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Tony,

If you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions to someone who plays Monette equipment. I'm relatively new to all this (trumpetmaster.com) and I read the thread by Magnusverdixon about Prana's, so here's my schitck....

A bit of my background:
I'm not much of a lead player per say (been playing the jazz chair in every band I've been in since high school, I'm now 32), so with that being said, I've been on the fence between 2 Monette prana's; a B4S and a B2 with the B2 having the 77 throat.

My trumpet teacher in college got me into Monette's before the Prana's. I started on a B6, played that for a few years and when I did my Master's, I studied with a Classical teacher who helped me play a lot more efficiantly.... which after the two years of studying with him, I found a bigger mpc to be easier to play, hence the switch to the B2. But I felt that I was getting tired quickly so that's when I switched to the B4S (thought it would be the middle of the road). I liked both for jazz and classical, but the dark sound I got on the B2 kept drawing me back. Then the Prana's came out and I found myself liking the fact that the upper register was easier on the B2 w/o sacrificing that dark sound.

So I guess ultimately my question is, do I sacrifice sound for endurance? I like the dark sound of the B2 but tend to get tired quicker, where as the B4S gives me a brighter sound and better endurance. Intonation is a bit better on the B2 as well. I played a club the other night with a quintet and people were raving at how I sounded on the B2, but I was dying by the 4th set. I've read the Monette guide and am I making the process more complicated than it really is? I went to a master class with Wynton a while back and someone asked him about equipment and I remember him saying that ..."you need to work into a bigger mouthpiece. Some cats today play a mpc that's to big for them." How do I know if the B2 is too big for me.... b/c endurance isn't as good? Should I base my decision solely on that or shed more Caruso Studies?

The other question I had for you (and whom ever would like to respond) is this. How do you balance a lesson schedule with your own playing? I teach privately to 60 students. Most of them are 5-8 graders. I've tried to schedule high school students in between the less advanced students b/c I feel like hell at the end of the day b/c of constant modeling of simple tunes and the constant on/off of the trumpet on my face. I do my routine everyday before I head off to teach, but still feel "worked" at the end of the day. Thoughts? By the time I get home, it's a 20 minute "G" and some soft playing to warm down and I'm done.

Thanks for your time. Hope this all makes sense.