tedh1951

I've been looking at Monette Mouthpieces and while I find much of discussion technically interesting, I wonder if any of you care to comment on playing improvements, if any, when switching from a Benge 3C (my current mouthpiece) to the equivalent Monette product. (What is the equivalent Monette? A B6? Help?) I couple my 3C to the leadpipe of a nice old (1983) Getzen 900 and am very happy with the tone - I just was wondering ... - yes I know, the one with the most mouthpieces when they die is the winner.

__________________

Ted

Vulgano Brother

Your Benge 3C was made using the old Mt.Vernon Bach tooling, and should be a bit smaller than a newer Bach 3C. I used a B1 on my 1974 Getzen 900S to good advantage. The B6 might be a good fit for you.

__________________
www.letsbuildhope.org

Sterling

I switched from a Bach 3C to a Monette B6 last June. So far, it was a very nice switch. Funny, it wasn't a difficult switch. The Monette B6 feels very similar to a Bach 3C on my face. The most difficult part was convincing myself to shell out $210 for one mouthpiece.

Firestas'1

This is a real sticking point for me, thats why I'm sticking to my 1C!

__________________


Stan J.

What is to reach the heart must come from above. If it does not, it will be nothing but notes, body without spirit.
--Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is God's best gift to man. The only art of heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to heaven.
--Letitia Elizabeth Landon

rowuk

tedh1951,
the first thing that you will notice is that the octaves are "stretched". Low notes are lower and high notes are higher in pitch. This means you will have to relax to let the mouthpiece work.
When one relaxes, they discover a much more resonant sound.
This is not a mouthpiece switch where you pop it in the horn and have an octave more range or twice the loudness.
It is designed to work for players willing to let go of old habits. I switched in 1997 and there is no aspect of my playing that hasn't improved at least a little.

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

tedh1951

Wow that was a switch a decade ago, how long did it take to acclimatise to the new mouthpiece - is it possible that the newer model is even better? I had my Benge 3C gold plated some time ago and I feel that that has made a positive change - the lips slide nicely, and the mouthpiece always has a nice "warm" feel to it. So I'm into embracing change to some degree - but I want to do a little homework first so that the $200+ isn't chasing a pipe dream (no pun intended). Thanks for your comments.

__________________

Ted

rowuk

I switched cold turkey and felt comfortable after a week and strong after 2. That was a non Prana back then. The Pranas are even more radical. Still, students of mine have switched and gotten really comfortable within a couple of weeks. Good posture and being relaxed are important concepts though! It helps to have someone who understands the Monette philosophy guide you through the first playing attempts.

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.