Intonation, playing in tune, etc

[lgb&dtuba]

Given that a) an experienced player will pretty much automatically adjust or lip in to be in tune, b) a horn not so radically out of tune to make this an exaggerated process how would you, as a player, even know for sure that a particular horn was inherently slightly out of tune or that it's yourself?

As a practical example I once owned a baritone that I played in tune but a trombone player friend swore was way out of tune when he played it. After he adjusted to playing it instead of his trombone he also played it in tune automatically. The horn certainly didn't change during this process.

Jim

[tubeast]

You already nailed it:
play the horn with a trombonist´s approach. These guys (errrm... the better ones... ) are used to "centering" all notes (to get the sweetest sound) and fix the intonation with the slide. This way they serve as what we call a "Schlaglochsuchgerät" (literally: "Bump hole searching device", colloquial German expression for a tiny car or somebody more than eager to detect quirks in a system)