I've always felt it was important to have a back-up for my most used horns - for me that's alto, tenor and clarinet (must avoid the temptation to have a back-up bari!). The crazy thing is that if something goes wrong with my primary horn right before a gig, I will somehow find a way to get it fixed rather than use my back-up. I had to go out of town for a gig two weeks ago, and my series 3 tenor was acting up (strange gurgle / buzzing noise), and rather than saying "Oh well, I'll take the Mark VII instead", I took the afternoon off of work before I left to get a quick repair done at my local shop. It seems like the only time I use the back-up is for outdoor gigs when the weather is lousy, or the occasional crowded "biker bar" type gig.
The dilemma - should a back-up be as close as possible to the main horn so that you really want to play it, or a cheap beater that only comes out under really adverse circumstances?
The dilemma - should a back-up be as close as possible to the main horn so that you really want to play it, or a cheap beater that only comes out under really adverse circumstances?