Electronic Amplification

[denverjohn]

In an effort to promote full transparency, I suggest that we bring all the over-age soundboard mixers out for retreat in Indianapolis and give out trophies for best sound mixing, dynamics, synth bass, celebrity sound clips, etc.

[Terri Schehr]

16 minutes ago, CincinnatiGloryMello said:

I made the mistake of sitting in the 2nd row on the 40 for the Nashville show.... I had to watch the Blue Devils and Cadets with my hands over my ears because of the amplification of the brass line. Amps have ruined sitting down low and getting your ears pinned back by the hornline. Had it just been the pit and soloists amped, I would have been ok with that. But when you amp the hornline the whole show it ruins the show. BD and Cadets were certainly not the only ones to do it, they just had it turned up more than any other corps. 

First row at Indy.   Right on the 50.  

In all seriousness, do those earasers work?  I'm thinking of getting a pair. 

[Ghost]

6 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

 In all seriousness, do those earasers work?  I'm thinking of getting a pair. 

Looks like they might be what one needs.   https://www.earasers.net/collections/musician-s-hifi-earplugs

[Ediker]

26 minutes ago, denverjohn said:

In an effort to promote full transparency, I suggest that we bring all the over-age soundboard mixers out for retreat in Indianapolis and give out trophies for best sound mixing, dynamics, synth bass, celebrity sound clips, etc.

I'm surprised overage people are allowed to have that much involvement during the performance of a show. 

[shofmon88]

It's passing strange that Blue Knights are simultaneously the most esoteric and most traditional of the top corps this year. They play loud, they play quiet, and they do it without electronics, yet their electronics use is being praised as one of the most unique and innovative in DCI. 

And I love it. 

[Terri Schehr]

5 minutes ago, shofmon88 said:

It's passing strange that Blue Knights are simultaneously the most esoteric and most traditional of the top corps this year. They play loud, they play quiet, and they do it without electronics, yet their electronics use is being praised as one of the most unique and innovative in DCI. 

And I love it. 

IMO, they're being vastly underscored. 

[HockeyDad]

6 hours ago, Newseditor44 said:

Just an observation from NightBeat - but it was obvious to me that certain corps were using electronics to amplify their sound above and beyond what its been used for the past few years. In a couple of cases, there were at least two corps that used it to over-amplify the volume of the brass when the hornline was facing the front sidelines (not referring to the Bluecoats moment when they face backstage). In contrast, there were several corps that used almost no amplification and sounded weaker than the rest of the field. At what point do we need to begin limiting the amount of amplification and how its used. I believe it does give the units that choose to use it a competitive advantage, which in my opinion goes against the spirit of the activity. Are there certain instances where its cool, sure. But I'm all for leveling the playing field and want to make sure we're not inadvertently giving certain corps an advantage because they have the means to do this. 

Thoughts?

The cat's out of the bag, Newseditor.  The toothpaste is out of the tube.  Elvis has left the building.  The genie is out of the bottle.  Too late

[BRASSO]

2 hours ago, denverjohn said:

In an effort to promote full transparency, I suggest that we bring all the over-age soundboard mixers out for retreat in Indianapolis and give out trophies for best sound mixing, dynamics, synth bass, celebrity sound clips, etc.

 Its probably coming. it might take a few more years however. The activity does want to align itself with " Theatrical Productions", and they do give out such awards in these idioms, so I see your tongue in cheek suggestion actually having some predictive values here perhaps in the not too distant future.

 What judges award ( and not award ) does go a long way in shaping what show designs Corps incorporate and utilize in future years shows. 

[Gizmit26]

3 hours ago, Terri Schehr said:

First row at Indy.   Right on the 50.  

In all seriousness, do those earasers work?  I'm thinking of getting a pair. 

In all seriousness, buy them. Sat in the front row for Prelims last year directly in front of many of the speaker arrays. Life was fine through the Open Class corps. Started to get worse as the day went on. We purchased a pair of Earasers for my teen son at lunch time and he was fine the rest of the day. I regretted not buying myself any by the time the Top 12 started performing. It was uncomfortable most of the time and painful frequently. My ears were still ringing the next morning. I made a bad decision.

[Terri Schehr]

Just now, Gizmit26 said:

In all seriousness, buy them. Sat in the front row for Prelims last year directly in front of many of the speaker arrays. Life was fine through the Open Class corps. Started to get worse as the day went on. We purchased a pair of Earasers for my teen son at lunch time and he was fine the rest of the day. I regretted not buying myself any by the time the Top 12 started performing. It was uncomfortable most of the time and painful frequently. My ears were still ringing the next morning. I made a bad decision.

I'm going to pick up a pair Thursday before I go in.   I already have some hearing loss(drum corps, band, winter drumline)...no reason to accelerate the damage.