Newseditor44 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Watched them warmup in South Carolina and the guys took a couple of minutes to explain what was going on and how they use the IFB's. Amazing technology, and great kids too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auldschool Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Hi there, I teach the pit/run electronics for the Bluecoats. I can assure you there is no click track or metrenome that goes through the in-ears. In the name of transparency, we invited John Phillips (head of judging) to listen to the ears during our lot on Saturday, and had the contest coordinator listen during the actual show. Thanks for sharing. Why do the players use in ear monitors? Are all performers on the field allowed to use them...theoretically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2muchcoffeeman Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) I get the part about being able to hear the other instruments in the ensemble. What I don't get is how a front ensemble spread so far from side to side can get a uniform read on the sound/pulse coming from the battery. The pit player at the extreme end of side 1 is going to hear the battery a split second later/earlier than the pit player on the extreme end of side 2, depending on the placement of the battery. "Listening back" is Rule No. 1 of any front ensemble. First, all members of the ensemble must have an identical idea of the back-to-front timing before they can worry about the side-to-side timing. I don't understand how the monitors overcome the back-to-front issue. Edited July 27, 2016 by 2muchcoffeeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilme861 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I get the part about being able to hear the other instruments in the ensemble. What I don't get is how a front ensemble spread so far from side to side can get a uniform read on the sound/pulse coming from the battery. The pit player at the extreme end of side 1 is going to hear the battery a split second later/earlier than the pit player on the extreme end of side 2, depending on the placement of the battery. "Listening back" is Rule No. 1 of any front ensemble. First, all members of the ensemble must have an identical idea of the back-to-front timing before they can worry about the side-to-side timing. I don't understand how the monitors overcome the back-to-front issue. They may be going to the drum line approach of listening in to the middle. I remember an exercise we used to do on the line where we would play eights and the center snare would randomly change the tempo throughout. Obviously the goal was for us to stay with him the whole time. I had been wondering how they were keeping locked in with how spread out they are this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I get the part about being able to hear the other instruments in the ensemble. What I don't get is how a front ensemble spread so far from side to side can get a uniform read on the sound/pulse coming from the battery. The pit player at the extreme end of side 1 is going to hear the battery a split second later/earlier than the pit player on the extreme end of side 2, depending on the placement of the battery. "Listening back" is Rule No. 1 of any front ensemble. First, all members of the ensemble must have an identical idea of the back-to-front timing before they can worry about the side-to-side timing. I don't understand how the monitors overcome the back-to-front issue. With a little bit of accurate measurement and some math, they could set up a digital delay for whatever monitor channels need it. I'm not suggesting that's what they are doing, but they certainly could. It's the same principle used for speaker arrays at music festivals and in stadiums. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) With a little bit of accurate measurement and some math, they could set up a digital delay for whatever monitor channels need it. I'm not suggesting that's what they are doing, but they certainly could. It's the same principle used for speaker arrays at music festivals and in stadiums. He's on to something. Edited July 27, 2016 by mingusmonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanceengland Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I get the part about being able to hear the other instruments in the ensemble. What I don't get is how a front ensemble spread so far from side to side can get a uniform read on the sound/pulse coming from the battery. The pit player at the extreme end of side 1 is going to hear the battery a split second later/earlier than the pit player on the extreme end of side 2, depending on the placement of the battery. "Listening back" is Rule No. 1 of any front ensemble. First, all members of the ensemble must have an identical idea of the back-to-front timing before they can worry about the side-to-side timing. I don't understand how the monitors overcome the back-to-front issue. Aren't we talking about the speed of electricity over the course of 30 yards or so? Would it even be a perceptible difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Aren't we talking about the speed of electricity over the course of 30 yards or so? Would it even be a perceptible difference? Yes. And depending on the venue, and frequency of wave, you could have more than just whats coming from the instruments themselves. Think of what it sounds like inside the domes. On the field its just a cacophony of noise from all directions inside the Super Dome, alamo dome... etc. For those venues this may actually be an unfair advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Aren't we talking about the speed of electricity over the course of 30 yards or so? Would it even be a perceptible difference? It matters. And it's not the slowness of the electronic transmission. That signal is fast. Which creates a gap between the natural instrument sound wave and the speaker sound wave as each travel towards the audience. The front ensemble speakers have delays configured for the gap from the mallets to the speakers so the speaker wave is exact to the acoustic mallet strike wave. These guys are pros and if they are going to do it, they are going to do it right. Front speakers for reference: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/13730816_10157196347700710_2063067606774960646_o.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 So they're using monitors to hear each other, since they're so spread out? That seems like a brilliant way of doing it. Bluecoats are revolutionizing drum corps. They're taking the whole activity and making it....(wait for it)......down side up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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