What to Expect in the Edwards Booth
We’re heading to San Antonio for the TMEA Convention this week. We always have a great time in San Antonio, but our booth can be a little overwhelming at times. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your time at our booth.
Bring your own horn and/or mouthpiece
If you’re in the market for a new horn, you should play your fitting with your current mouthpiece. Trying to evaluate a new instrument with a new mouthpiece introduces too many variables. Likewise, bring your current horn if you’re looking to buy a Griego Mouthpiece.
Know what you’re going to play
You don’t need to play excerpts or difficult solo rep. Whatever you do play, make sure it’s something that’s familiar to you and will best help you test the horn or mouthpiece. We recommend long tones, articulations, scales, and lip slurs. Boring fundamentals. Not all pedal D’s and double C’s. We don’t mind hearing the excerpts, but you gotta nail them, especially if it’s Ride, Mahler 5, or Bolero.
Pick the best time to visit
If you’re serious about buying a horn, we recommend visiting the booth when things aren’t quite so busy. Check the convention schedule and visit when the all-state students are in rehearsal. We don’t have anything against these players — there are just so many of them that when they are in rehearsal the booth should be a bit slower.
Don’t worry about the specs
We don’t normally tell you what components you’re playing. We want you judging your fit to our instruments based on sound and feel. If we tell you that we’re swapping out a leadpipe for something larger, you might “hear” a bigger sound even when it’s not.
Have an open mind
Along those same lines, many people come in the booth with the specs of the exact horn they want to buy. They’ve studied our website and feel confident that the components they’ve selected are exactly what they need. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. We have had so many fittings where the final result was slightly different from the beginning concept. Many times the smallest changes in equipment give the player huge improvements in sound quality and response. Be patient with us if we want to double check your equipment before signing off on the final fit.
Safe travels to everyone heading to TMEA. We’ll see you in booth 363 starting Thursday morning.
