It's been a year and a half since Dave Monette and Patrick Hession came up with our new "XLT" mouthpiece blank, designed for the extreme upper register demands of playing the lead book on Maynard’s band.

After a year and a half of requests from other players, and field trials by friends of the shop, we now know these mouthpieces work GREAT in all Monette lead sizes on virtually any make and model of trumpet.

All our lead mouthpiece sizes - anything with an "L" in the designation - are now available in this extra lightweight blank, designed especially for lead trumpet players. The mouthpieces are also available in "Standard" or "PRANA" configuration.

WHAT"S THE DIFFERENCE?

When playing on conventional weight to lightweight Bb trumpets, these mouthpieces are simply easier to play in the upper register! They have a more even resistance all over the horn, and sound brighter than our "LT" mouthpieces. And when it comes time to play well above high C, they are very, very easy to play!

You can especially hear and feel the difference in the octave between high C and double C. The low register is especially easy for a light mouthpiece, as Dave and Patrick worked on the weight distribution of the blank to optimize both register extremes. We recommend these mouthpieces for Monette trumpet owners on the "LT" weight instruments and lighter.

To hear how Patrick sounds using his XLT BL4 S6 on his MF PRANA Bb, check out these audio clips of his live performance with the Jeff Holmes Big Band at the 2007 ITG Conference. As Patrick finished up the theme from "Superman," he told us after the show that he had planned to finish on an Eb above double C. But he said the Eb felt good enough that he decided to take it up another fifth to the Bb just below TRIPLE C. Well, why not? Listen carefully in the audio clip to hear his amazing display of upper register prowess.

Thanks to Patrick for his time and expertise in helping us develop this very fun new line of lead mouthpieces!

Visit Patrick's website: www.hessionssessions.com