Sound Board and Front Boundary Rules Pass

[Brigadier80]

I do not have a problem with staff working the board. I would compare it to a Broadway musical where there are many people behind the scences that are not considered a member of the cast but still needed for the show to go on.

Unbelievable...I guess they'll have to learn the hard way. <**>

So staff is now gonna be able to be involved in this process? Wow.....

[sburstall]

Too bad for the colorguard folks. I wonder why it was withdrawn.

Regards,

John Swartz

I would think that the possible reason is that colorguards can't be ampped.

[JeffBanyots]

"Hey kids...remember how for the last 2 seasons we've had you using better technique that doesn't require you beating the crap out of the instruments? Yeah..forget about that - go back to your bad technique."

right.

sorry to bring up a positive aspect of amps, everyone - try your hardest not to let your head explode ^0^

I have yet to see this supposed changing of technique the pro-amp folks were so fond of quoting when they were asking for the advent of amplified drum corps. Mallet height is just as high as is ever was and the force with which the keyboards are being struck seems to be unchanged as well.

Why is this? My guess would be that no one that age wants to come and spend a whole year playing in the frou-frou concert style that is supposedly the "correct technique".

When the horn line is wailing behind you and the battery is denting the kevlar 15 feet to your rear, trust me that you just dont want to stand there and gently caress the rosewood like a virtuoso, you will whack the crap out of it just on ardenaline alone.

And as far as front ensemble features go, when the horns and field percussion are taking a breather, then you can play these instumnets more along the lines of an orchestral style and be heard perfectly well outside.

Now let me bring up one other thing I heard as an argument for amplification; we will neeed less pit equipment, such as fewer keyboards and mallets, and the resulting savings that will ensue. Wrong again, I haven't seen any smaller pits yet. Here are some piuctures of front ensembles from 2004.

I could not find any photos of 2005, so if you have some that refute my position don't just post here telling me I am wrong, show the pictures to prove it.

Santa Clara Vanguard, 2004 note the mixer and speakers, and the vast array of keyboards...<p>

The Cadets, 2004, Why it's alomst a barren wasteland....<p>

Blue Devils, 2004....<p>

Now for a control, Phantom Regiment, 2004, no amps, same number of keys as the amped pits...<p>

Sorry to have been so long winded, and to have rehashed some of these same arguments, but this new ruling has just brought it all back to me. I am sick of hearing the front ensemble sound like I am listening through headphones.

I am generally against all forms of amplification, it just sounds bad, inside or outside. It sucks the life out of a performance much in the same way the recordings can never sound as good as being there at the moment..

The pit has gone from a strange mish mash of instruments that could create great beauty, to a mere sound effects machine that can be turned up and down at will by a staff member. And that is just sad.

I guess the next thing will be the addition of the "Suck" knob.

Edited January 30, 2006 by JeffBanyots

[bawker]

Let me ask all y'all angry folks this:

Which is worse? Allowing amps to be used by drum corps? Or allowing anyone, including staff, to operate the sound board for the drum corps using amps?

HH

The lesser of two evils...

It's blatantly obvious that it doesn't matter what our opinion is, isn't it?

DCI continues its march to line up with BOA, for better or worse.

[shawn craig]

I am generally against all forms of amplification, it just sounds bad, inside or outside. It sucks the life out of a performance much in the same way the recordings can never sound as good as being there at the moment..

I dislike the amps in most indoor shows I go to. Nothing is corretly balanced. The band almost always overpowers the singers (something anps are suppose to help with). Vocal diction is ussually poor with amps etc.

Plus most halls these shows are in are just not big enough to warrent the use of them.

I've found their use in drum corps to be no better.

I think it's time musicians rely on their talent, not electronics to make good performances.

[audiodb]

Which is worse? Allowing amps to be used by drum corps? Or allowing anyone, including staff, to operate the sound board for the drum corps using amps?

What difference does it make?

[Dr Beat]

...I've heard overbalanced pits, and this proposal can reduce the number of times that happens because someone will be able to tell if the pit is overbearing the hornline.

Signed,

A person who doesn't know why this is such a big deal :)

I just continue to hang and shake my head over the very notion that we're even talking about the pit over-ballanced against the horns.

Maybe drum corps had one of those so-called Y2K bugs? Yeah. That's it.

[Dr Beat]

I have yet to see this supposed changing of technique the pro-amp folks were so fond of quoting when they were asking for.......(considerable editing)

[DrumCorpsFan27]

Yeah, I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there that would love to say they marched "Soundboard" all summer

Someone else quoted this earlier:

"once again, the lack of logic and thinking that went into this decision is astounding."

I find it ironic that people will jump to this conclusion rather than understand that obviously there is a good reason since it voted unanimously!

1. You'd never ask a Sound Person to mix behind the speakers. It's ridiculous. Whether you are for or against amps makes no difference. Since amps passed you have to deal with what they require. There is no "one setup" that is going to work for every venue, every temperature, every humidity, ect... There is no way to tell proper balance unless you are sitting where the speakers are pointing.

2. Feedback can absolutely destroy a performance and there is no way someone behind the speakers can hear it coming. Unless you put someone in front of the speakers we are going to hear a huge feedback loop in Finals that will destroy one corps performance. It's not worth it. It's not fair to put that on one kid who 1. cannot hear it coming. and 2. is focusing on playing an instrument.

-In a perfect world it could be operated by a marching member, but the fact is that it would be a huge disservice to the kid who has to sit there behind the board all summer.

*** now I know that your marching bands back at home did it "fine" from the pit, but trust me... it sounded terrible. It's amazing how people turn off what sounds good and bad when something is amped. Nearly every corps last year who was amped sounded absolutely awful.

Dallas Taylor

Former Drum Corps member

Audio Mixer - Fox & G4 Television Los Angeles

How about you simply don't use amps. That eliminates the mixing problems, the problem of who should run the thing and the balance issues in different parts of the stadiums. DCI would lose no fans and regain some old ones.

Sorry if I make too much sense.

[sburstall]

I have yet to see this supposed changing of technique the pro-amp folks were so fond of quoting when they were asking for the advent of amplified drum corps. Mallet height is just as high as is ever was and the force with which the keyboards are being struck seems to be unchanged as well.

Well said. For me it was suppose to create smaller pits since the rule was changed to allow seven more player to make up for the pit. So by the rule that was passed, there should only seven members in the pit.