From: ujwb@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Jeff Beer)
Newsgroups: rec.music.bluenote,rec.music.makers
Subject: Re: The Monette Trumpets (was Re: Wynton's horn)
Date: 23 Jul 92 22:07:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: uxa.1992Jul23.220707.2125
Distribution: usa
Organization: Educational Computing Network

>So I've had various experiences/reactions to the whole Monette trumpet
>deal.  First, my former trumpet teacher, Kevin Woelfel, was running
>the business end of Monette's company up until a few months ago.
>Kevin had a Monette early on, and while he thought it was great, I
>didn't hear substantial improvement over the sound of his Bach.

Yeah, I dealt with Kevin when I was getting my horn.  Actually, I am
going to have to go there tomorrow to get a new O ring.

>Then I worked at IBM Almaden last year with fellow
>database-researcher/trumpet-player Jennifer Widom, who is a graduate
>of Indiana University's music program and plays classical gigs around
>the Bay Area.  Jennifer knew Dave Monette at Indiana, where he was
>apparently something of a strange character.  Which says nothing about
>his current craftsmanship, but is interesting nonetheless (how do you
>get into the custom trumpet business?  How do you succeed?  Amazing!
>Must be an unusual guy.)

Yes, I have heard the stories about Monette.  I also make up a few 
jokes with some of my other brass playing friends.  He would never want
anyone to say this, but he reminds me a lot of the late Reynold Schilke,
another great trumpet builder.   You would go into his shop with a horn
to get some work done on it, and he would yell at you "What, you are
taking care of MY horn like that?"  With me, Monette started out real
business like, he seemed to be mechanically going through his sales
pitch.  As we were working, he decided to try a flumpet mouthpiece on
the trumpet.  It was out of tune, but the sound was a perfect match for
what I was doing musically.  "I can fix that", he said about the
intonation.  So he felt like he really did his job on me, so after that
he was real cool.  But he is anal about the brand of value oil you use,
"Al Cass is the WORST oil you can use on this horn", and other things,
it would give a stand-up comedian about 10 minutes of material.

I think he used to job around as a lead trumpeter in big bands and the
like, but since he was a craftsman, he started experimenting with horns.
He was able to improve (at least to the satisfaction to the player)
several trumpets, so he started his own shop.  One day he got a call
from Doc Serverinson, and the next day he was in L.A. in Doc's living
room talking about how he could improve his horns.  He got the job, and
Doc was satisfied.  He kept going and finally started building complete
trumpets.

>Lots of big name people (Wynton, Art Farmer, various classical folks)
>swear by Monette's trumpets.  I've yet to give them a real tryout; the
>right thing to do is go down there and let Monette himself listen to
>you and fit your embouchure/sound, etc.  Frankly, my opinion has
>always been that the horn doesn't matter that much.  I don't mean that
>in the "Bird sounded amazing on shitty horns!" way, but in that most
>pro-quality commercial trumpets today ($1000 - $1500 or so, trumpets
>are about the cheapest acoustic instruments available) are quite
>acceptably in tune, and have reasonable tone throughout the registers.
>(This is not true of most flugelhorns.  But I don't think Monette
>makes a flugelhorn, only a "flumpet".)  I paid $300 for a used Bach
>some years back, and it sounds fine.  Seems to me that $30 and some
>good advice will get you the right mouthpiece, and that's 90% of the
>battle right there.

There is probably a lot of truth to that, but I made the switch because
a lot of things weren't happening with my Schilke.  It was also 10 years
old, and according to one theory, metal fatigue makes them lose their
sound.  I don't know if I buy that, but things were getting out of
balance.  With the Monette, I immediately got a better sound and more
consistant response in the different registers.  In fact, a new found
upper register.  However, when I put the Monette mouthpiece on the Schilke, 
it also played better.  So a mouthpiece change probably could have gotten me 
most of the way there, if I could have found the right one.  That is a big if, 
and Monette doesn't make mouthpieces for non-Monette owners yet.
There also is nothing like new equipment to psyche you up.

Monette doesn't make flugels, but he does make the flumpet, and a pocket
trumpet.   He made me a flumpet mouthpiece for my trumpet, and its sound
is out of this world, but it doesn't work good up high if you have a
bashing drummer.  That mouthpiece has a tendancy to soften your attack.
I would like to avoid the Lew Soloff thing, but for now it looks like I
am going to have to change mouthpieces for different bands.

>One thing I've always appreciated about trumpet players as opposed to
>sax players (one of many things :-)) is that trumpet players aren't
>usually the "equipment hounds" that sax players are.  My tenor-playing
>friends are always checking serial numbers to see whose Selmer is
>older; trumpet players usual don't seem to care as much.

It is even more fun if you are in a band with 2 brass and one sax.  You
can double team the saxophonist.  In our band, the sax player's reed
exploded in the middle of his solo.  We told him that he should be
lucky, because that only happens to his reed.  With us, it happens to
our chops.  Saxophone players, there is a lot of stuff you can nail them
with.

Jeff
Newsgroups: rec.music.bluenote