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David G. Monette

Manny Laureano's new 30th Anniversary PRANA XLT-STC C Trumpet


This is an all-new Monette C trumpet - and when we say all-new, we really mean ALL-NEW! It is a completely new design that is easier to hold, easier to hear both up close and at a distance, and in general more fun to play than any lightweight C trumpet we have ever made! Ghost tones ring out from this very unique instrument thanks to an all-new bell fabrication technique, the new mandrel 8 leadpipe designed just for this instrument, and a re-proportioned new tuning slide. Even the valve section and piston design is new and improved over any previous Monette C trumpet. This is an instrument you can play anywhere with anyone, even morons.

This is lighter, updated version of Charlie Schlueter's decorated SAMADHI, weighing a quarter of a pound LESS than a mass-produced music store trumpets. It has MUCH more stability and faster response than any lightweight C we have ever made. Like all of our new, updated STC trumpets, the "targets" for each note are very large and forgiving. This not only gives you a wider range of sound colors, but helps eliminate chipped notes at the end of a long, tiring gig!

The re-proportioned design and layout brings the bell flare closer to the player's ears, so it is easier to hear behind the instrument - easier to hear than any conventional trumpet we are familiar with. This also makes it easier for the other members of your section to hear you.

And one more thing to say about this new model that sounds totally contradictory - but is absolutely true. It feels like a small chamber music trumpet - extremely intimate and accurate at the softest possible dynamics. Not stuffy at all but just very very centered and easy. Then the louder you play, it just gets louder and louder and keeps asking for more! So the contradiction is that it feels small and super controllable on the softs, but it is physically the largest C trumpet in inside dimensions we have ever made - including Charlie Schlueter's fancy decorated SAMADHI!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video may be worth a thousand pictures! Check out this video of Manny Laureano being interviewed right on-stage in Minnesota Orchestra Hall about how the new C works for him. Then you can hear him play onstage a laundry list of some of the most difficult excerpts in the literature.

Manny Laureano on-stage excerpts - XLT-STC C trumpet

Manny on-stage Mahler 5 - new XLT-STC C trumpet

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