Adams v Monette v Taylor

[GuillaumeM]

What else ?
You could add : Van Laar, Spiri, Schagerl, Inderbinen to your list Adams, Monette and Taylor.
All of them are handmade trumpets, and they're all High-Class instruments. Best thing is to try them out, if possible.
I don't think you would make a mistake by buying any of them. The good thing is that you should be able do resell them easily if you are not satisfied.
I know a dealer here who sells Shagerl instruments; He also claims that Schagerl are the best made, best quality and best customer service. Actually, he is the only dealer of Schagerl in France. But, he sells Adams instruments as well... So who's right ? Someone has to try out, I guess there's no good answer.

[GordonH]

I have played Taylor and Monette. In fact it was the search for a mouthpiece that worked on a Taylor Chicago Custom that first introduced me to Monette equipment.

My gut instinct is that if my trumpets were run over by a bus today and I had to choose between the Monette or the Taylor I would opt for the Taylor. Partly because of the sound and flexibility, but also because service is going to be easier for me here in the UK. They are quite different instruments really, but they both have that very even response that I like.

I can't comment on Adams as I have never tried one.

It is worth following Taylor on Facebook just for his videos.
_________________
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

[Grits Burgh]

Need to add Harrelson to the list of hand built horns. Oh and Shires. I don't know if Shires are hand built, but I did get to try a Destino III at Rich Ita's brass shop and that horn has a wonderful sound. I don't know anything about any of these horns but TH has sure peeked my interest.

Where is the best place to go to try out all of these exotic instruments?

No. Wait. Don't tell me. I am trying to stay married.

Oh, and don't tell my wife that I am planning my vacation around a trip to Trent Austin's shop. She wouldn't understand. Worse. She probably would understand.

Grits
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 37 (1971)
Schilke HC 1
Getzen 3810 C Cornet
King Master Bb Cornet (1945)
B&S 3145 Challenger I Series Flugelhorn
Life is short; buy every horn you want and die happy.

[Brent]

How about Edwards instruments? They have some new horns this year that look intriguing.
_________________
Brent

[TrentAustin]

[JJMDestino]

I agree with Trent that we are pretty fortunate to have some amazing craftsman making some killin horns. I would just like to add Fred Powell's name to the mix. I was so happy to be playing a Shires Destino III, until I played Fred's horns at NTC 2 years ago. I dearly loved my Shires and I still think they make great horns. That being said I put my Shires up for sale a few days after returning from NTC that year. I love my Powell!!

[scipioap]

[Grits Burgh]

[TrentAustin]

[PakWaan]

[razeontherock]

[vwag]

Amazing and thoughtful responses, thanks everyone!

[scipioap]

[sounds7]

[Claude1949]

I believe in what Trent says...why? because unlike many who opine & can't really play, he is a great trumpeter & knows what he is talking about; in addition, because of his business, he has access to many, many trumpets that we "normal" players don't ever get to try.

So, if he says that Adams horns are better than Monettes, I'll go with that. Plus, I really think that the super-high prices of Monettes are ridiculous. I tried one Monette many years ago at Washington Music, when it only cost $2,500.00 I thought it was a fantastic horn & wanted to buy it. I ordered one, but it never came because Roger Kyper "thought I didn't order it." ???? So, I passed on that. However, today, these horns are way overpriced in my opinion, so, I am more likely to buy an Adams or even a Schagerl for a lot less money.; AND, if Trent says he likes Adams more....I'll go with that!

Incidentally, I have bought 3-4 Monette mouthpieces....they ended up in my 200+ discard bin. I use a Purviance 8 & am sold on it.
_________________
Claudio

[deanoaks]

As a disclaimer, I am highly biased towards Dave's equipment as my first private teacher was a former employee of the shop and the sound concept that follows Monette equipment matches my personal sound concept exactly.
I've played several Adams over the past decade at ITGs and NTCs as well as Shires, Harrelson, Tayor, Lotus, Van Laar, and other brands I'm sure I can't think of at the moment.
There is a sound characteristic, response, evenness of pitch centers, spectrum of tone colors, projection, and so on..... I have found on Monette equipment that I simply cannot find on any of these other brands. Having been to the Monette factory a large number of times, I can vouch that the level of precision and methodical craftsmanship is absolutely staggering. Also, the amount that they wonderful employees there will do to ensure that you are happy with your horn/mouthpiece(s) is amazing. I received follow up calls every few weeks for a couple months after I took delivery of my C trumpet to ensure that everything was to my liking. Having been a client of a different custom company prior, I can say that I had not received anything similar to the kind of treatment before. The point is- Dave and the crew have always done right and gone above and beyond by me. To my knowledge, the entire instrument is built in-house aside from the plating.

That being said, I've witnessed friends, colleagues, and acquaintances try my gear or Monette equipment not suited to them and witnessed them battle the gear for a variety of reasons (body alignment issues primarily as well as sound concepts not aligning or being uncomfortable with the lack of feedback behind the instrument).
Monette receives a bad rep because of the price tag or long wait times and not everybody will be suited for the gear or like it enough to justify the price tag. That's fine, but I strongly encourage people to communicate with BJ, Jason, or Jeff at the shop and get more information about what goes on there before saying "It's all hocus-pocus bull**** that is way too overpriced and a similar end can be met on a Bach with enough practice." which is simply not true. There are very good/understandable reasons why things get backed up and why they set the price points that they do which can be understood with an open mind and a visit/phone call/email. If you have the ability, go visit the shop and get the full rundown. I have not met somebody who visited the shop and did not have an enlightening experience.

Alright- I'm off my soapbox.

[Claude1949]

No question that Monettes are great horns, but it is not the ONLY great horn around. Trent can have any horn he wants, yet, he prefers an Adams. The couple of horns I have bought from him have all been great, so I trust his judgement. I have many horns, at least 20 and there are 3-4 that I own that are fantastic. No doubt that a top of trhe line Monette would/could be better, but I am unwilling to pay 10-20 grand to find out......just a matter of economic principles for me.
_________________
Claudio

[Claude1949]

Dean- Almost forgot; what do you think of the Schagerls? James Morrison is an amazing player & he is currently playing one......
_________________
Claudio

[Rod Haney]

I am a bit amazed someone hasn’t thrown the Eclipse brand into the mix. I went to 2 straight ITG’s to buy my holy grail horn and on the 2nd year met Leigh at Eclipse. I was very impressed with his new stuff, I have an earlier Enigma Bell tuned and it was my best horn at that time. It had the rimless bell, and I have to tell you that they sing like no other. The level of finish on all the horns I saw was beyond the detail on any other horn I had seen at the shows, just without flaw I could find. Played beautifully. Well, I traded a horn to Andy Taylor for a handmade side seamed one piece Britannia silver rimless bell and then talked Leigh into fitting it to a custom Enigma body. He had no issues with that since he had purchased bells from Andy and felt I couldn’t have the bell made by a better bell maker than Andy and is in fact one of the few he felt could hand do the bell with the quality he demands. I also got the changeable leadpipe system. Sometime later it all came together and was as magnificent as I had hoped both in appearance and in play.

It plays better than any horn I have ever touched, does everything I ask (and can do) and is a true beauty. I have about 3500$ in the horn due to some very good trades and a talent for horse trading. All of Leigh’s Artists played the horn and gave feedback in its build and I am so grateful for that as well as Leigh’s dedication to the project. 5 of those pros who played it have ponied up the >7000$ to duplicate it and have purchased one since. The horn does everything well and the sound is absolutely beautiful but will cut like no other when asked. It’s the best I have played in the current class and also totally blows away all but one vintage, my 1934 Conn 8B Symphony Gustat. It is only better than this horn in the upper register as the Gustst is a HORSE in and below the staff.

So if you are spending this kind of money you should definitely spend time to go to a big show and see it all, and make a stop at Eclipse - it was my match.
Rod

[deanoaks]

Claude, I'm not trying to attack Trent or his preference of musical instruments. Even though I have never purchased anything from his shop, I have certainly seen his posts on various forums and his advertisements. I have a lot of respect for his playing and salesmanship. I simply wanted to come out in favor of Monette and address the most commonly criticized/made fun of features (namely price). I personally think Monettes are the best trumpet on the market but that is my opinion which is worth approximately the square root of zero. I would also argue that Monette trumpets play better in tune with themselves than any other instrument, but again we are entering the land of subjectivity because intonation, slotting, pitch center, and sound concept are all intertwined to generate how we "feel" the instrument plays which ultimately determines how effective an instrument can be for a particular player. There is, of course, an objective way to playtest instruments, but very few people out there know how to do this or are willing to. There are some fine trumpets out there that can be explored that are much cheaper and very possibly could be a better match for some players. So I'm not trying to argue that they are the ONLY logical choice because they certainly are not.

I do agree that it is a little foolish to drop the money required for a Monette without doing research and being confident that what you will be built is exactly what you will need/want. The lack of return policy offered by Monette is disappointing, but again understandable if you ever get the chance to hang around the shop and see how they operate. It isn't the best business model, but it is how they do business. Making it more than valid to take business elsewhere to ensure you are confident your purchase will get you what you want/need.

I have limited experience with Schagerl piston trumpets, so I am not willing to comment on them. I have seen videos of James Morrison playing anything and everything with no trouble at all. He's simply one of those freaks that can pick up and go. I had the chance to play the Raven and I have no idea how he makes that work. Same for Thomas Gansch and the Gansch horn. It's just a different sound entirely for what I want out of an instrument. They are brilliant and innovative and there is no arguing there and the people they were designed for play them better than the rest of the world, but I just dunno how the Hell they do it.
I have however played a fair number of their rotary instruments and own one of their Classic Line C trumpets. I think their older rotaries are brilliant. My girlfriend plays on one of their Europa model rotary Cs and I think it is one of the best rotaries I have ever played. Their mouthpieces are also a fine match for their instruments in the few times I have had the chance to play them. I do not care for some of their newer instruments. The Vienna model is my favourite of their newer models but even then I'd rather get a Wiemann or similar new. Again, personal preferences that mean approximately the square root of jack s***.

Rod- I have heard Eclipse is a fine brand, but I have never actually seen one. The only thing I know about them is what Larry posts about them on the TTT Facebook page. If I come across one I'll certainly give them a go.