* Official * DCP Amplification Discussion

[Canadacorps]

DISCLAIMER:

NONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ARE MY POSITION ON AMPS. HOWEVER, I FOUND THEM TO BE INTERESTING AND VALID WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THIS CONVERSATION. SO I AM GOING TO ADD THEM.

/DISCLAIMER

Arguments Against:

Quote: "I've only been to a few drum corps shows, but I understood everything in the shows.. the only thing I couldn't stand was that annoying talking over the show. It isn't acceptable in the stands, why would you allow it on the field??" - END QUOTE

Quote: "I understand the desire to use amps and mics, I have done it myself. But after seeing them used in drum corps, and with stadium electrical problems I have experienced, it is my desire to never have them on the field again. Last night I watched the quarter finals and it was horrible to hear the pits overpowering the corps. Also, if you have to explain your show vocally during your performance, your design staff havent done their job. I want the clean power of drum corps UNPLUGGED!" - END QUOTE

(This next one especially made me think. I know there are a lot of international kids who are flying out, more and more to the U.S. each summer, to audition for corps of all Divisions!! Would they still become fans and want to march, given all the english being spoken throughout the shows? It certainly cuts down on the comprehension level...)

Quote: "Narration also creates a language barrier to other countries, and removes the word International in DCI." - END QUOTE

Quote: "Amps have no place on the field. It should be about musicanship and artistry." - END QUOTE

These quotes were taken from another website that has to do with the topic of amplification. I'm sure most of you can guess already which website it is. Ok, so this post is one sided. But hey, anyone can feel free to post pro-amps posts on here if they wish, to balance out this post.

Edited September 13, 2005 by Canadacorps

[Jeff Ream]

to be constructive, IMO, you need a way to lock it so you can only post once per account, or else people will flood it with votes.

personally, anything amped sucks, but if just voice was gone, i have a feeling fans would be happier

[Eggbert]

I can see instances where amplified voice can be useful in a show design. I think BD did it pretty well. But, how many corps have the financial resources to really do amplification right? Good amplification, especially outdoors, is much more than putting a mic in a kid's hand. Most attempts have come off sounding amateurish, in my opinion. Personally, I don't care for restrictive rules of any kind. I think corps should be allowed to use amps, but I think their score should suffer when it sounds like ####, which seems to be much of the time.

In DCI, land of high performance, why are we accepting of bad audio? Cadets drum speak, for example, had the sound quality (or lack thereof) of a junior high talent show. Why is this tolerated? And how does a less well endowed corps compete with BD in the audio department when not even Cadets can pull it off? I think it makes the playing field unfair. It also opens a door to whole new areas of corruption with endorsements and such.

But, it's a pandora's box. There is no going back.

Edited September 13, 2005 by Eggbert

[Geneva]

"Bjorkspeak" However, was silly, to me, embarassing, and quite childish. wether it had anything to do with the story is irrelevant,I thought it was out of place. Just because you can recreate something, doesnt mean you should. A low point on creative liberty, IMO.

I am still trying to figure that one out. I never really understood this part. Was she actually saying something or just making child-like sounds? What exactly is Bjorkspeak anyhow?

I thought it created an atmosphere, but to me it was also a confusing and somewhat bothersome element which seemed more like a loose end than a positive contribution.

[Jeff Ream]

i'm still laughing that the best drumline in the world played better than they spoke percussion

[George]

personally, anything amped sucks, but if just voice was gone, i have a feeling fans would be happier

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree voice being gone would be met with a huge sigh of relief from many - I must admit though (honestly) I've grown to liking the pit accessories being amplified - this past season they got a lot better at that aspect in most cases - first season was WAY too much cymbal crash. There were several great examples of pit accessories being amplified this past season which I feel enhanced *my* audio experience while not violating the spirit of the corps idiom

[Matt_S]

I am still trying to figure that one out. I never really understood this part. Was she actually saying something or just making child-like sounds? What exactly is Bjorkspeak anyhow?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that it was difficult to hear, but the words she spoke were taken directly from the original song. It was a neat idea, but Cadets might have struck out in trying to pull it off.

[MikeD]

I agree that it was difficult to hear, but the words she spoke were taken directly from the original song.  It was a neat idea, but Cadets might have struck out in trying to pull it off.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw them twice...at the early Giant's stadium show all of their micced voice was difficult to hear and not mixed properly for me...at Allentown is was a gazillion ( :P ) times better.

I can't understand Bjork either ( :) ), so not understanding the Cadet's gal is OK by me...the vocal effect was there, IMO...as a neat sound effect and not as "lyrics".

Hey, I've been listening a lot to my two Deng Li Jun CD's (see her picture in my sig), and I don't speak a word of Chinese.

Mike

[kevingamin]

I saw them twice...at the early Giant's stadium show all of their micced voice was difficult to hear and not mixed properly for me...at Allentown is was a gazillion (  :P  ) times better.

I can't understand Bjork either (  :)  ), so not understanding the Cadet's gal is OK by me...the vocal effect was there, IMO...as a neat sound effect and not as "lyrics".

Hey, I've been listening a lot to my two Deng Li Jun CD's (see her picture in my sig), and I don't speak a word of Chinese.

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Cadets gal is much cuter than Bjork, in my opinion. :D

[gdisney]

After all, ask 100 people on the street what they think of drum corps, and you might well get the same kind of response that we have here toward amps.  Would those results mean that we should quit partaking in this activity of ours, simply because there are more people that just don't like it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, I don't think this is a good analogy. If you ask 100 people on the street what they think of drum corps, I doubt you'd find anyone who just doesn't like it. More likely they won't know what it is. I think what your point relates to is to how accurate of a sample a DCP can get. I mean, IF it could be shown that a DCP poll was an accurate representation of the drum corps members and fans, and 82% of them say amped voice should go, shoudln't the directors be listening to that?