Ghost Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 1 minute ago, Liahona said: the day we move them to the box...game over.. Which might mean the judges will go with how the corps have scored historically in brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) 47 minutes ago, Ghost said: As corps push the amplification envelope each year, has judging the brass performers become challenging for the judges? You bet. A GE judge sitting way up in a stadium booth is being asked to distinquish between ( for example ) a brass section playing that is unamplified, and another Corps where the sound that is reaching his or her ears up in the booth is fully amplified. More than one Corps this season has the entire brass line amplified in at least major portions of their show. Judges are well experienced, well trained, and do try to get things right. But they're only human. They're being asked to compare and contrast and judge music that is amplified with music that is non amplified. Add in disparate instrumentation to the comparative mix to be judged, ( and other synthetic produced disparate sounds ) and who here would want THAT job ?. Not me... lol!... Thats why I do cut these judges slack, and why you'll rarely see me complain about the judges themselves. Edited June 28, 2017 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar1974 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Everyone always mentions the need for GE and thus adding electronic elements, but ironically it is the old bread and butter moments that always get the best crowd response: LOUD beautiful chords as only corps hornlines can provide, fast drill, great drums, high tosses and dynamic musical moments. T the Hamilton, OH show I sat along with my 11 year-old son, lots of HS band kids, fellow corps alumni, and retirement-aged fans. What did they all respond to most and like best about the shows... Loud beautiful chords (Crown opening statement), cool drum licks, high tosses, and dynamic musical moments. Old school drum corps. The electronic stuff could have been left out entirely and I don't think anyone would have cared. The huge props didn't really seem to enhance much, either. The one thing everyone seemed to universally not like- singing. The horns were fantastic and needed no amplified support- seems like a waste of money and effort hauling all that stuff around all summer haha... If GE is related to audience excitement and "wow factor", amplifying the horns doesn't seem to accomplish anything other than tear at the authenticity of the human-powered experience. Anyone can buy big amps and blow the stands down, nothing impressive about that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 As an older fan, I never envisioned microphones being used for more than 2-3 individual players at a time. Usage beyond that, as being described, is NOT appealing to me at all. Give me the REAL thing and let the cards fall as they will. Anything else is kinda phony. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 9 minutes ago, Fred Windish said: As an older fan, I never envisioned microphones being used for more than 2-3 individual players at a time. Usage beyond that, as being described, is NOT appealing to me at all. Give me the REAL thing and let the cards fall as they will. Anything else is kinda phony. Well I'm probably five or six decades (maybe 8-10) younger than you but also agree that amplifying the whole brass line is a bit of a cheat cadets have their 8 person choir and a section at the end of Part 2 with several players featured and playing into mics behind the pit. Too me that even pushes the line on "fair" so to m the whole line being amplified is just too much that said Coats have my favorite show of the season so there ya go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 18 minutes ago, Guitar1974 said: Everyone always mentions the need for GE and thus adding electronic elements, but ironically it is the old bread and butter moments that always get the best crowd response: LOUD beautiful chords as only corps hornlines can provide, fast drill, great drums, high tosses and dynamic musical moments. T the Hamilton, OH show I sat along with my 11 year-old son, lots of HS band kids, fellow corps alumni, and retirement-aged fans. What did they all respond to most and like best about the shows... Loud beautiful chords (Crown opening statement), cool drum licks, high tosses, and dynamic musical moments. Old school drum corps. The electronic stuff could have been left out entirely and I don't think anyone would have cared. The huge props didn't really seem to enhance much, either. The one thing everyone seemed to universally not like- singing. The horns were fantastic and needed no amplified support- seems like a waste of money and effort hauling all that stuff around all summer haha... If GE is related to audience excitement and "wow factor", amplifying the horns doesn't seem to accomplish anything other than tear at the authenticity of the human-powered experience. Anyone can buy big amps and blow the stands down, nothing impressive about that. GE is almost totally unrelated to an audience response to the show. Its of marginal interest,.. at best... to the judges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E3D Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 18 hours ago, ThirdValvesAreForWimps said: They certainly played well last night in Hamilton. They remind me a little of '90s Madison. I can't remember when Madison had a giant prop split the field in the 90's? Oh the sound that's right..... What 90's show did they have mic'ed up? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinetic inferno11 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 11 minutes ago, BRASSO said: GE is almost totally unrelated to an audience response to the show. Its of marginal interest,.. at best... to the judges. This. I have the high can view of the top 6 from DCI semis 2015 and surprisingly, it seems the cadets had the loudest applause, yet they got 4th. 29 minutes ago, Fred Windish said: As an older fan, I never envisioned microphones being used for more than 2-3 individual players at a time. Usage beyond that, as being described, is NOT appealing to me at all. Give me the REAL thing and let the cards fall as they will. Anything else is kinda phony. That's one of the reasons I didn't care for the Bluecoat's show last year or 2015. Having all those trumpet screamers mic'd last year was a little extra. They could've stuck out of the ensemble on their own. And I understand in 2015 they were changing the sound coming out of the brass, but doesn't that make it hard for a brass judge to evaluate tone? Leave the brass the way it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar1974 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 For me I don't even think of the rules in terms of competitive fairness that much. I just like to be entertained and love the power and sound that is uniquely drum corps. I don't find electronic sound creation or amplification very entertaining. Prior to amps and synths all sound effects were done acoustically, in real-time, in plain sight Foley-style and it was really creative and entertaining to hear and see. Start adding amps and effects and I might as well go watch a Daft Punk show on YouTube haha... And this is coming from a full time professional guitar player who depends on amps day in/day out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry7184 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 23 hours ago, grenadasmoothie said: IMHO, there's really no discernible, in either decibels or depth, difference between, say, 64 brass and 75. Now, if they really do have "50 to 60" as above, I can see how it's possible that one could perceive a need for a few more on each part. Funny, I just read last night that Mandarins have 76 horns, and my first thought was, "Gee, I hope they don't only have low 30's in the guard". To each his own . This, as proven by the 1986 Cadets. I think 65 brass is a really healthy number. Back when corps had only 128 members and 60-65 brass was a common thing, we saw some of the loudest hornlines in history. I rather like a larger guard at the expense of a few brass members, it enhances the visual production IMO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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