Slap mouthpieces are very popular!
The response to our new "SLAP" mouthpieces has been more positive than we had ever expected! Players love how easy they are to play and how great they sound on them. Over the phone and through E-mails with clients, same few questions come up over and over from players wanting to know more about them... so here are the most frequently asked questions that we hear concerning "SLAP" mouthpieces, with answers by Dave Monette.
SLAP MOUTHPIECE NEWS
The B2S3 in particular is fast becoming our most popular mouthpiece! And our larger, orchestral C1-1 S1, C1-1 S5 and C1-4 S6 models inspired by Charlie Schlueter, Ed Cord and Manny Laureano are now VERY popular with symphonic players. The smaller B4L S1, B4LD S1 and B6L S1 bring in a constant stream of E-mails from satisfied customers looking for a medium size lead mouthpieces.
In the smaller sizes, Patrick Hession’s BL4 S6 is also very hard to keep on the shelf, and even the tiny BL6 "SLAP" mouthpiece designed for Alan Wise has found a niche in our lineup.
After a year of players asking, we now finally have a "SLAP" B6! Thanks to Ron Turner, lead player on the traveling show "Spamalot," who inspired Dave Monette to come up with the design. After many, many prototypes and hundreds if not thousands of hours of on the job play-testing, we are finally ready to let everyone in on the improvement - the B6 S1 is ready for sale!
Our first TROMBONE SLAP mouthpiece is finally ready, after being play-tested and evaluated by Jim Pugh and Reggie Watkins for the last six months or so. The TS6 S1 is ready for sale, with the same improved slotting faster response and better consistency of sound and intonation over the entire register that SLAP mouthpieces are known for!
For a comprehensive listing of all Monette Mouthpieces in chart form for easy comparison, CLICK HERE.
FAQ ON "SLAP"
Q. Do "slap" mouthpieces cost more than other model Monette mouthpieces? A. NO – same price.
Q. Are "SLAP" mouthpieces PRANA or STANDARD configuration? A. We make them in both configurations, but well over half our "SLAP" deliveries are PRANA configuration.
Q. Are they more popular with amateurs or top pros? A. They are equally popular with all levels of players. So far, virtually every player we have worked with since their introduction likes them!
Q. What is so different about them? A. In the most general terms, the upper cups are more bowl shaped, the mid cups compress, or "come in" faster, and the blend at the bottom of the cups going into the throat is more generous. This makes for a bigger sound, faster response, more percussive articulation and larger, easier to hit "targets" on each note.
Q. How were these new designs developed? A. Dave Monette personally developed each model "SLAP" mouthpiece by a combination of computer design and personally play-testing dozens of prototypes - in each size - over the last several years. The first players to field test them were most of the top players we work with, including Maynard, Wynton, Manny, Charlie Schlueter and too many more to mention.
Q. Why did it take so long to introduce these new models when Wynton and Maynard already played them for years? A. We have all played a new mouthpiece that felt good at first, then feels worse the more you play it. Dave Monette’s goal was the opposite – to make new designs that, like Monette trumpets, get BETTER the more you play them. After many years of testing, Dave felt the models we recently introduced were finally field-tested long enough under the most extreme conditions that they could safely be sold to anyone who wants one. Our feedback from the general public on the models listed on our WEB site bears this out.
For a personal consultation to answer specific questions not covered in the FAQ, or for a consultation on size selection, write us at stc@monette.net.
"Wow! No, I mean it... Wow! I waited to write because I wanted the "novelty effect" to wear off. It hasn't. This mouthpiece is amazing. It has a wonderful sound in the lower register and can instantly jump with equal clarity and fullness of sound to the upper register. I am no screamer and the upper end of the range is not where I live, but I have much more range with the kind of sound I can use in public. Movement through the slots is simply the easiest most effortless experience I have ever had. It almost makes me release tension. Even those who commonly hear me have commented on the new sound. Thank you, David, for the work and creativity that you bring to the design of trumpets and mouthpieces." - Dan James
"Prana B2S3 arrived about an hour ago, and all I can say is WOW! This thing is really easy to play, great pitch, range, sound, everything. BRILLIANT! Absolutely the best mouthpiece I've ever played. That a 17 throat plays with this much comfort and ease seems incredible to me....I simply would not have believed it possible until playing this mouthpiece." - David Coleman
"I don’t know how you guys do it but this new PRANA B6 SLAP is an improvement on something I thought could not be improved! It felt great right away, and the sound seems to jump out of the horn quicker and with more brilliance – while still retaining all the CORE of my old PRANA B6. I feel even more secure on the new mouthpiece, too. The second trumpet player says he heard the difference immediately and agreed that it was brighter and that out in the theater I didn’t need a microphone! I applaud you as the only guys who have changed the way trumpets and mouthpieces are designed. Something that was long overdue and now everyone is trying to copy you. I laugh when I see trumpets with sheet bracing on them just trying to make them look like yours but with no thought put into the design of the actual instrument!" - Ron Turner, Lead Trumpet, Spamalot National Tour