Pandora's box

[spitvalve]

I spend way too much time pining over horns and mouthpieces I want, and envying you guys who have them. I got the gearhead bug just after high school and it's dogged me ever since. It's a drug one can never be free of.

On a cruise ship audition once I met a guy who was playing lead in the ship's band on a cheap Reynolds student model, with the same mouthpiece that came with the horn, that he had played since 7th grade. He had no idea what the mouthpiece was and never worried about it. He played great. Never worried about his equipment, was making a good living at it, and not spending the money on trumpet stuff.

How I envy that guy.
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Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1977 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
1995 UMI Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[J. Crowley]

If it makes you feel better, I know tons of sax players who obsess over reeds, mouthpieces and ligatures, and are always changing and trying to find "The Magic One".

I know tons of guitar players who occasionally get curious and want to try different pics with different edges and thicknesses and materials.

And even John Coltrane had a huge trashbag filled with old mouthpieces and was constantly trying to find a better one.

I've played the same horn and mouthpiece for 5 years, and still occasionally feel the itch. But when I was searching I always said to myself, don't buy a horn without selling a horn. I think that's a good policy.
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http://www.JonCrowleyMusic.com
http://www.brooklyntrumpetlessons.com

[Craig Swartz]

Sax players? Ever meet an oboe player?

[spitvalve]

[plp]

At some point, the committed gearhead needs to recognize they have a problem, as collecting gear simply put interferes with performance ability.

Think of a sliding scale, where those like the abovementioned player is a 10 and someone like me is a 1. A 10 is totally devoted to developing as a performer, and will use whatever tool at their disposal. A 1 is totally devoted to bright shiny objects, and blows the occasional note or two just to make sure the gear works.

I would guess most folks fall in the middle of the scale, with varying degrees of ability. I think a 5 can be anything from a working pro to a new middle school student, whom acknowledge gear does help, but only as an enhancement to the sound produced.

While you can classify gear by characteristics, you cannot classify ability simply by sound produced. There are classical pros who simply cannot swing, and there are street corner musicians who can play just about anything by ear, but have no formal education. Both may be outstanding at what they do, but cannot be catagorized on the same scale.

As to gear, the common wisdom seems to be (at least on this site) that some gear makes some tasks easier to accomplish, but is no substitute for consistent, goal oriented practice.

[Craig Swartz]

Spitvalve- I was referring to the propensity of an oboist to be concerned about the "ultimate reed". I guess I've been fortunate to have played with oboists who are not only fine musicians but also pretty regular men and women- I mean, one who was a full-fledged Methodist minister for a day gig who drank with the brass players after dress rehearsals and knew and used more than a few 4-letter words? Another actually wrote the book on oboe reed making that has allowed me to help a couple of good 8th graders start making reeds they could use. PM me if you're interested in Jay's book. He's now retired but the book is great, even if you only learn to adjust store-bought reeds. In reality, mouthpieces are nothing for trumpet players compared to a young oboist with a reed that doesn't work.

[DaveH]

Moderation in all things.

Counterproductive and dysfunctional results can occur when things are taken to extremes.

An accurate perception of reality and well established priorities will always be helpful.

[spitvalve]

[Tootsall]

[DaveH]

[shastastan]

I've learned to be careful now, but I used to get caught up in "buying binges" in the past. This was not in trumpet gear but woodworking tools. New tools come out even more often than new mps but the question is the same for both---Is this a need to have or a nice to have item? It's worse in woodworking though because, unless you're in the business, you can use handtools for everything rather than buy a whole garage of power tools (yep, guilty as charged). There are those of us who seem trapped in this behavior pattern of wanting stuff even though we realize that we really don't need it. I've been playing less than 3 years and already have too many horns and mps for my current needs or needs that have changed. Going to sell some though. Watch out; you could be next to catch the fever.

Stan

[spitvalve]