Liad Bar-EL

Weather Dave makes 12 or 20 horns a year that means 12 or 20 valve blocks and 24 - 40 water keys. If another company makes nothing but valve blocks and another makes nothing but water keys, each of them making over a million a year, they can afford to research and develop a better product and change machinery to meet new developments but not Dave. He will be still making the same old parts.

Liad

Manny Laureano

Which is precisely why dave went to making his own parts, Liad.

He no longer wished to be beholden to the limitations of other companies. He wanted to be able to research and develop on a constant basis, something that monette customers know to be the case. This is why his customers are constantly hearing about the most recent development and upgrade. He has shown me parts that he had to deal with, at great labor expense, before he was able to get what he really wanted by his own hands. This pertains very closely to the original title of the thread.

You seem to be taking the correction I made personally, although I'm sure why. Sorry that seems to be the case.

ML

MJ

I haven't seen a "new" Monette in person for a while. I know several people with older Monettes and those had the ammado sp? water keys on them. So Monette makes their own water keys now? And are they in the style of the ammados. Just curious.

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Manny Laureano

MJ,

Yes, they're similar to them but i was there the day he made his own. He even said to me "Put your hand on the tuning slide as though you were going to empty the water" (there was, as of yet, no water key on it), he made a little mark and then put on his new water key.

I asked him about the difference making them in the shop vs. sending out for them and he told me he's able to get a tighter seal with his. Like I said, it's a seemingly trifling thing but it's the little things, he's found, that have made the difference.

ML

B15M

All of the parts are important. Water keys, springs, valve caps.

The better the parts the maker has to work with, the better the trumpet.

Mr. Monette is a great trumpet maker but, if I sent him 3 garden hoses and said make a trumpet I'll bet he couldn't do it.

By the way, I'm glad that my horns are made in the USA

trumpetmike

Could be a fun challenge though

rowuk

Liad,
it is not a question if Dave Monette can afford to keep at the cutting edge of technology. He charges a premium price for his instruments - as long as his customers can afford it, he will be able to continue. He does change many things on a regular basis - having a supplier retool every 6 months is just as expensive, and still maybe not what he wants. Having visited Portland a couple of times, I know first hand that he understands what is necessary and how to get there. That is why people do not mind spending more money for his works of art.
This is not trying to claim that Monette horns are better than everything else, but rather that Monette instruments are exactly what Dave wants to build for his clients, with no influence from outside suppliers.

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Liad Bar-EL

B15M

Liad Bar-EL

B15M, Manny was talking about making your own parts so as not to be beholden to the limitations of other companies. This doesn't say much for the companies that Dave had been dealing with for there is a company who can make better valves/valve blocks with closer tolerances than Dave or any of his previous companies could make. In other words, don't think you Monette players have the best just because Dave makes his own parts. The world does not revolve this way. There is always a better company and Monette is not it for all trumpet parts and don't forget, that the more people you have working for you, the less control you have as well.

Liad