BleekGilliam

Hi,

I've been playing trumpet for about 7 years now. Most if not all of my playing is small group jazz and the occasional church solo gig. I've been on a Warburton 4MC with an 8* backbore but I have a Monette B4S that I frequently try out in the practice room. I LOVE the sound that the Monette gives me. Dark and silky one minute but brilliant/edgy when I step on the gas. It's a very flexible piece and probably the best I've ever played. The only downside is I seem to run out of gas faster. Even though Monette lists it as the size of an "old 3C" it feels bigger than any Bach I've ever played. Comfortable - but bigger. When I brought it the B6 felt way too small so I went with the B4S.

Since I don't have any gigs lined up over the next few months I'm thinking of making the switch. The sound difference is nice enough to my ears to work through the change. I'm only concerned about the size. I've read on some of the other forums that if someone doesn't practice 4 to 5 hours a day - a big mouthpiece is a dead end street. I practice at least an hour to 1.5 (not including rest) during the week and more on the weekend if I don't have to gig. Is that enough daily practice to support a piece this size? I considered going to a B6 but it feels way too small. Since they recommend going to a larger size the B4S seemed like the logical choice.

I know from lurking that we have some Monette users on the site - I'd love to hear your thoughts with regards to getting acclimated. I've already learned a bit just from searching the forum. I've got the guide and have been reading it - I'm sure I will have more questions and hopefully the folks here can help me out.

Thanks all!

maine trumpeter

I play on a GR 65m, I found that it took about a week to get back to where I was, I like the smaller size and the rim. I was playing on Paduba 6. My sound is a lot cleaner now.

tpter1

I made the move (this year) to a B1-2 from a 1c. Sometimes I do manage to get about 3-5 hours in a day, but most of the time it's about 1 1/2 hours max throughout the day.

Large mouthpiece a dead end street for that amount of practice time? What's that mean, anyway? Everyone is different, and the mouthpiece must fit the player. It has little to do with weather you get 4-5 hours a day or 1-2. (It's not how long you practice, it's what you do with it and how you approach it). My endurance has never been better. As for acclimating...each player is different. But if you read the acclimation guide on the Monette website, and just relax and breathe properly, you'll have no problems. You might not have any problems anyway; but adjusting to play with correct posture and not force things (to realize the full advantage of the mouthpiece, in other words) takes getting used to. It's a matter of building trust in your sound and trust in what's in your ear.

Godspeed! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Eclipsehornplayer

I'm going to echo what Glenn said...

I play the 4S combo on all my horns and love it. I usually get 1 - 2 hours practice a day but can sometimes go several days with no practice at all.

It works well for me and does not appear to be "dead end" at all!

I'm not sure what that meant anyway. All I can say is once you switch stay dedicated to it. Play only it and for about 1 to 2 weeks you'll struggle a bit. After that clear sailing; it was for me anyway.

Good luck!
John

BleekGilliam

Thanks for the repsonses. I am really dedicated to the change. The sound is so incredible with this B4S - that alone makes me thing the change is worth a few weeks or month of acclimation. Not having anything lined up until late April really takes the pressure off.

I'm tempted to freeze my old mouthpiece in a cup of water to avoid the temptation to switch back and forth... provided I don't get any last minute gig calls that may be the way to go!

rowuk

Not making a clean switch just confuses your face. We are very dependent of our short term muscle memory. Freezing the mouthpiece sounds like an excellent idea!