Fran Haring Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 All this technical analysis stuff is cool to read. But as a fan, first and foremost, the only thing I'm really interested in is.... does that horn line sound good to me? And is it loud enough at times to peel my face off? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 (edited) Here's how these Andalucia instruments sound on the field with a very small hornline. Not the best recording quality but it'll give you an idea. Edited August 31, 2016 by Hrothgar15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Your comments here make it sound as though we should give every kid an average-at-best instrument and tell them to suck-it-up. As if anything better would do the work for them and we want the kid to do the work. It's a faulty assumption to be sure, one that is fraught with misunderstanding. I agree with you... but perhaps this was an older line of reasoning... "Star of Indiana used the same line of unmodified King bugles it purchased in the fall of 1984 throughout its tenure as a competitive drum corps (except for 1985 when soprano player Larry Powell utilized his personal Dynasty II Soprano bugle). King Euphoniums were added to the Star horn line in the fall of 1985 and additional contrabasses were temporarily added in 1986, but otherwise the horn line remained virtually unchanged. Instructors believed performers who were given the opportunity to spend several years on one set of bugles could learn to compensate for the problems presented by the instruments. Ironically, the corps that prided itself as "State of the Art" was the very last corps in history to win a Division I Championship (or even compete in Division I Finals) using two-piston wind instrumentation exclusively." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 There is no reason that the hardware being used should be something the players have to fight with in order to get a good sound. Working harder on perfecting the performance, on playing difficult music, etc...is one thing. The instrument itself should not put roadblocks in the way of a good sound. That sounds great, in theory. But no brass instrument is perfect. All brass players have to "fight" the imperfections of their instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 That sounds great, in theory. But no brass instrument is perfect. All brass players have to "fight" the imperfections of their instruments. I was replying to this statement...which I quoted... "I always thought the level of excellence came from the performer working harder, not making it easier to perform without the extra work. " Of course each instrument will have slightly different challenges, but in general providing members with the horns of today, rotated on a regular basis to newer and improved models, is a good thing overall and allows the players to focus on what counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleran Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 "Star of Indiana used the same line of unmodified King bugles it purchased in the fall of 1984 throughout its tenure as a competitive drum corps Well, let's remember that their entire "tenure" was only 9 seasons. which isn't all that long in the life of a horn. I don't think manufacturers were giving new horn lines to corps every year back in that day, and no matter how rich you are, you don't thrown away good assets that haven't even been fully-amortized to purchase new assets unless there is a significant reason & value. And who knows how early they already had plans to leave DCI, at which point it wouldn't have made sense to buy a new full line in any event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I agree with you... but perhaps this was an older line of reasoning... "Star of Indiana used the same line of unmodified King bugles it purchased in the fall of 1984 throughout its tenure as a competitive drum corps (except for 1985 when soprano player Larry Powell utilized his personal Dynasty II Soprano bugle). King Euphoniums were added to the Star horn line in the fall of 1985 and additional contrabasses were temporarily added in 1986, but otherwise the horn line remained virtually unchanged. Instructors believed performers who were given the opportunity to spend several years on one set of bugles could learn to compensate for the problems presented by the instruments. Ironically, the corps that prided itself as "State of the Art" was the very last corps in history to win a Division I Championship (or even compete in Division I Finals) using two-piston wind instrumentation exclusively." true. if you have a horn for several seasons, the tendencies become muscles memory. However, if you gave them better quality horns, they would have seen better results, faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Well, let's remember that their entire "tenure" was only 9 seasons. which isn't all that long in the life of a horn. I don't think manufacturers were giving new horn lines to corps every year back in that day, and no matter how rich you are, you don't thrown away good assets that haven't even been fully-amortized to purchase new assets unless there is a significant reason & value. And who knows how early they already had plans to leave DCI, at which point it wouldn't have made sense to buy a new full line in any event. true. if you have a horn for several seasons, the tendencies become muscles memory. However, if you gave them better quality horns, they would have seen better results, faster. In all fairness...the 3-valve horn was voted down TWICE...1985 in a vote 14 to 9 & 1987 a vote approved by the brass caucus, but defeated by the corps directors. It wasn't until 1990 before being finally adopted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuStu Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 true. if you have a horn for several seasons, the tendencies become muscles memory. However, if you gave them better quality horns, they would have seen better results, faster. I'm a little surprised to learn they never started the transition to three-valve horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I'm a little surprised to learn they never started the transition to three-valve horns. I think the first generation of 3-valves were not very good. Sort of like the new generation of King trombones coming out of the relocation of production to the Bach factory. No bueno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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