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Letting others play your instruments?

6K views 52 replies 38 participants last post by  Grumps 
#1 ·
I don't mind too much if a friend picks up my bass and has a play.

But the sax is bit of a thing that so far, I like to keep cleaner.

A friend wants me to take mine to his house so he can mess about with it & I keep putting it off :mrgreen:

I dunno..
 
#7 ·
If your friend knows how to play the horn, that's one thing. If the interest is to "mess about with it" because he has no experience on a horn, that's quite another.

The call is yours. I would not.
 
#9 ·
I've loaned my horns out to trusted player friends many times. I prefer it, however if they provide their own mouthpiece. If they're trying it at my house, I just hand them the horn. I got no problem with it.

I've played a few of Pete's horns when I visited him, and several of Grump's horns.
 
#46 ·
I've played a few of Pete's horns when I visited him, and several of Grump's horns.
Which were better? :lol:

I've gotten to try all sorts of horns out there belonging to friends, SOTW members and dealers, and have no problem letting other players give my own horns a try. I've lent a horn out in the past to a friend on a sort of long term lend... but tell you the truth, he seemed rather put off when I needed it back. So in that sort of situation it pays to be clear with intentions.
 
#11 ·
Family that wants to play my horns - OK. My son in law has my bari at his house more than it's at mine.
Band mates who want to give one a test toot under my supervision - OK
Buddy that wants to take one to mess around with - NO FREAKIN WAY
If, an only IF, I trust you with my life would I concider a short term loan of a select few of my instruments.
And even then I would have to think long and hard on the request.
 
#13 ·
I would think the sax is more hygenic than the bass clarinet as it's made from brass. It's not difficult to bend brass though so I would be careful who I lent a sax to. Generally I don't like to lend my own instruments. I've had too much experience of people letting me down when I've lent things to learn not to lend anything I would miss.

It's one thing letting them play it while you are there. But taking it away to their house is maybe a step too far. I guess it depends what the instrument quality is. But really, if you are having concerns then just say you don't like lending the sax out. Saxophones can be got pretty cheaply these days so if they are serious about playing one then they can buy their own or rent one.
 
#16 ·
Unless we were talking about a long-time trusted friend who is a serious sax player, I wouldn't. There's a lot that can go wrong with a saxophone, especially if it's in the care of someone who doesn't know how to care for it. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to drop it."
 
#17 ·
I remember the drummer in my brother's band going on a rant about every time he got up to take a break somebody would sit down, pick up his sticks, and whack at the drums. He went on and on about how people think the drums are simple and that anybody can do it and no respect for his property, etc. I think about that every time I sit down at the drums when the drummer takes a break. But if you even look like you're going to touch my Martin, I'll whack you with a drum stick.

Mark
 
#18 ·
Within our sax section, it's not that unusual to lend horns for short-term use, such as individual gigs. I've lent two different sopranos to another guy when his sop was out of commission. That same player has lent his baritone sax to a couple of different people within the group. I also have my old student alto on an indefinite, long-term loan to my sister-in-law. Normally, people borrowing horns use their own mouthpieces, but mouthpieces themselves also can be shared with caution. At one point, two different members of our group were looking for concert-appropriate tenor mouthpieces. I lent my T20 to one guy for a couple weeks, after which it was passed on another to player for testing, and she eventually bought it from me.
 
#20 ·
This is a pretty far cry from leaving your instrument at someone's house because they just want to see how it works.

I agree with you, if it is someone that knows how to play the instrument, and appreciates how to take care of it, I've no issues. But there is no way that I will hand over my horn to someone that doesn't know how to take care of it.
 
#23 ·
The only real issue is if they break a decent reed. I can't see why you shouldn't let someone have a go, but make sure the reed isn't your best one that you can't live without.

Hygiene is not really an issue IMO beyond washing the mouthpiece and reed afterwards (just as you might if they ate something off your plates or used your cutlery)

Good point about kissing, I've not worried too much about kissing people I think might be appropriate, but would probably check for cold sores first. Colds, flu etc. would be a bit of an issue but most people disclose such things and advise you to steer clear for a while.
 
#28 ·
... A friend wants me to take mine to his house so he can mess about with it & I keep putting it off :mrgreen:

I dunno..
The fact that you have doubts enough to post a thread about it on SOTW is a red flag. If you're not comfortable, don't do it. It doesn't have to be rational or explained.

I'd let another relatively experienced sax player, who I trust, using their own mpc, play my horn. Otherwise, no.
Yup.

I've loaned a spare horn to a friend for an extended period of time while she took lessons on it. She used her own mpc. She eventually bought the horn from me, which was the purpose of the loan. Otherwise, I'm not letting anybody keep one of my horns to "mess about with it." It's not about cleanliness. I'm not worried about that. It's about care for the horn.
 
#41 ·
I've loaned a spare horn to a friend for an extended period of time while she took lessons on it. She used her own mpc. She eventually bought the horn from me, which was the purpose of the loan. Otherwise, I'm not letting anybody keep one of my horns to "mess about with it." It's not about cleanliness. I'm not worried about that. It's about care for the horn.
I seem to recall the sax for some odd reason. :whistle:


Michael, I originally loaned her my Indiana alto. Her teacher, a local pro, told her it was a really good horn. When I got your Handcraft, I also let her try that out. She preferred the sweeter, mellower tone of the Handcraft, so I sold it to her and took back my Indiana. I preferred the more modern funkier sound of the Indiana so we both ended up happy. She's now the owner of your Handcraft. :)
 
#30 ·
Good call. Saxes are much more delicate than electric bass. Just holding them improperly can damage them. Definitely not a good idea to let an inexperienced player even touch it unsupervised.

On the other hand, I lent the soprano player in my sax quartet my soprano for the better part of 2 years. He sounded much better on mine than he did on his, plus I never get any soprano gigs myself, so it would have just collected dust otherwise.

The benefit of lending your stuff to other players is they will lend you stuff in return. I've gotten to do long term tests of far more horns and mouthpieces than I would have otherwise.
 
#32 ·
I was happy to let a well known UK pro borrow my Mk 7 for a local gig, when he phoned me an hour before I was gong to the gig, asking to borrow it ( and a mouthpiece !) , as he had left his over 100 miles away in London!
He respected the horn, played a storm, and was very appreciative - No Problems helping him out, as far as I was concerned !, no issues, why ever not?
 
#33 ·
I was happy to let a well known UK pro borrow my Mk 7 for a local gig....

He respected the horn, played a storm, and was very appreciative - No Problems helping him out, as far as I was concerned !, no issues, why ever not?
Sure, but that's a totally different situation than described by the OP: Letting someone with no experience on the sax 'mess about' on the horn.
 
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