SpartacusRocks Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Great points, I got kind of angry at the first classic countdown when there were some snickers at the sounds of the older groups; the audience members not understanding what kind of equipment the members were playing on and what kind of equipment was being used to record the show. I would love to hear those lines on modern instruments and recorded with modern sound equipment. Not to mention the recording techniques. Today's performances benefit from much better sound equipment offering better balance, miking, editing, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted February 5, 2007 Author Share Posted February 5, 2007 or longer during concert :P(see how many "kids" even know what this is)--for the record i'm only 25 VFW rules you had to have a set amount of still time as well as marching time, I believe. Or maybe you could only be stopped in formation a certain amount of time. 40 years ago, I don't remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vagabond Skyliner Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 (edited) All I know is, we must have been doing something right. For Instance. I ask you to get a copy of the 1966 Dream. A contest at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City,NJ. One of the Most Famous in Drum and Bugle Corps History. Normaly they held two National type contests there each year. (The "Preview of Champions" which in 1961 was the first time I saw the Chicago Cavaliers, in May and The National Dream in August) But from time to time the stadium would also hold Other National type shows. The VFW Nationals, World Open, and the DCA Championships. A crowd of under 20,000 was considered a BAD day at the Box office, at any of these. I recomend that you get a copy of the 1966 Dream. (I marched with St. Lucy's Cadets that year). We are on the same Record as Cavaliers, Kilties, and Royal Airs. I just wish we (St. Lucy's Cadets from Newark, NJ. Just accross the Bayonne Bridge) Got HALF of what the Cavaliers got Crowd reaction. Listen to the Cavies. What a show. On Old single valve rotor G Bugles. Then towards the Cavies start to exit the field. Half way into their last song. The Crowd goes, ABSOLUTLY BERSERK. The Cavies finish. They are starting to leave the field. Then the Drum tap starts. BUT the Crowd does not stop. The people recording it finaly give up and shut off the recording. (Bye the way you can still buy all the Fleetwood Records now on CD!) I bring this one contest up to ask. Can over 26,OOO people be wrong? Were they not able to know Quality? Do the groups of today get that kind of reaction. A reaction like the Madison Scouts Reunion Corps got last year. ( which almost had me in tears of JOY) Like I said I was with Lucy's. So I saw Lot's of good Crowd reaction. Almost every week Standing O's at contests. AND, Not just at the end of the show. We must have been Very Entertaining! Edited February 5, 2007 by LucysSkylinerAlumni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_the_hydra Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 I'm sure there is equally crude playing still going on in some corps. More true than you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Blatch Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Quality is quality regardless of the period of time in the activity. I think its unfair to judge one historical period against another. I think this is the case for any activity or sport. Take football for example. We all like to think the 1972 Miami Dolphins were one of the greatest teams to play. However, if we were to take the 2007 Indianapolis Colts (with all of their technology) against that same Dolphins team as it was back then, we would clearly concede that the Colts (who I can't stand, sorry folks) would come out on top. This is true for almost any activity. Advancement makes us better; it breeds accountability and inspires us beyond our dreams. We improve over time. Over time, fans expect more...we wouldn't want them to expect less. How many times have we heard "Corps X had a good show this year, but their 2004 show was so much better?" Accoutability is at the very core of our activity! Its not a matter of whether "were we really that bad?" Yes, the members are now trained better. The staff is more experienced, better educated. The directors have more leadership and business experience. I can only imagine what the future holds in store for us! Having said that, we should cherish what memories we do have. While recording technology has become better, it will never capture the event in its awe inspiring live form that brings us back year after year. And this, will never change. Elmo Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Blatch Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Because of the tick system, a lot of hornlines made the arrangements choppy and staccato to try and beat the system; I'll admit; not that pleasant to listen to, (fortunately, only a few hornlines did that) I guess the Blue Devils never got the message about the tic system... :P Elmo Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madalumni Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 As mentioned above, the recording equipment makes a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Because of the tick system, a lot of hornlines made the arrangements choppy and staccato to try and beat the system; I'll admit; not that pleasant to listen to, (fortunately, only a few hornlines did that) So was it a lot or a few? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 The biggest issue with the recordings of that era would be the microphone positioning. With no pit traffic, mics could be set up much closer to the front sideline. While that vantage point provided a powerful effect, you will hear more of the individual players closest to the mics. Today's recordings have a more blended brass sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 (edited) I would love to hear those lines on modern instruments and recorded with modern sound equipment. I'd like to hear the other way. Todays DCI members on piston/rotor jobs would be interesting for the performers and listeners. But on todays recording equipment. Another problem with the mic arrangement back then was the marching bells with two mics right off the 50. Since drum lines then went up and down the 50 the bells came across too loud. DCN had letters in the late 70s complaining about the "Tink Tink" corps. And to paraphrase a post I made on another thread (forget which one), my old DCA late 70s albums listed the mic setup for finals. About every year number of mics of mic placement got changed "for more lifelike sound". IOW, DCA wasn't happy with the sound or they would have left things alone. Not sure about DCI but DCA was the only show recorded with the exception of 1976/1977. So the people recroding didn't have a lot of chances to try things out. Edited February 5, 2007 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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