Brickboo,

Ditto. A good player can make anything sound good. I have seen it happen many times.

And I can't count the times when I've seen a performer who (whom?) I thought couldn't play his or her way out of a paper bag only to hear the audience just eat it up. As long as they are being entertained, they are happy.

So for the most part it doesn't matter what instrument is being played as far as the audience is concerned. And I agree with you that probably the only person that really cares is the one playing the instrument unless the audience consists of fellow musicians.

Occasionally I get booked for a gig where I am only expected to provide background music and not have any real contact with the crowd. In those cases, it certainly wouldn't matter if I was using the latest technology or simply brought my son's Little Tikes xylophone piano and had a couple of balloons to bang against the mic for rhythm. (Hmm, I might have to give that a try).

Anyway, most of the time I think I am my best audience, and I definitely know what sounds good, so I appreciate the fact that I have a great instrument to play on. I mean let's face it, most of us do this because we love it, and it is even more enjoyable when you like the instrument you are playing on.

Dave

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 03-03-2004).]