N.E. Brigand Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Seriously, with BRASS INSTRUMENTS ADDED it changed? Not electronics, Bb, dance, grounded pits, 3 valves, etc.? Wow, I love that it's brass instruments and none of those other things. I agree with you that it would have been better, when voting to add trombones and French horns, if they had also voted to remove synths. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearwonk Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Seriously, with BRASS INSTRUMENTS ADDED it changed? Not electronics, Bb, dance, grounded pits, 3 valves, etc.? Wow, I love that it's brass instruments and none of those other things. Could have been worse, but why not use the instruments that are already legal ( trombonium, marching frenchies)? I don't have a problem with using a sousaphone because a corps is starting up, but it does mess with the look of that group... In 2003 there was a group that performed in Papa John's stadium in Louisville with a sousaphone as an emergency. No biggie... I think that one was just thrown in there just because. Why not ask for everything? You may get it... Musically, I think it's not earth shatteringly new. As many have reported, those colors have been in corps before ( I'm ignoring glisses). Visually it's a bigger deal. The sousaphone doesn't look the best, trombone slides are pretty dangerous, and french horns aren't bell front instruments. Psycologically, we're one step closer to being a really good marching band. Next time around it will be saxes (ala Shockwave), which are mostly brass anyway, right? Then full on woodwinds. Frankly, I don't like the addition that saxes would add. I've heard a band with mostly brass and saxes. It wasn't my thing... Frankly, we've already seen strings in the pit... Could have been better if they got rid of the synth too... lol Edited February 12, 2014 by jjeffeory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Seriously, with BRASS INSTRUMENTS ADDED it changed? Not electronics, Bb, dance, grounded pits, 3 valves, etc.? Wow, I love that it's brass instruments and none of those other things. Seriously...perhaps it is not any one thing, but a combination that has caused a fan to want to not go. Everyone who is engaged at some level with a brand has a point that they will become disengaged. That point is different for everyone. I can't imagine ever walking away from drum corps, whatever that becomes, but that is just me. That will not prevent me from having contrary opinions to what is being done that causes this reaction to a brand I care about. Be as critical as you want of those that have this type of reaction, but also consider the same judgement on those that caused it. Is the reward for losing 100 fans worth the benefit of making this change? What exactly is the number that is "worth it"? Edited February 12, 2014 by truman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 You seem to be more up on horn value than me. Do marching baritones and euphs have decent resale value? I believe that the same logic could be applied to marching baritones/euphs as we're applying them to the french horns. Some schools have marching baritones and concert baritones.euphs, but I believe that almost every school uses concert baritones/euphs. Most of the schools I see use mellophones in marching band. My high school had 6 of the mellophones picked up french horns, play them in the pit for 1/3 of the show, and then switch back to mellophone for the rest of the show. It was an interesting effect, but I'd still like that color all of the time in the same way that I want the trumpet or tuba color. Still trying to make mental lemonaide out of all of this news ( lemon) here... Resale value on baris is great, since so many schools use them. Resale on euphs is pretty low though, since it's hard to sell those to schools. You can train a bunch of high school kids to physically handle baris, but handling the euph is much harder for high school kids. It takes a special kind of crazy person to play euph (says the 4 year euph vet). So most corps hold onto those much longer than they do with baritones. I think your scenario about using french horns in the pit is what we'll see the most of. Just temp for the mello section. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearwonk Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I'm a trombonist, but if I go to a "drum corps" show and hear a trombone, I AM LEAVING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Resale value on baris is great, since so many schools use them. Resale on euphs is pretty low though, since it's hard to sell those to schools. You can train a bunch of high school kids to physically handle baris, but handling the euph is much harder for high school kids. It takes a special kind of crazy person to play euph (says the 4 year euph vet). So most corps hold onto those much longer than they do with baritones. I think your scenario about using french horns in the pit is what we'll see the most of. Just temp for the mello section. Thanks for the info on resale values, fsubone. I appreciate it. I'd be curious to see how much a modern euph weighs compared to the 3 valve G euphs we had back in the day... Those things were pretty heavy and not balanced very well! I remember hearing that the modern baritones are a bit lighter than the Gs, so I would "guess" that the modern euphs were be better balanced and lighter as well. In H.S. marching band I played trombonium 3 years (lol, I SWEAR I did) and it was very light; pretty on par weight wise with the mellophone I played my senior year of high school. Both were nothing compared to the G baritone I played though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the info on resale values, fsubone. I appreciate it. I'd be curious to see how much a modern euph weighs compared to the 3 valve G euphs we had back in the day... Those things were pretty heavy and not balanced very well! I remember hearing that the modern baritones are a bit lighter than the Gs, so I would "guess" that the modern euphs were be better balanced and lighter as well. The euphs now vary between 8-12 pounds. The Jupiter and Yamaha horns are beautifully balanced, the System Blue horns are a bit more top-heavy, and the King and Dynasty horns are very top-heavy because of the extended bell. The older Dynasty Bb models topped out around 13lbs, and were terribly balanced. Not sure how much the last line of Yamaha/King/Dynasty G horns were, but were probably around that weight. The baritones are somewhere around 5-6 pounds, which is about 1 pound down from the G horns. Better materials in them now means more ergonomic instruments and lighter weight Edited February 12, 2014 by fsubone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) The baritones are somewhere around 5-6 pounds, which is about 1 pound down from the G horns. Better materials in them now means more ergonomic instruments and lighter weight I told my hernia doctor it (G Kanstul) was about 8 pounds, so thanks for the conformation. It was during the 8 week follow up and just got told I could go back to my "normal" routine..... so I asked about doing parades with an 8 pound horn. "You do WHAT?!?!?!? Ahhh... in that case wait until you can't feel the internal sutures anymore" Funny thing was he was smiling like after years of same old, same old, finally something new.... Edited February 12, 2014 by JimF-LowBari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Anyone who hasn't been happy with synths, should welcome this change as you'll be hearing real instruments instead of synthesized voices they mimmick being. I think this is potentially a very good change for drum corps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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