TromboneChat

Concert tonight and I’m tempted to change up my gear. Because I can.

Does anyone else do this?

I experiment on gigs sometimes. It's really the only way to find out how something works outside your own studio.
Also because I can, and I know my own chops can get away with almost anything. I've played gigs on borrowed horns and mouthpieces nothing like what I use.

In low-exposure situations, yes. Otherwise you'll never know what works and what doesn't. But if I'm playing something important or high-level, no.

It should be illegal to have new mouthpieces arrive on Friday-Sunday morning.

Bach5G wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:22 pm Concert tonight and I’m tempted to change up my gear. Because I can.

Does anyone else do this?

Sometimes - cautiously. Perhaps with a familiar backup at hand.
But I think that my chops, like Doug's are pretty flexible.

Good luck tonight!

Bach5G wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:22 pm Concert tonight and I’m tempted to change up my gear. Because I can.

Does anyone else do this?

I experiment in rehearsals (a lot) not so much at gigs. I have a lot of older trombones that I like at home and have tried, but some of those do not blend very well and that I don't want to discover at a gig. If the equipment works then I might use it for the concert too. Sometimes my colleagues don't want me to use a certain trombone because they don't like it and sometimes they tell the horn I just showed up with sounds terrific. With such strong opinions I can not use any horn on the concert. I need to consider also what the others like to some sense because we are there to do the concert together. On bass trombone I might switch mouthpiece for a certain part during gig if I think the part needs another mouthpiece.

/Tom

I've never been in a position to be tempted.

There has always been just one horn available to me and if there was anything lacking about my playing... it probably wasn't the horn's fault.

Typically not on performances but in rehearsals almost constantly

I too experiment in rehearsals but usually not on performances.

I have a large stable of trombones, but there's a "short list" of go-to horns that I normally use for gigs.

The orchestra I play in normally does 5-6 rehearsals leading up to concert; I might try something else in the first rehearsal or two; if I like the way it's working, I'll keep it for the cycle. If not, it's back to old faithful.

A group like Bones West is great for trying out new stuff. We only do a couple concerts a year, plus there's a lot of other trombone players who are quite willing to offer their opinion on your latest acquisition.

Yes, even between the final rehearsal and gig if there is a surprising acoustic or section balance issue.

For example I‘ve done a last minute change-up from a 48h to an 8h when the venue turned out to be much livelier than the rehearsal space. Went from a Holton TR150 to an 8H on another occasion when it was vice-versa. Come to think of it, maybe I‘d just be better off playing everything on my 8h to start with…

Yes. I used to do it in rehearsal more, but since I've been out of school most of the gigs I do are done on little to no rehearsal, so the only other option is to experiment on the gig. But I haven't changed my main equipment in a couple of years.