Popular Post PopcornEater1963 Posted July 30, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2023 While I’ve got a fresh live impression from Atlanta, I’m really looking forward to rewatching the whole thing on Flo this evening to “dial in” the Flo Factor of live versus Flo. I was sitting at the very top of the stadium close to the 50. From there it was interesting to hear brass that you knew was hyper-mic’ed versus brass you knew was minimally mic’ed. Sone things I made notes to look for today while watching last night… Spirit was pretty loud! But I felt like I was getting the sound of the horns considerably more than amplified sound out of the arrays. Troopers sounded MAGNIFICENT live. Almost reminded me of some of the signature Phantom lines that always had that rich low brass texture in its DNA. I have no idea what their mic and amplification strategy was. That’s kinda the point. Cadets sounded great as well. Powerful horn line. And natural horn sound. Kinda harsh, but Phantom felt like I was listening to an electronic veneer of a hornline rather than the horns themselves. Again… I’m as far away physically from the field as you can get. Add in that opening Baritone solo had so much signal processing on it ( I’m sure by design) that it just didn’t even sound like a horn at all. It sounded like a trombone sample in a digital synthesizer. Whatever Crown is doing was freaking spectacular live. I know they use mics and tons of them. But whoever is managing live sound in the venue for them is a keeper. Simply fantastic. Bloo’s hornline was awesome too. Powerful and loud but not getting blown over by the PA representation of their horns. Devils tended to be a mix. Their hornline is clearly the best on the field this year. From my vantage point though, there are moments where the “veneer” sound took precedent over the “natural” sound. I’m actually excited to now hear these same performances on Flo tonight to see if what I heard live is discernibly different. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 13 minutes ago, PopcornEater1963 said: While I’ve got a fresh live impression from Atlanta, I’m really looking forward to rewatching the whole thing on Flo this evening to “dial in” the Flo Factor of live versus Flo. I was sitting at the very top of the stadium close to the 50. From there it was interesting to hear brass that you knew was hyper-mic’ed versus brass you knew was minimally mic’ed. Sone things I made notes to look for today while watching last night… Spirit was pretty loud! But I felt like I was getting the sound of the horns considerably more than amplified sound out of the arrays. Troopers sounded MAGNIFICENT live. Almost reminded me of some of the signature Phantom lines that always had that rich low brass texture in its DNA. I have no idea what their mic and amplification strategy was. That’s kinda the point. Cadets sounded great as well. Powerful horn line. And natural horn sound. Kinda harsh, but Phantom felt like I was listening to an electronic veneer of a hornline rather than the horns themselves. Again… I’m as far away physically from the field as you can get. Add in that opening Baritone solo had so much signal processing on it ( I’m sure by design) that it just didn’t even sound like a horn at all. It sounded like a trombone sample in a digital synthesizer. Whatever Crown is doing was freaking spectacular live. I know they use mics and tons of them. But whoever is managing live sound in the venue for them is a keeper. Simply fantastic. Bloo’s hornline was awesome too. Powerful and loud but not getting blown over by the PA representation of their horns. Devils tended to be a mix. Their hornline is clearly the best on the field this year. From my vantage point though, there are moments where the “veneer” sound took precedent over the “natural” sound. I’m actually excited to now hear these same performances on Flo tonight to see if what I heard live is discernibly different. What about Boston? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopcornEater1963 Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 1 minute ago, DFA1970 said: What about Boston? Sorry! I didn’t “note” anything for some reason, but they sounded AMAZING! I had Boston #2 last night overall. Brass sounded great. Loved the whole show. I’m not sure if the tuba soli was all mic’ed bells, mixed mic’ed bells, or no mic’ed bells with a shotgun mic but it was as clear as a bell and sounded natural. Same with the “Show me the way to go home” ensemble. I went into the night thinking “maybe” for Boston winning. Devils dashed that for everyone… but Boston to me was a slight cut above Crown overall. I had Bloo on their own island in 4th. And then the 5-8 block of Phantom, Cadets, Mandarins, Cavaliers (last night). Troop will end up making that a 5-9 block in my opinion. Indy crowd will eat up Troop’s show. Then, going into the final 2 weeks I see Bluestars and Colts in a 10-11 battle. And a free for all for 12. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 I love the sound Boston is putting out. I love their show, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, PopcornEater1963 said: Sorry! I didn’t “note” anything for some reason, but they sounded AMAZING! I had Boston #2 last night overall. Brass sounded great. Loved the whole show. I’m not sure if the tuba soli was all mic’ed bells, mixed mic’ed bells, or no mic’ed bells with a shotgun mic but it was as clear as a bell and sounded natural. Same with the “Show me the way to go home” ensemble. I went into the night thinking “maybe” for Boston winning. Devils dashed that for everyone… but Boston to me was a slight cut above Crown overall. I had Bloo on their own island in 4th. And then the 5-8 block of Phantom, Cadets, Mandarins, Cavaliers (last night). Troop will end up making that a 5-9 block in my opinion. Indy crowd will eat up Troop’s show. Then, going into the final 2 weeks I see Bluestars and Colts in a 10-11 battle. And a free for all for 12. Thanks for your wonderful reviews. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keystone3ply Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) After attending Murfreesboro (Row 7 50 Yd Ln), naturally for me, there's a much better read of the shows. Some of the shows that didn't really like were amazing in person. I loved most all of the ballads. Loved Blue Stars horn line & their baritone soloist. Cadets show, soloist, & ballad. (shorts still look goofy 😁) Of course, that Crown horn line. 🙌 BAC & BD are amazing. BD will probably win everything, but BAC, Crown & PR were my favorite shows. Their story lines were more effective in person than watching on Flo. Can't wait to see everyone in the AC in Indy. It was really hot in Murfreesboro & you couldn't really grab a bottle of water due to only utilizing two concession stands. Kids were lined up for days for food & water. 😬😁 Edited July 30, 2023 by keystone3ply cx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, PopcornEater1963 said: Bloo’s hornline was awesome too. Powerful and loud but not getting blown over by the PA representation of their horns. Bluecoats are the absolute worst offender for amplified brass, processing brass sounds, and synthesizing sounds deceptively similar to brass. If there was a caption award for this (the Tesla trophy), Bluecoats would have won it nearly every year in the past decade. I guess this proves that it is fooling people up top, where the judges sit. Mission accomplished. Edited July 30, 2023 by cixelsyd 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVG_DC Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 6 minutes ago, cixelsyd said: Bluecoats are the absolute worst offender for amplified brass, processing brass sounds, and synthesizing sounds deceptively similar to brass. If there was a caption award for this (the Tesla trophy), Bluecoats would have won it nearly every year in the past decade. I guess this proves that it is fooling people up top, where the judges sit. Mission accomplished. Even the year SCV literally did a show about Tesla? Complete with a theremin and Van De Graff generator props? Dang. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, KVG_DC said: Even the year SCV literally did a show about Tesla? Complete with a theremin and Van De Graff generator props? Dang. Back then, the original name of that caption award (the Hopkins trophy) would have still been in place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 1 hour ago, PopcornEater1963 said: While I’ve got a fresh live impression from Atlanta, I’m really looking forward to rewatching the whole thing on Flo this evening to “dial in” the Flo Factor of live versus Flo. I was sitting at the very top of the stadium close to the 50. From there it was interesting to hear brass that you knew was hyper-mic’ed versus brass you knew was minimally mic’ed. Sone things I made notes to look for today while watching last night… Spirit was pretty loud! But I felt like I was getting the sound of the horns considerably more than amplified sound out of the arrays. Troopers sounded MAGNIFICENT live. Almost reminded me of some of the signature Phantom lines that always had that rich low brass texture in its DNA. I have no idea what their mic and amplification strategy was. That’s kinda the point. Cadets sounded great as well. Powerful horn line. And natural horn sound. Kinda harsh, but Phantom felt like I was listening to an electronic veneer of a hornline rather than the horns themselves. Again… I’m as far away physically from the field as you can get. Add in that opening Baritone solo had so much signal processing on it ( I’m sure by design) that it just didn’t even sound like a horn at all. It sounded like a trombone sample in a digital synthesizer. Whatever Crown is doing was freaking spectacular live. I know they use mics and tons of them. But whoever is managing live sound in the venue for them is a keeper. Simply fantastic. Bloo’s hornline was awesome too. Powerful and loud but not getting blown over by the PA representation of their horns. Devils tended to be a mix. Their hornline is clearly the best on the field this year. From my vantage point though, there are moments where the “veneer” sound took precedent over the “natural” sound. I’m actually excited to now hear these same performances on Flo tonight to see if what I heard live is discernibly different. I think same re Phantom’s overly electronics-ized brass. They have traditionally had one of the most full-sounding lines; now they have K-popped it. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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