Rick Chartrand

Dear Toots

How are you today? After reading several of your posts I'm convinced that you are the guy to help me with my Problem.

I am a professional player and have been playing now for 15 years. I'm in between gigs now and am making a nice little living busking on the streets despite the cold. Here's my problem. I have a really nice Martin Committee that I wanna keep nice, and unless I am constantly breathing into my horn to warm it, my pistons freeze solid after about 2 minutes,and I have to go inside to warm them. So if I brethe into my horn constantly theres no problem with them freezing.

Here's the question. We are only in January and I know theres gonna be a few more months of this weather. Will performing out in this cold hurt my horn in any way? I can stand the cold and have a family to support but am worried about my horn? Thoughts?

Thanks Toots

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

old geezer

I used to play in a band that played outside in all kinds of weather. Bought a $40 Bundy at a pawn shop and in the real cold I would use alcohol instead of valve oil. Had to put more on every 15 min. or so but would keep the valves from freezing. You know its cold when the Sax's pads freeze down and won't move. Have fun and good luck. When it is that cold you can't worry about the beautiful tone of a pro-horn and the pro-horn has tighter tolerances so they freeze up faster. old geezer Dave

Tootsall

Rick, if your horn is warmed up to where you can move the valves then don't worry about it. The danger is that if you have some condensation in the valves and it is frozen.... and you subsequently try to "FORCE" them to move before they are thawed out... then you could distort/warp something. Otherwise just remember.... don't lick the playground equipment!

Also... go to a lighter weight oil for winter... maybe a 5W30.

It WAS -40 is here last week. It was also +13 (C) today..... a 53 celsius degree "swing" in just a few days. Oh well, if you don't like the weather just wait a moment... it's about to change.

Rick Chartrand

Hey Dave

Thanks for the info, it brought a smile to my face...specially the part about putting alcohol on your pistons. Very original Thats not something I wanna do with a Martin Committee though. Maybe buying an old horn at a pawn shop might be the answer. Sad thing is that even in the severe cold, the beauty of my tone is my trademark and why I make good $.

Thanks Dave

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

Rick Chartrand

Hey Toots

Thanks for answering my post. I was thinking exactly the same thing myself...don't force frozen valves. LOL no no I wont lick the playground equipment thats for sure. I am using a Lexan Kelly mouthpiece for these cold gigs so that helps alot. And I am using a lot of extra valve oil too so the pistons wont freeze.

Thanks for the weather report I have been playing through it all though cause the money is good specially by all the bars on the main strip in my town on Friday and Saturday nights. Bar hoppers are really generous with thier loonies and toonies. (For US readers thats the Canadian form on $1 and $2 bills.) Ahhhh the good old days in the 1980's when Canada had $1 and $2 bills!

Thanks for your insight Toots. Let us all know how that Wynton Concert goes

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

Robert Rowe

I was gonna suggest gargling anti-freeze, and then spraying it into the mouthpipe to prevent the dreaded condensation freeze-up ... but, you might swallow some and die. Not worth it.

Robert Rowe

Tootsall

Vodka works. And no nasty aftertaste.

Rick Chartrand

hi Guys

LOL Robert

And going with the floe is good Toots

Later Guys

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

MUSICandCHARACTER

IN HS in Colorado, it would get cold while marching. I played whatever was needed (mostly low brass -- tuba, trombone, baritone). One night it was about -10 F. Some trombone player actually put antifreeze on his slide. It worked great -- until someone told him how deadly that stuff was.

I think he got sick for psychosomatic reasons.

Jim

old geezer

You just might try Hetmans syn. oil - it might take the cold better. When I used the alcohol I would get a sore throat from the fumes. old geezer Dave