[TPIN] Monette weight

[Michael Anderson]

The horns from the last 10-15 years are lighter. He found ways to accomplish
the stability of a heavy horn without the added weight. They really light up
too. In the hands of a good player (that is the operative phrase) the light
horns play very well with others and sound like a beautiful, bright
brilliant trumpet in all registers.

I also know for a fact that Dave reads this list and other forums every once
in awhile. I am often embarrassed by the ways people on TPIN unload on him
personally and I know for a fact that it bothers him to read it. I knew Dave
when he was very much in the early stages of developing his business and he
definitely had "people problems." He realized this 20 years ago and has been
working on it ever since. It's just as tough to evaluate the quality of the
man at a conference or trade show as it is to evaluate the quality of the
instrument. The window is too small and the environment too loud and hectic
to do either. Anyone who has spent any quality time with Dave in the last 15
years knows what I mean when I say he is one of the most caring and gracious
people out there. How many people come back from visiting the shop raving
about his gracious hosting? How many people have gotten free mouthpieces
over the year when they bang one up? He's quite about the giving he does.
The man is extremely philanthropic, but never wants people to know it was he
doing the giving.

The cost of his non-presentation horns are not based one bit on "marketing"
or what the market will bear or hype. They cost what they do based on the
man hours and technology required to build them the way they are. If you had
attended his clinic at ITG this last summer and see the wonderful
documentary film he spent hundreds of hours putting together will realize
that these instruments are truly hand made and take a great deal of time to
do right. NO ONE, including Dave, is "getting rich" scamming the trumpet
players of the world. It just isn't happening. There are no "fat cats"
raking in the dough and there is no large parent corporation skimming off
the profits for inefficient corporate waste (Conn/Selmer/Steinway.) The
Monette Corp. is still a "mom and pop" type business. Most people don't
realize that they don't make much if any of their profits on the horns. Most
of the profit comes from the mouthpiece part of the business.

So, the horns simply are not overpriced. Neither are Cliff Blackburn's, Ken
Larson's, Roy Lawlers, Schilke, etc.

I don't play Monette trumpets or mouthpieces anymore even though I often
really wish I did (today for example. ;-). I found a way to afford a couple
at a point in my life where it really helped me to play them. There is only
one Monette trumpet played by one of my students in my studio and only 2
mouthpieces and they both came in with that gear already purchased. I rarely
recommend them for someone of that age and I usually discourage someone that
young from buying one. So, I'm not a "Monette Evangelist." I'm simply trying
to report some of the facts that are so often not known or misinterpreted
here and on other forums.

Dave is a good, kind and ethical person. It has been proven to me over and
over many times. The horns and the way they are built are simply on another
level from anything else and much of what he innovated has been adopted and
accepted by the industry. When he retires and the horns aren't as good or as
special as they are now, I predict you will see the price of those built by
him sky rocket. I don't think I ever sold one for less than I paid for it
unless it was damaged or worn. They almost all appreciate in value. You
can't say that about many brass instruments.

MA




> From: Trent Austin <trent at trentaustin.com>
> Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 18:08:59 -0500
> To: <tpin at tpin.okcu.edu>
> Subject: [TPIN] Monette weight
> 
> My horn weighs slightly more than my Connstellation.   I  Some people on
> this list make Monette horns out to weigh as much as baby grand pianos.
> Dave makes horns from 1 1/2 lbs if you can't hold up that much weight due to
> senility or arthritis.   Sometimes I laugh at the not-so-veiled attempts at
> Monette bashing.  I'm sure Dave is going to cry about it.  I'll
> let his horn do all of my talking in the future.
>