timpani (one of the sideline ones).

[Spandy]

I got to watch Crown rehearse this weekend, and one of their synth players actually doubles on quite a bit of percussion—I saw triangle, cymbals, slapstick, and timpani (one of the sideline ones).

I hadn't noticed that, thanks for pointing it out!

[CrownStarr]

As to the overall topic: I agree that too much electronic sound is too much, but doubling or enhancing the low-end sound of the hornline has been going on in drum corps for decades. Timpani? Concert bass drum? Gongs?

[ContraJohn]

The addition of the synth. is the reason why DCI shows no longer interest me. As a former brass player, I find it very frustrating and I do agree that it is an insult to every brass player on that field. The new DCI crowd really has no interest in how I and others who feel the same. Obviously DCI's ticket and souvie sales must reflect that.

[Fran Haring]

I'll never understand why a corps with 16-18-20 ostensibly well-trained tuba players need to "enhance" that low-end sound.

Why put that many players on the field in the first place, if synth is needed to "enhance" that sound??? Why not just go with the synth and, say, 4 or 6 tubas instead?

Perhaps it's because players pay tour fees. Synths don't.