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the "What's your setup?" question

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#1 ·
What tip opening are you using? How much do you tighten your ligature? Is your reed filed or unfiled?

I sigh whenever I get the "What's your setup?" question and hate answering it.
[Spoiler alert: I sound like me on every setup once I'm used to it.]

So it made my day when a YouTube account named "billion genius" - who obviously understands this plight - posted a comment on one of my demo videos:

"What size t-shirt do you use?"
Thanks for the laugh, billion genius, whoever you are. I hope you enjoyed my reply.

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#2 ·
It's funny now that I know you are a good player. But sax players have always asked each other about such things. The problem is, at least for me, when the question comes from someone who would not be helped in the slightest by the best set-up in the world. You know how you run into theses saxophone owners all the time.
 
#12 ·
I just spent a week at the Inside Outside saxophone retreat in Wooten Woods in Tennessee. One very refreshing thing about the week was that there was relatively little discussion of equipment. What was discussed was MUSIC - not so much which notes to play, more about the other 9 components of music as listed in Victor Wooten's book.

And Pedro Saxo performed - if you haven't heard him, do a You Tube search. After he played a blistering composition WITHOUT A SETUP (no mouthpiece, reed, lig - he played the neck like a trumpet) there was a question shouted from the audience - "What reeds do you use?"
 
#17 ·
I don't know why anyone would get irritated when talking about equipment. You talk about what you are passionate about. I can think back over the last year and I remember talking to a guy about hunting and asking what kind of gun he had...... I was looking into getting a wood furnace and I asked some guys what kind they had. I was talking to a guy at a party who is really into biking and I asked him what kind of bike he rides and what he recommends. I don't remember him responding that that was a stupid question and the bike isn't important...........I can pick out hundreds of other examples and yet for some reason there is a minority of sax players that get bothered by the question and say it isn't important. I don't get it...........
 
#15 ·
My teacher in high school used to yell at me for wearing a hat, especially backwards. She felt it restricted blood flow to the brain.

I occasionally ask others about their gear, but usually only if they have what looks like a really ugly old horn. There is sometimes a good story about how they acquired it.
 
#19 ·
I joined this forum specifically because I was interested in learning about equipment and being a saxophone nerd. Because it's as much a hobby/passion as it is an art/profession. And I've learned a lot about mouthpieces, baffles, chambers, vintage horns, etc...

None of that has ever influenced what I play or what I buy, nor do I take anything that is clearly opinion to be fact.

But gear is fun to talk about. I'm also an illustrator in my spare time and can talk about the benefits of various pencils and drawing implements...I can tell you what rulers I like best! Ultimately it's not going to make me better or worse as an artist, but it's fun to discuss things you like with people who also appreciate those things.

It's cool to have to remind beginners and such that the most important factor lies behind the mouthpiece...and it can be frustrating to keep repeating ourselves...but then again, someone is showing an interest in something you love...why get mad about that?
 
#20 ·
Knowing that the mouthpiece doesn't 'give' you a sound, and that it has to be worked with, I've asked the question because I liked the players sound and want a 'starting point'. I'm getting ready to start playing tenor in a serious way for the first time, and you can bet I'm going to be asking about setups. If I know a mpc is prone to certain characteristics combined with what a player 'gets out of it', then I can make an informed purchase. There's a huge different between the sound you get from a MB II and a HR Link. It's sad when more experience players are dismissive of a very valid question.
 
#21 ·
I love talking gear, and now it has turned into my job which is awesome. However, I very rarely change gear, and usually by accident. I've had my horn about 10 years, ligature 12, mouthpiece 3 or so. I just switched necks, but I didn't really want to, but the new one was far superior and a great deal. I do see people getting too caught up in gear though and missing the fundamentals.
 
#22 ·
Whenever I've hung around after performances of great sax players, I always hear young players ask them the "What's your setup?" question.
Pros get it all the time.
There are so many more important questions they could ask.

How about:
  • Who should I listen to / transcribe?
  • What's a good pattern to practice?
  • What book do you recommend I study?
  • What players have influenced you most?
  • What tips can you give me for playing a creative solo?
  • How do you improve communication among your quartet?
  • How can I develop better time feel?
Compared with those, the setup question is pitifully unhelpful to the budding saxophonist.

Then again, didn't Trane perform better in cotton shirts compared to wool?
 
#23 ·
After this performance Bill got thousands of letters asking what tip-size cigar he smokes and which brand reed and it's hardness he used on his John Thomas mpc when playing his renditions of "Devil With The Blue Dress".

 
#24 ·
What tip opening are you using? How much do you tighten your ligature? Is your reed filed or unfiled?

I sigh whenever I get the "What's your setup?" question and hate answering it.
[Spoiler alert: I sound like me on every setup once I'm used to it.]

So it made my day when a YouTube account named "billion genius" - who obviously understands this plight - posted a comment on one of my demo videos:

Thanks for the laugh, billion genius, whoever you are. I hope you enjoyed my reply.

View attachment 70252
Great fun. Check this one out and watch for the surprise at the end of their performance.



BTW, Arno Bornkamp is a brilliantly talented alto player.

 
#28 ·
The mouthpiece I play now on tenor and played for around 5 years all through my DMA was one I discovered through a "what's your setup" question.
However, it was a guy I knew fairly well and was able to tell this one apart from others he had played before. (Shocking)
I personally love answering this question and guiding those who are still searching to find their "promised land"
Everyone has their own personalities and ways of doing things. So it is cool if you dont like being asked this question. If someone wants to discuss gear with me after hearing me play, I am open to it and feel complimented.
 
#30 ·
"What tip opening are you using? How much do you tighten your ligature? Is your reed filed or unfiled?

I sigh whenever I get the "What's your setup?" question and hate answering it."

You poor guy. The nerve of some people ...

The curious and interested should have enough manners to keep quiet rather than bothering folk.
 
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