N.E. Brigand Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 7 hours ago, chasgroh said: ...well, unfortunately you were sitting in the worst place to listen to *any* modern show; in front of a main speaker array. Since *way* back, shows have been designed with the box in mind. The sound is directed/pointed there...speakers, horns, everything they can get that makes sounds (although field percussion isn't miked much, lol). That's why getting a seat high, on the 50, is so desirable! I take photos on field level, and yak up furrballs when passing in front of speakers on occasion...haha, *especially* BD! So, next time keep in mind the thrust of what's on the field, move a mountain or two, and get a seat where you can enjoy the end result. Oh, wait a minute, the TV and movie venues do that nicely! Having attended many shows from many audience positions for many years, I can say with complete confidence that prior to the use of amplification, you could sit anywhere in between at least the 20 yard lines and still hear a much better balance than is the case since then. Sure it was best to be high on the 50! But still very fine elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 9 hours ago, ThirdValvesAreForWimps said: We don’t go to baseball games to see everyone bunt. We don’t go to football games to watch field goals. We don’t go to basketball games to watch free throws. We don’t go to NASCAR to watch cars drive slow. We don’t go to hockey games to watch figure skating. We don’t go to drum corps shows to hear brass lines play pianissimo. Look back through years of champion and fan-favorite shows, and there are lots of soft moments. (As I see some others have noted.) What makes a performance exciting is intensity, not sheer volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 4 hours ago, Cappybara said: This is part of the reason I put the 2013 Cadets on a pedestal. I loved that show from the moment I saw it at Akron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seen-it-all Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 1 hour ago, cfirwin3 said: Go back and read my original point. I said they either were playing out or they had to be isolated. In the past, in order to hear a soloist on a ballad, they would cut the field instrumentation and the soloist would have to play mostly alone or with the front ensemble. Sometimes you could turn some of the field ensemble back field... but these are all limited options. And you would still be essentially too far for the player to actually play soft. It's an irrefutable restriction in this activity. Fair enough. Yet in some cases, the volume on the solo mics sometimes isn't balanced well with the rest of the ensemble, and then it's a case of a different kind of (at times) problematic option to be dealt with. Not to mention having to adjust all of that into the overall mix from a sound board from one stadium to the next. Frankly, most of the acoustic solos I've heard in DCI over the years sounded what I would call "appropriate," given the arena and the overall acoustic sound of the rest of the ensemble, but that's just me. As long as it's played well and it sounds right among all the other musical stuff that's going on around it, I'm fine with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 9 hours ago, Bluzes said: Correct and I would add off the line and ending end zone. I play Skyliners just nailing it off the line and new fans today can't believe they were that far from the field mic's. Dinosaur moment here... 1963 Skyliners, on the National Dream Contest album. Their opening fanfare, from the left end zone, sounds as if the horn line (the French horn line in particular) is five feet in front of the audience. Unbelievable. And now back to our regularly-scheduled discussion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 19 minutes ago, seen-it-all said: Fair enough. Yet in some cases, the volume on the solo mics sometimes isn't balanced well with the rest of the ensemble, and then it's a case of a different kind of (at times) problematic option to be dealt with. Not to mention having to adjust all of that into the overall mix from a sound board from one stadium to the next. Frankly, most of the acoustic solos I've heard in DCI over the years sounded what I would call "appropriate," given the arena and the overall acoustic sound of the rest of the ensemble, but that's just me. As long as it's played well and it sounds right among all the other musical stuff that's going on around it, I'm fine with it. Yeah I think you are hitting on a more realistic issue there that bothers spectators... The issue of balanced amplification. I'll definitely concede that imbalances occur... and nothing "confirms" the position of the critics on this issue more than a failure or misapplication of the technology that they don't like. If DCI drum corps are going to live by these standards, then they certainly have to accept the repulsion that comes when it doesn't quite work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Fran Haring said: Dinosaur moment here... 1963 Skyliners, on the National Dream Contest album. Their opening fanfare, from the left end zone, sounds as if the horn line (the French horn line in particular) is five feet in front of the audience. Unbelievable. And now back to our regularly-scheduled discussion. Made me dig it out to check lol. Hard to believe they were not facing the mics. But wonder if todays horns can be played that loud. Hearing crowd response when corps was introduced made me thing about the audience changes thread. "All of Yonkers NY...." lol Edited July 24, 2018 by JimF-LowBari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 1 minute ago, JimF-LowBari said: Made me dig it out to check lol. Hard to believe they were not facing the mics. But wonder if todays horns can be played that loud. Hearing crowd response when corps was introduced made me thing about the audience changes thread. "All of Yonkers NY...." lol I am such an announcer geek... LOL... but that guy at the Dream was great!!! And that Skyliners Frenchie line in '63... holy mackerel. For that era, what a sound. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Fran Haring said: Dinosaur moment here... 1963 Skyliners, on the National Dream Contest album. Their opening fanfare, from the left end zone, sounds as if the horn line (the French horn line in particular) is five feet in front of the audience. Unbelievable. And now back to our regularly-scheduled discussion. That was the first drum corps album I bought....a 3-record set for a quarter or something, around 1967 or 68. Sky and the Cabs were my two favorites. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Fran Haring said: Dinosaur moment here... 1963 Skyliners, on the National Dream Contest album. Their opening fanfare, from the left end zone, sounds as if the horn line (the French horn line in particular) is five feet in front of the audience. Unbelievable. And now back to our regularly-scheduled discussion. And when they turned backfield, they played even louder! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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