What B Flat Trumpet Should I Buy? Tier 1: $15,000+

It’s been a while since I’ve written about buying new trumpets.

As you recall from my scintillating intro article, the new trumpet market is divided into five pricing tiers:

• Tier 1: “I Want the Fanciest Trumpet Available, No Questions Asked” (Price Range: $15,000-$50,000)

• Tier 2: “I’m Willing to Spend Whatever It Takes to Get My Dream Horn… Well, Almost Anything“ (Price Range: $10,000-$14,999)

• Tier 3: “I Want a Cutting-Edge Custom Horn, but I’m Hoping to Stay Below $10K” (Price Range: $7,000-$9,999)

• Tier 4: “I’ll Fork Over Some Extra Cash Beyond a Base Model, But Nothing Crazy” (Price Range: $5,000-$6,999)

• Tier 5: “Give Me a Great Horn for a Decent Price” (Price Range: $2,000-$4,999)

Today we’ll be diving into Tier 1, which is the territory of Monette. Note that I won’t be talking about Monette mouthpieces or non-trumpet models in this article. Also note that each Monette trumpet is priced individually, so it’s a bit difficult to dig into the details of their menu of trumpet models from a financial perspective. Well, except to say they are v e r y expensive.

Admittedly, I do not know much about this mysterious, ultra-expensive trumpet habitat. I currently own 0 Monette trumpet models, but that may soon change… Okay maybe not soon. Unless Dave sends me a demo model? Please, Dave?

Who’s Dave? Well, that would be Dave Monette, the founder of Monette trumpets, and to my knowledge, the only Tier 1 trumpet maker on Earth (other planets/galaxies are not included in this article series). In case you want to pay extra cash to Monette beyond a horn, he is a specialized instructor in Craniosacral therapy and Kundalini yoga.

Here’s a fun anecdote. I’ve played a Monette trumpet once. When I was 12 years old or so, I went to a Booker Little tribute concert which featured Ron Miles on trumpet. This was years before he switched over to the Cornette. He was incredibly nice and let me hold and play his horn after the show. Somehow, if I were in his position, I couldn’t imagine handing over my Monette trumpet to a pre-teen. He was a beautiful person who freely gave his musical knowledge to everyone. He wouldn’t charge for lessons. RIP Ron–you are sorely missed.

Let’s Talk Finances

The gap between Tier 5 and Tier 1 is extraordinary. The jump from $2,000 at the bottom of Tier 5 to the tippy-top Tier 5 price point of $50,000 is a 2,400% increase.

That’s right, 2,400%! Put another way, you could buy 10 $5,000 trumpets instead of one $50,000 trumpet.

Even if you were going for the more “modest” price point of $15,000, you would still be planning to pay many times more than Tiers 3 through 5.

This brings up the philosophical question: Does Tier 1 really make sense for anybody, even if you have the money? Does a Rolex offer more value than a Timex? Will a Gucci handbag change your life? Is Mont Blanc the difference maker for your body odor, rather than Right Guard? Does a Ferrari get you from Point A to Point B more effectively than a Honda Civic?

Without getting into marketing psychology, I suppose your ultra-luxury purchase symbolizes something more than the product itself. Wealth, commitment to quality, shiny-ness, etc. All great things.

At the end of the day, I don’t judge anyone for falling in or out of the Monette trumpet camp. If you have the funds, and a Monette trumpet is the best tool for the job, go for it!

Perhaps because of the sticker shock, the topic of Monette has become a bit of a flashpoint for trumpeters over the years. The most die-hard Monette users swear by the horn, while naysayers scoff at the astronomical prices. If you don’t believe me, just search up Monette related threads on Trumpet Herald. Or, if you’re feeling sadistic, start a thread yourself comparing Harrelson trumpets to Monette (not a good comparison in my opinion–apples and oranges).

Armchair trumpet economists love to speculate on Monette’s business model. What is the profit margin on a single Monette trumpet? Do their employees have good benefits? How are they doing these days?

In the absence of concrete sales data, there’s really no good way to answer these questions. From the looks of their website and their longevity in the market, I would say they are doing great. (Think of how many other trumpet manufacturers have closed their doors in the past 10-20 years).

Couple that longevity with a total lack of competition in this stratospheric price range and a robust menu of high-end “luxury” product offerings (I’m not even covering mouthpieces, flumpets, flugelhorns, cornettes, etc. in this article), one can conclude that Monette is a force to be reckoned with. Anecdotally, you can see hints and/or outright plagiarism of various Monette design elements across many mass-produced horns, and especially in the boutique market. Hello, sheet plating and funny looking tuning slides!

One interesting thing about Monette is the company doesn’t have super flashy marketing. In fact, it’s quite understated. Their YouTube video formula has stayed roughly the same for years, with Dave hidden behind a camera and prompting famous heavyweights like Charlier Porter or Wynton with questions, or someone in for a mouthpiece consultation saying “WOW” over and over. The weight of these endorsements and the mystique of Monette seem to carry the company just fine. Their Reddit page has a lot of great info and dialogue if you’re looking for more details beyond their website.

Monette: The Company

Monette began making trumpets and mouthpieces in the 80’s. You can still find some 80’s vintage Monette horns kicking around every once in a while on Reverb or Ebay. If you’re interested in learning more about Monette’s history from the 80’s through the year 2000, here’s a decent article.

There are no shortage of heavyweights in both the Classical and Jazz world who wield a Monette on stage. Perhaps the most famous is Wynton Marsalis, whose striking Nirvikalpa Samadhi trumpet was not doubt a great icebreaker conversation topic for many of Wynton’s coffee table conversations throughout the 90’s.

“Yo Wynton, what’s that new horn you got there?”

“Oh yeah, that’s a gift from my man Dave. It is etched with my mighty accomplishments and great deeds. Fun fact, the name Nirvikalpa Samadhi means ‘blissful state of union with God’. What horn are you blowin’ on these days?”

“Oh, uh, it’s a Bach 37.”

“Doo dee doo. Doo dee doo. Doo dee dooooooo, man I love Trane”.

(***Disclaimer: This is a fictional conversation. It did not actually happen, except in my mind).

Monette Bb Horns

Anyways, let’s get back to the task at hand. Here are the Bb trumpets listed on the Monette website. I assume that they proceed low to high in price. Keep in mind the entry-level price is probably around $15,000 or more.

Model (Raja indicates integral mouthpiece)	Notes From Monette Website
MB 111	https://www.monette.net/copy-of-test-mf-stc-1
LT Plus	https://www.monette.net/lt-plus
P2 STC	https://www.monette.net/p2-stc
Raja P3 STC and P3 STC	Most popular model. Lightest big bell model. Used by Wynton! Inspired by Wynton!
MF STC	Lighter weight than other Monette models. Designed for Maynard Ferguson’s lead trumpet player, Patrick Hession.
XLT STC	Similar to MF STC but with a different bell. Apparently geared toward the section player, while the MF STC is used with Lead players.
Raja LT STC and LT STC	Heavier than the prior models, with greater projection and a thicker sound profile.
Raja P5 STC and P5 STC	Heavier than the LT, MF, XLT, and P3 models, but not as heavy as Raja/Rajna models which have beefy bracing.
Rajna and Ajna	Like the Raja but with slightly less bracing.
Raja Full Weight	“Not intended for players with unresolved body-use issues” — Okay that rules me out. Wait, what’s an example of an unresolved body-use issue? Used by Terence Blanchard!

Table of Monette Bb Trumpets

Here’s a great video of Charlie Porter, that venerable Monette spokesperson and YouTube personality, testing out the various models. If you haven’t subscribed to Charlie on YouTube, you definitely should. He’s got a treasure trove of information on there.

I don’t have the flumpet listed above since it’s not technically a trumpet.

I’m Sold. How Do I Buy One?

If you watch traditional purchasing sites like a hawk, or have a line into different dealers, Monette’s will pop up 1-2x a year at most.

Otherwise, building from scratch, you’ll be looking at a 1-2 year wait time from what I have researched anecdotally.

Monette has a consultation form on their website here: https://www.monette.net/instrument-consultation.

Probably the best way is to visit the Monette shop, which must be done by appointment here: https://www.monette.net/contact-us. Calling never hurts either.

Conclusion

In a perfect world, we could have an objective way to measure “body tension”, set up a double blind case study with Monette trumpets and other brands in such a way you wouldn’t know what horn you were playing, and then perhaps science could answer whether the claims of Monette pass muster.

Until then, we’ll have to rely on our imperfect human intellects. And maybe that’s what makes buying a trumpet so much fun. There are so many variables between the player and the maker, it’s a journey that will never end.

Stay tuned for more Pricing Tier reviews! If you’re a Monette person, I’d love to hear your comments below on the pros and cons.