The best $400 (plus S&H) I will never spend...

[jon112780]

So only a short mouthpiece is standing between me and playing in tune?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN6hcuEN ... re=related" target="_blank

I'll just stick a spare Conn Helleberg in the vice and use a hacksaw, maybe I can save myself $400...

[tubaguy9]

Bahahahahahahahaha!!!!!




I love it!

[Michael Denney]

I agree that the pricing is rather high. However, my Walter Sear DePrinz horn transformed from okay intonation with other mouthpieces to dead on with a Monette.

[jon112780]

I too, find the price tag very extravagant...

What mouthpiece were you using before deciding on the Monette?

Which Monette mouthpiece are you using on your Walter Sear (BBb?)

Perhaps the cup shape/size was the deciding factor, or maybe the shorter shank, or perhaps a combination of those.

One of the guys I went to school with had different Monette mouthpieces for his CC and F tubas. I seem to recall that the F mouthpiece had a very short shank with an edge that was VERY thick; contrasting with the shank edges of the G&W mouthpieces which are almost knife thin. I'm not an engineer, but I couldn't help thinking that a mouthpiece without a taper going into the reciever would create more turbulance than the 'standard' taper mouthpieces.

Overall, if Monette has made the shank length "breakthrough", why aren't other mouthpiece makers also using it and charging an extra $250 on top of what they charge?

Maybe it is a good idea to relate the shank length to the instrument's key, but I'm not going to pay $400 to find out. As mentioned in the original post, I could take a hacksaw to the shank, but I don't have any knowledge of how to correct the inside taper, or the tools in which to do so and make it look like a "finished product".

Has anybody done this to a popular/readily available mouthpiece and noted the possible results back to back with the same, unaltered mouthpiece? I would be interested, but not $400 worth interested...

[Dan Schultz]

I agree that the pricing is rather high. However, my Walter Sear DePrinz horn transformed from okay intonation with other mouthpieces to dead on with a Monette.

Now... THAT's just plain magic!

[Michael Bush]

I bought one of these for a lot less than the sticker price and had a nice run with it. It was fine, not magic, but perfectly satisfactory. I liked it a lot, in fact.

In my restless testing of cool looking shiny things I got another mouthpiece that filled that same space in my arsenal, and it turned out to be even better for what I was using it for. That one became (and remains) the first one I pull out of the bag to use with the big tuba, precisely because of intonation (one of the main selling points of the Monette). This second mouthpiece has other imperfections (for me) but I play in tune with it. So I use it and sold the idle Monette.

So my advice, which is worth pretty much what you're paying for it, is that if you can get a used one for a fraction of the sticker price, you might be quite happy with it. I think they're fine. I suspect they're easy to over-value.

[Chadtuba]

I bought one of these for a lot less than the sticker price and had a nice run with it. It was fine, not magic, but perfectly satisfactory. I liked it a lot, in fact.

I had a similar experience. I got one from a buddy for a whole lot less than new. It made a huge difference compared to what I had so we came to an agreement on the price and I used it for many years. I switched when I finally was able to get my hands on a used Dillon PS-3 that was a better fit for me and the horn. I still occasionally use the Monette, but mostly it sits. I should probably put it up for sale. Somebody make me an offer if you're interested in trying one

[Tubajug]

I especially liked that Patrick Hession (the guy demonstrating the scale) had the crosshairs/gunsight ring on his trumpet. Heck with the mouthpiece, where can I get one of those??

[TheHatTuba]

Well, I have a miraphone tu29 that i never use, to the hacksaw

[Dan Schultz]

Hmmm.... I wonder if that 'short shank' is the same diameter on the small end as the other mouthpieces. If they've simply cut off the small end... all they've really changed is 'the gap'... which is another discussion altogether.

[Michael Bush]

Exactly. Just taking a hacksaw to the small end of another mouthpiece is not going to produce the same effect because it doesn't change the distance from the bottom of the cup to the receiver, or whatever point you want to measure to.