We started getting emails from Max Seigel over a year ago, saying he loved our mouthpieces but needed a special custom model to fit his unique needs and his old Holton Bass Trombone. Max has been finishing up a masters in performance at Manhattan School of Music and freelancing all over New York City. He is the star student of bass trombone wizard Dave Taylor. When Max started getting calls to play with Wynton Marsalis and the LCJO, he casually mentioned it to Dave Monette an

Ever since the first SLAP mouthpieces were made, players have been asking for a B6 SLAP mouthpiece. The B6 has, in previous years, been our most popular mouthpiece - only recently beat out by our new B2S3 SLAP model. Now we finally have a B6 SLAP that has been field tested and is ready for prime time! This model was developed with the help of the amazing Atlanta freelance lead player Ron Turner. Ron has been a Monette instrument and mouthpiece client for the last 8 years. He

A year ago we had our first INLAID FINGER BUTTON CONTEST survey and raffle, and we announced last July that New York recording artist Mark Rapp was the randomly selected raffle winner. We apologize to Mark for taking so long to post this story showing his prize - the custom finger buttons we made for him. In the mean time, Mark has been very busy with his career. He has been voted one of the “Top 25 Emerging Jazz Trumpeters” by DownBeat Magazine. The Mark Rapp Group recently

Ingrid Jensen is now using custom designed PRANA trumpet and flugelhorn mouthpieces! We have worked with countless clients over the years who know Ingrid Jensen well - and everyone we have met who knows her says the same thing about her: "She is so talented and works so hard and is so dedicated to her art and craft… and on top of that, she is just a lovely, beautiful human being!" This winter we got to experience this first hand with her guest appearance at Portland’s Jimmy M

For several years we have been working with Ravi Best to come up with a lightweight trumpet he could use in Broadway pits and in some commercial and big band situations where a brighter sound is needed. The problem in the past has been coming up with a design that is comfortable and an easy switch for Ravi, given that his main horn for 10+ years for small group jazz work has been the large, sheet-braced AJNA Bb that has much larger "targets" than any lead trumpet. Once a play

After jazz trumpeter and Ellington band member Ravi Best started using his new “Tall Valve Section - Wide Radius” MF PRANA in the band several months ago, the rest of the trumpet section decided to come by the shop to see what new equipment might work for them. We ended up having a GREAT hang with Ravi, Chris Albert and Kevin Bryan who came down to Portland for a quick visit while playing the week at Seattle’s Jazz Alley. Soon after getting their mouthpieces, the band leader

Scotty Barnhart has recorded his first solo CD, with most of the music recorded in New Orleans with pianists Ellis Marsalis and Marcus Roberts - and with a bonus track recorded in New York with a special guest. In preparation for the recording, Scotty visited the shop for some custom mouthpiece work to upgrade to a new "SLAP" mouthpiece design. At the end of his one day visit, he played a private concert for the staff and a select group of friends. For years Scotty played our