Dave Monette and Patrick Hession found themselves in the shop after hours one evening last summer trying to come up with something unique and fun to be able to show Maynard at the upcoming recording session in New York. Sometimes a simple joke can ease the stress and pressure of a demanding studio date, and Maynard always loved practical jokes. As it turned out, that session was Maynard’s last record date.
So during Patrick’s shop visit just prior to the recording session, Dave and Patrick came up with the "Monette Octav-eye-zer," which according to Patrick, helps him "line-up" the high notes for improved intonation and audience impact! After completing the prototype unit, Dave asked Patrick how high he thought he could play on it, and with the video tape rolling Patrick ALMOST played octave C’s from PEDAL C TO TRIPLE C AND BACK DOWN! We didn’t quite get a take of that good enough to post here, but we did video a scale covering four octave "F’s" up and down to "F" over "double C." This clearly demonstrates that even adding a heavy chunk of metal in the approximate shape of a gun sight (!) to the side of a Monette PRANA BL4 S6 doesn’t slow Patrick down in the least!
The next month in the studio on one of the breaks during the session, Patrick and Dave shared the "OCTAV-EYE-ZER" with Maynard. Always a practical joker himself, Maynard loved it! Thanks to Patrick and Maynard for the fun time we had with this. And no, we will NOT make any more of these, so PLEASE do not ask!
Patrick plays a Monette MF PRANA model trumpet, with a Monette PRANA BL4 S6 mouthpiece. The BL4 S6 has received great reviews from lead players all over the world, and when you view some of the videos we have posted of Patrick playing, you can hear why.
