Wynton Marsalis Discussion Forum

I was very surprised to discover that I didn’t like the Prana version of the
B2 mouthpiece as my the regular B2 I’ve been playing. I’m told that it has an even more open throat..not for me I guess.

     

I felt the same way Rocky.  They sent me a B2 Prana to try out, and I didn’t like it at all.  The notes always felt really ambiguous.  The standard B2 fits me the best out of all the Monette Mouthpieces I have played.
John

     

John
I didn’t get a chance to play the non Prana B993 for an extended time but I got the gist of the difference in concept. I played the standard B2 mouth piece for a year and the new Prana B2 for 6 months. It took what seems like forever to finally get the Prana concept down. Once I received my horn Dave sent me all types of Prana B2s trying to help. It just took time to really understand the discipline.  I have found that the Prana B993 is very forgiving in all aspects if you let it do the work. It has giving me the ability to play double Cs on a mouth piece that has a rim size close to a 1/4C.  Maybe you should ask Dave to send you a Prana mouth piece for your 2nd mouth piece. Good luck!

     

What do you think you did to change your playing concept to make playing on the Pranas easier?
John

     

With all do respect to Mr Monette and his claims that “all you have to do is let it work”..ie…something is wrong with you if you don’t like the horn..I think that has an ESTian sound to it. It’s a great marketing technique, to phsyce out anybody who doesn’t like your product..to tell them ..it’s you..your alignment, your approach..YOUR SOUL..(I exaggerate)>I study Caruso technique, and have been working with a variety of teachers that incorporate the idea of less effort, good structure and less tension for years..as I said, I’m a yoga practictioner for decades, and have taken Alexander technique and other forms of idiokenetic body work…so I have a good sense of how the thing works in practice and theory….I gave the Prana B2 a good try out..only an hour..not several months..and I could tell right away that it didn’t feel as easy or as centered to play. THere is no magic in a piece of brass..it either works for you or it doesn’t.

When approached to design a horn to meet his specs, the great Mendez agreed to the invitation. Given the new horn to try…he found that it was extemely uncomfortable..and he couldn’t get it to work comfortably. One technician studied Mendez’s old horn, and found it had several irregularities in the values and perhaps in other places…in other words, all those years he had been compensating for the flaws in the horn. Even though the new horn in theory would have made it easier for him to play , he prefered the flaws..So they built the flaws in his new horn..and he dug it.

It’s all individual baby..Dave is a shrewd guy..he treads the line between innovator and snake oil salesmen..all I can tell you, I’ve met lots of top flight musicians who bought Monettes, and have either sold them, or consigned them to the closet for a variety of reasons. If it works for you, great…but not everyone is a trumpet playing cripple if they just don’t like the damn things.

     

John I think it was just letting go of habits used when playing other equipment. You can really have trouble with the Prana if you hold on to old habits. I don’t think you have to practice yoga to get it. You have to play in a manner which is open and relaxed. Dave told me I should get it right away but I didn’t. It was probably going straigt to the Prana from non Monette equipment.

     

Has anyone here ever played a Monette Classic Cornet? If you have, what was it like and how did it sound?

Thanks!

Matt

     

Hey Monette cats….I may be selling my stc 1 gold plated C if anyone is interested…...post here if you would like a pic….it plays great I just don’t use it as much as I used to….

     

I haven’t played the Classic Cornet, but I have played the 900 series cornet.  It’s fabulous.  Has a beautiful tone, and is a dream to play.  I’ve always felt cornets to be a bit stuffy feeling, but man this thing, just plays through all registers of the horn with complete ease, starting from pedal C all the way up to double c.

     

I just got a prana mouthpiece cause i wanted to upgrade from my old B2 Monette.  Im not happy with the performance of the mouthpiece though.  It has a wider rim and wider hole and it makes it harder to make a solid tone with it.  The shank fo the mouthpiece is also skinner yet allowing more air to go though it.  Dont get me wrong, it yells out the lower octives but way to much air is going through and doing nothing but makin that air sound.  Anyone else experienin this probelm?

     

Yes.  That was exactly how i felt about the Pranas.  I play a B2, the most comfortable rim ive ever played…the prana’s felt wider, too open.  I am a fan of the standard mpcs more than the pranas.
John

     

Hey guys.  Just wanted to let everyone know that I just received my Monnette B993 in the mail this week.  Honestly and unequivocally, this is the best trumpet I have ever played.  The sound, response, and ease of playing is further beyond what I could have ever imagined.  Anyone seriouse about playing the trumpet should investigate Dave’s products.  Think of it this way: if there are pianists willing to pay 120,000 dollars for a piano, bassoonists willing to pay 25, 000 dollars for a middle range professional bassoon, then why in the world should we complain aboout paying 5,500 to 9000 dollars for the worlds finest trumpet?  Just put things in perspective a little bit.  Hard to argue with that logic in my opinion.  Go and try Dave’s equipment.  I promise you will not be disappointed.
John

     

I’ve tried Monette’s horns and mouthpieces.  I apply his concepts to playing non-Monette equipment and it works fine, so on the several occasions I’ve played his mouthpieces and horns (149XL Bflat and B993 - both with B1-2 mpcs), I didn’t have any problems.  I’ve also tried his lead, and C Trumpet mpcs in different sizes.

It’s just not the sound I’m looking for.  The horns play great: slotting, projection, intonation, stability of response, resonance,...all improved, BUT as Rocky pointed out, I couldn’t get any other sounds than what Monette designed the horns to do.  Hence, I don’t play his equipment.

Testing the B993 was an interesting experience.  I was in a room, say, 30x50 feet, and with a 10 foot ceiling.  The horn felt stuffy and unresponsive at first.  The guy told me to play from one corner of the room to an opposite corner and the horn just opened up.  Was weird, actually, but I can say that playing out into the room actually helps with any horn.

How is your horn working out for you?

     

The horn is working out great.  If I would have known that it was gonna be this good, I would have paid another 1000 dollars for it! 
It’s interesting to me that you say that you could not get any other sound out of it other than the sound that Dave wanted.  I have found just the opposite: depending on the type of air I use, or the mouthpiece, I have been able to get more versatile sounds out of this horn than any other horn that I have played.  But everyone has their own opinion.  I have always enjoyed the sound concept of people who play Monette horns, and that’s the big reason I bought the horn.
JR

     

John,

Good luck with the horn… Are you playing primarily on the STC3 , or are you using an STC2? Did you get the gold or raw brass?