PRANA mouthpieces

Washington BC · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:56 pm Post subject:

I am a professional musician. I know that I sound "better" on an PRANA than not. This is not bull****, propaganda, or a hoax. My results may or may not be typical.

BC

TrptMan · Regular Member Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 62

It's a prana a meat eating fish in south America? (ha ha ha ha)

HorneyMikey · Veteran Member Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 325

Prana = Meat eating fish= Booking Agent.............

trumpetchops · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 2644

I play on a prana.
I have found that the upper register doesn't click in as I would like.
From about G just above the staff and up an octave the notes are easily slurred or missed.
Trilling is really easy.
The tone is way better. No trouble in the lower register. Probably a good trade off.
I sound better on the Prana and I can deal with the upper register.
I have no problem tonguing.

MikeZ · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 12:52 pm Post subject:

Prana is a common Yoga term that comes from Sanskrit for “breath or energy of life”.

It's all about the air.
_________________
-Mike
1967 Holton Al Hirt Special
Monette STC B1-5
Tama Starclassic Maples
http://www.mazworld.com

Palestrina · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 1:05 pm Post subject:

I didn't know Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen helped develop the Prana! I'll be darned...

jophst · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 2:28 pm Post subject:

Although I am far from a professional player or an expert at trumpet playing, I do play a lot for enjoyment and am serious and disciplined in the playing I do. I play soley on Monette mouthpieces on trumpet, cornet, and also my Picc. I own a Prana B4 and Prana C4 and absolutely love them both!!!! I used to own the normal Monette B4 and C4 and would certainly say that the Prana's give me a much better sound and are much more efficient on the utilization of my air. I agree that my range was certainly not enhanced at the initial use of the mouthpieces, but it did not hurt it either. I am finding that I am using my air better overall and my endurance is increasing as well as my overall sound in the upper register. My range is not increasing though nor do I really care for it to. I can achieve a high D .. (not screaming super D) and that is high enough for any music that I play ... if I need to go higher, yeah, I will use a different mouthpiece .. not a screecher though. Are they worth the $315 a piece? No I do not think so ... although I got them both used for not much less ... but I do know that I will never get rid of them. They are truly a great investment for me. I once read a comment that they were designed or work best on Monette trumpets. Well, honestly, I do not know that for a fact but I do know they sound great on a Strad and a Xeno .... let me say that again ... GREAT!!!! This goes for the non-Prana mouthpieces also. Everyone has there own opinions about them and some hate them and Monette's horns just because they are expensive. That's the obvious, but to me they are great mouthpieces.

smithwatkinsguy · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 5:04 pm Post subject:

I truely believe that these mouthpieces work best on heavier horns or extremely large bore horns. It's just something that wasn't meant to be used on something small, but maybe I was using too big of a mouthpiece - B1-5D. I just know that it didn't work for me and the regular Monette mouthpieces worked great for me, in fact, my sound got worse with the Prana. So just to let you know, I really disagree that it works GREAT on every horn, maybe just works GREAT for you. Keep that in mind.
_________________
Aaron G.
Bach Strad Bb 37G bell/Stork 1
Bach Strad C 229G bell, 25H pipe/Stork 1
Rhode Island All-State Orchestra
The Hartt School of Music

MarchardFerguson · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 5:07 pm Post subject:

It would not make sense to put a heavy mouthpiece on a light horn, these 2 opposites would clash

SHS_Trumpet · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:02 pm Post subject:

Yeah, Those to don't go together. Just think about the sound you would get.... Someone like John Faddis comes to mind.
_________________
Andrew Fowler
MYNWA
"90% of trumpet music is below high C"

smithwatkinsguy · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:26 pm Post subject:

Finally some people who agree with me! This mouthpiece isn't made for conventional instruments, people! I think it's just the pricetag that makes you think that it plays better. Truely, the larger throat and less metal on the Prana (just less metal on the shank to finally get a clearer sound, but it clashed with that monster throat) makes it best for heavier instruments so you can get more air through the horn, IMO. It's never been explained to me, but playing this mouthpiece on an instrument like a Callet or Bach just doesn't seem right...and if you haven't noticed, the extra mass makes you work harder for a clearer attack but stabilizes the sound, it's a win-lose situation, I think the best weight is either a regular Bach piece or a GR, GR has just the right amount of mass for a regular weight or lightweight instrument to correctly stabilize the sound.
_________________
Aaron G.
Bach Strad Bb 37G bell/Stork 1
Bach Strad C 229G bell, 25H pipe/Stork 1
Rhode Island All-State Orchestra
The Hartt School of Music

Vessehune · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:43 pm Post subject:

Plus the shorter shank makes them have less flexibility. That's why they stay better in the center of pitch because it's more difficult to bend the note away from center with a short shank!!!

_________________
---Brian Vessey---
Calicchio 1s-7 Ultra; ML Bore
Mouthpiece = ?????

jophst · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 8:07 pm Post subject:

I agree that Monettes will not work well in lightweight horns. And to clarify Mr. Smithwatkinsguy, I meant that it worked well in "my" Xeno and "my" Strad ... and it worked for me. I did not mean for it to sound like it will work for anyone with these horns. The Xeno is not a lightweight horn in my opinion and the Bach I have has a 37H bell on it. I also agree with the previous statement that the shorter shank helps aid the center of pitch which is what I prefer for my type of playing. Also, I did not buy it because it had a high price tag ... although you do get what you pay for these days (especially on the cheaper side). I bought it cause I liked the B4 that I got for $65 so much .... as much as your GR mouthpieces I believe right? Then I shelled out the money for the Prana's and have not regretted it. I should say that GR's are great as well and even Stork's (best value), but I m much more consistent on the Monette's.