Harrelson vs Monette

JasonHarrelson · Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 5:54 pm Post subject:

I honestly cannot take your response seriously. Every single Harrelson Trumpet includes a full 12-month guarantee meaning you can trade the horn in for a different configuration at no charge. The 909 has not been in production for three years, but even then our 12-month guarantee was valid.

All of my trumpets are custom built to fit each specific client so one size does not fit all, but to imply I stuck someone with something they did not like is a blatant disregard for the truth. I stand behind every one of my horns that have been custom built for my clients.

Mellowjazz, your incredibly rude and dismissive words do nothing positive for anyone. At the very least, you come across as angry and disgruntled. Did I do something to offend you?

Jason Harrelson

DR S · Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 11:38 pm Post subject:

Wow! I wish I could write here with my comparison of a Monette and a Harrelson, but I have never played a Monette. I have, however, recently purchased a Bravura trumpet from Harrelson. Jason's horns are extremely well made and he is truly a master craftsman in the trumpet trade.

I know this, and what most everyone has responded with, is not what the original post is about. But I have seen too much Jason bashing and unfounded comments in this posting and others, and I just wanted to chime in supporting Jason's work. Unless you have dealt with Jason, or own one of his horns, I can't see how you can critique or criticize him or his product.

My first pro horn was a Benge Claude Gordon and I absolutely loved it. I swore I would never own a Bach, because I never played one I liked, until I came across one with a 25lr leadpipe and a 43 bell. Loved it more than the Benge, which then became my backup horn. Bought a Martin Committee Deluxe, black with gold engraving. Absolutely gorgeous, great valves, but still liked my Bach better. Tried a Carol Brass 5000 yst and kept it. Loved it even more than the Bach (which I no longer own).

Got in touch with Jason to see about purchasing a Bravura trumpet. Decided on the #1lt bell, and the #1 leadpipe, and lightweight valve caps. I traded in my Benge and Martin and was able to afford the Bravura because of Jason's generous offer for the two horns. After receiving the Bravura, I knew I had now obtained the last trumpet I'd need or want. It's a wonderful horn, and quite a number of my trumpet acquiantances that have played it have been floored by it. This trumpet was ordered in November, 2012, and I received it within 3 months. It's a little heavier than what I had been playing, but it sits well in the hands and is very balanced, and the little bit of extra weight is not that noticeable. I don't know how to put up pictures on this site, but if anyone would like to see my trumpet, either go to ebay, look under Harrelson trumpets, and find the Bravura with the brushed silver plating. Or, go to Jason's website and look at the Bravura with the brushed silver plating. The pictures are great, and the trumpet is even better looking in person. Plays like a dream, valves are the smoothest of any trumpet I've played.

Sorry about being off the subject and the long post. I'm just tired of reading too many negative comments about Jason. Thank you Jason for what you have done for the trumpet community, and keep up the great work you do.
_________________
CarolBrass 5000L-YST-S
Harrelson Bravura
Yamaha C
Yamaha Custom Picc.
Yamaha Flugelhorn

shofarguy · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 6:08 am Post subject:

Hey, Jason!

I've been experimenting with Flip's accessory heavy top and bottom caps and stems lately. I have a full set of three different sizes of bottom caps and a set of top caps and stems. I think I've developed a bit more respect for your work on SWE.

I don't get very much chance to play, at this stage of my life. When I do, I've been able to maximize my results by adding the top caps and stems along with the lightest of the heavier bottom caps. This leaves almost all of the flexibility the stock horn has, but consolidates the tone noticeably. It gives the horn a more forward projection pattern, a denser core with more sparkle and a much more solid upper range without additional effort or unacceptable resistance. Slotting is more positive without being too locked down.

I believe my playing has become more efficient, over these past several years, and your ideas work better for me now than they did before. In the past, I tried the horn without the top caps and stems. The added weight at the bottom of the cases made the horn way too finicky. adjusting the tightness of each cap was critical just to make the horn playable, so I abandoned the idea. Now, I find that having extra mass at both ends of the valve casing brings balance back to the horn's response. But you already knew that, right?

Anyway, Bravo! on your work with the standing wave.

Brian

p.s. I really like the look of the laser-cut valve bracing you are doing these days.
_________________
Brian A. Douglas

Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb Trumpet in copper
Flip Oakes Wild Thing Flugelhorn in copper

There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.

Matthew Anklan · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:58 am Post subject:

https://www.google.com/search?q=standing+wave&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari
_________________
Matthew Anklan
www.matthewanklan.com
Patrick Mouthpieces Artist

Moderators · TH Moderator Group Joined: 31 Mar 2005 Posts: 3906

Cleaned up and back on topic!

chuck in ny · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 10:50 am Post subject:

i don't keep a written log on things and only have brief mental notes of the chat here. i believe retlaw/walter in the UK has/had a harrelson that was supposed to do the deed and became a spare when he settled into a schilke B6 which is a keeper. not that he shouldn't continue to look around of course, but he is left with a solid plan. then i have faded memory of some chat where a trumpet was ordered this way, and might have been better that way, and another attempt was made.
building a trumpet with multiple parameters is nearly as bad as analyzing horse race odds and for me would be as difficult to sort out. i would never enter the multiplicity of the harrelson, edwards, et al approach being certain that i would botch things. nobody's fault but my own. i am not up to it.
i can quite easily understand dedicated models. the WT comes one way, and can further adjusted with tuning slides, it's easy. i understand the basics of the eclipse and schilke line. the harrelson trumpet is something to pass up for me, too much downside. a more accomplished player would likely do better.
i had a monette in the '80s. this would be a brand to leave alone on the value/cost basis. they must be great horns even at that price, however, going up the cost ladder in increments too many trumpets smack me in the head like a 2x4 to ever go higher. if i were dating ellen barkin, i wouldn't pine for jane russell. how much do you think you deserve in life?
now there is the proof of the pudding. anyone with a monette and it's really the business and does what most can't, please, put up a clip. we would all love to hear the difference. convince me and i will make the plans to get together ten or twenty.
..chuck

Bill Blackwell · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 11:07 am Post subject:

Retlaw · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 1:25 pm Post subject:

shofarguy · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 2:29 pm Post subject:

Bill,

One of the surprises I had when sampling Ed Mann's and Dan O'Donnell's Harrellsons was how the extra mass didn't make the horn stiff and unresponsive. I bet it has to do with mass centralization, polar moment of inertia and things like that. The Bravura seems to be very mass-centralized.

Brian
_________________
Brian A. Douglas

Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb Trumpet in copper
Flip Oakes Wild Thing Flugelhorn in copper

There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.

chuck in ny · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:07 pm Post subject:

Retlaw · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 10:43 pm Post subject:

Chuck the intonation on my Taylor is very good but I do find that I don't have to push the tuning slide out quite as far as on my other horns . When I first had the horn I used a Monette mouthpiece and the sound was big and warm but I didn't find the upper register too easy. I started looking at gap and found that most mouthpiece I tried had a big gap. I took the horn to a tech and he bored out the receiver a little and now most mouthpieces have a nice gap and the upper register is a breeze. I have one of Andy's titanium mouthpieces ( don't think he makes them anymore) but I mostly play with my Schilke 15A4A which is really good for me. Took the horn to a small jazz group the other week and the big warm sound really got attention.

The Taylor I have is the Chicago Lite version and is a LB (the only LB I have got to work for me)....almost all the benefits of it's bigger brother but not as heavy and a little more flexible. The weight is manageable but coming off the B6 which feels like a feather it takes a little getting used to.

I have a friend who plays the big Chicago and I could tell he was wrestling a bit for the first month(he had played a Yamaha for years) or so but let me tell you he is sounding seriously good on it now....

A local shop to me sells Taylors ..I just might have to go and have a blow on a few to see how the current models shape up...

Walter
_________________
"Amazing how many people listen with their eyes."
"Life is short....play nice."

GordonH · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 2:54 am Post subject:

OK, I am going to say something about this whole debate. I am a pretty good trumpet player. An amateur, but still pretty good and playing (cornet at least) at quite a high level. I have owned and played some very fine instruments (Taylor, Monette, Wedgwood). Following my divorce I hit a rough patch financially and had to sell instruments on a monthly basis for a while in order to pay the rent. However, when I sold my Monette I used some of the money I got for it to go out and buy a brand new Bb trumpet. Having trialed a lot of models I ended up with a standard Bach 43. I have since met a full time professional who also switched to a Bach 43 from Monette. At the same time I switched back to a Bach 1.5C from the Monette mouthpieces I had been using.

Having made this switch the change of mouthpiece has made a bigger difference than the change of trumpet. I tend to sound like I do regardless of what I play on. All I need is an instrument which will support that sound and play in tune.

Of the four full time professional trumpet players (orchestral and commercial) who I know in my own social circle, none are playing on "super horns". Its all Bach and Yamaha. Two are using Monette mouthpieces. Of those mouthpieces, none of them are custom - they are all off the shelf standard sizes.

My recommendation for anyone would be to determine what the sound you naturally produce is like, what your pitch centre is like (do you go flatter as you go up or sharper). Then find a mouthpiece and trumpet which supports or corrects those issues. If you can achieve 95% of a perfect set up then stop there. Trying to get any further is a law of diminishing returns. Spend some money on lessons (rebuilding my embouchure from scratch transformed my playing and the lessons cost very little in real terms).

Just some thoughts.
_________________
Bb - Scherzer 8218W, Schilke S22, Bach 43, Selmer 19A Balanced
Pic - Weril
Flugel - Courtois 154
Cornet - Geneva Heritage, Conn 28A
Mouthpieces - Monette 1-5 rims and similar.

Licensed Radio Amateur - GM4SVM

lh · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 3:47 am Post subject:

You Go, Gordon!
Beautifully said....
+1
_________________
Eclipse Enigma Bb trumpet 2011
Olds Super Bb trumpet 1958
Eclipse Red Flugelhorn 2011
Selmer Paris model 59 Piccolo 1977
Conn New Invention Cornet 1913

tptfrbrains · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 4:51 am Post subject:

laurent · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:02 am Post subject:

yourbrass · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:06 am Post subject:

Yeah, I'm with Gordon - a good Bach trumpet is as good as anything out there. I'll never sell my old 43, and some of the top pros here in the Bay Area seem to do just fine on theirs as well.

Exotic horns are a lot of fun, I hope to see more of them in the shop but most are too new to be broken!
_________________
"Strive for tone." -John Coppola
Edwards X-13
ACB MV3C /ACB A1/26 backbore
https://yourbrass.com/

Retlaw · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:15 am Post subject:

4 pages...12450 views and we are down to an off the shelf Bach 43...

Now we have diverted from Harrelson vs Monette to Bach.... anyone playing the Mariachi? How does it compare to the 43....

Walter
_________________
"Amazing how many people listen with their eyes."
"Life is short....play nice."

bagmangood · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:45 am Post subject:

I personally prefer the "Kevin Bacon" model trumpet

pfeifela · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 8:42 am Post subject: