Monette

What Monette does

David G. Monette Corporation is a Portland, Oregon-based custom manufacturer of premium brass instruments and mouthpieces, founded by David G. Monette in 1984 and operating continuously for over 40 years as a privately held company. The company produces made-to-order trumpets (RAJA, PRANA, Infinity, Tantra lines in Bb, C, Eb, and piccolo pitches), cornets, flugelhorns, the trademarked Flumpet hybrid, specialty bugles, and a broad mouthpiece portfolio spanning Unity, Prana, Resonance, Tradition PLUS, First & First Lead, and Silver Production lines. Each instrument is individually designed and built for a specific musician's musical, physical, and ergonomic requirements, combining proprietary acoustic engineering (notably the -7 rim contour and Prana cup geometry lineage) with CNC precision machining, in-house lapidary work, and hand craftsmanship.

The business model is direct-to-consumer and made-to-order: orders are placed through the company website or by phone, with shop visits at the Portland headquarters available by appointment only, and a single authorized reseller (Thompson Music in Omaha, Nebraska) handling walk-in customers. Mouthpieces retail from $199 (First/First Lead) to $385 (Unity, cornet variants), with custom inlaid finger buttons priced $600-$1,800 per set and full instruments priced materially higher (undisclosed). Lead times run 6-8 weeks. The customer base is a global long tail of professional trumpet and brass musicians across jazz, orchestral, big band, film scoring, and commercial music; notable players include Wynton Marsalis, Manny Laureano, Ron Miles, Terence Blanchard, and Itamar Borochov. The company operates with a small core team of approximately 3-5 named full-time staff, has no external investors, has never raised funding, and distributes globally with no AI/software component to the business.

Name

Monette

Legal name

David G. Monette Corporation

Website

https://monette.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

David G. Monette Corporation is a Portland, Oregon manufacturer of custom, made-to-order premium brass instruments and mouthpieces serving professional trumpet and brass musicians worldwide with individually designed products combining proprietary acoustic engineering and hand craftsmanship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Musical Instrument Manufacturing

NAICS

Musical Instrument Manufacturing (339992)

SIC

Musical Instruments (3931)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Accessories & Consumables (Cables, Stands, Cases, Strings, Picks, Heads) (MPAIAJAF)

Keywords

• Custom brass instruments
• Trumpet mouthpieces
• Handcrafted brass mouthpieces
• Professional trumpet manufacturing
• Custom cornets flugelhorns

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Brass Instruments: Made-to-order trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, bugles, and flumpets. Each instrument individually designed and built for individual musicians.
2. Custom Mouthpieces: Made-to-order mouthpieces including Unity, Prana, Resonance, Tradition PLUS, and First/First Lead lines. Wait time of 6-8 weeks typically.
3. Custom Finger Buttons and Accessories: Custom inlaid finger buttons with precious stones, mouthpiece cases, and other accessories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

David G. Monette Corporation manufactures custom-made brass instruments (trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, bugles, and the Flumpet hybrid) and premium mouthpieces, individually designed and built for individual musicians to meet specific musical, physical, and ergonomic needs. Each instrument and mouthpiece is made-to-order with proprietary acoustic engineering, CNC precision machining, and hand-craftsmanship, supported by expert customer consultation and a 6-8 week wait time.

Product overview

David G. Monette Corporation is a custom brass instrument and mouthpiece manufacturer with 40 years of innovation. The company produces a comprehensive portfolio of premium mouthpieces and instruments. Mouthpiece offerings include the Unity line (latest generation with new rim contours), Resonance mouthpieces (available in Classic and Prana configurations), Tradition PLUS (traditional appearance with modern performance), Prana mouthpieces, First & First Lead (entry-level), and Silver Production mouthpieces. Instrument offerings span multiple trumpet configurations including RAJA (threaded integral mouthpiece), PRANA (detachable mouthpiece), Infinity, and Tantra lines, available in Bb, C, Eb, and piccolo pitches. Additional brass instruments include cornets, flugelhorns, the Flumpet hybrid, and specialty bugles. The company also offers custom inlaid finger buttons featuring semi-precious stones, custom mouthpiece cases, and Dave Monette's published book on trumpet technique. All products are made-to-order with approximately 6-8 week wait times.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Unity: Unity mouthpieces designed for use with mass-produced, non-Monette trumpets, featuring new rim contours and cup designs for improved comfort and performance.
• Resonance
• Prana
• Tradition PLUS
• RAJA
• Flumpet

Products and services

• Unity Mouthpieces
• Resonance Mouthpieces
• Prana Mouthpieces
• Tradition PLUS Mouthpieces
• Monette First & First Lead Mouthpieces
• Silver Production Mouthpieces
• RAJA Trumpets
• PRANA Trumpets
• Bb Trumpets
• C Trumpets
• Eb and Piccolo Trumpets
• Cornets
• Flugelhorns
• Flumpet
• RAJA Bugles
• Infinity Trumpet
• Tantra Trumpet
• RAJA P3Q Quarter-Tone Trumpet
• Custom Inlaid Finger Buttons
• Custom Mouthpiece Cases

Quantifiable outcome

• Players report ability to play double C and above with relative ease
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Thompson Music (Omaha, NE)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized reseller and dealer for Monette products. Thompson Music conducts in-store testing of mouthpieces and carries inventory for walk-in customers. Owner Mike Thompson actively tests and recommends Monette products.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Curry Mouthpieces: Long-running US custom brass-mouthpiece maker (formerly Dave Curry), serving professional trumpet and trombone players with bespoke designs — directly comparable to Monette's mouthpiece-only custom-shop segment.
• GR Technologies (GR Mouthpieces): US-based custom brass mouthpiece maker founded by a former Bach/Vincent mouthpiece craftsman; competes head-to-head with Monette for professional player mouthpiece business with comparable pricing and bespoke service.
• Warburton Music Products: Independent US maker of custom brass mouthpieces and accessories offering modular systems and gold/silver plating services closely analogous to Monette's custom mouthpiece + custom accessory proposition.
• Schilke Music Products: Historically the most prominent US maker of custom and professional-level brass instruments and mouthpieces; closest historical analogue to Monette in the custom-shop brass category before its scale receded.
• Lawton Mouthpieces: UK-based custom brass mouthpiece craftsman serving professional orchestral and brass band players; comparable custom-only business model targeting the same Wynton-Marsalis-tier clientele as Monette.

Broad incumbents

• Getzen Company: US brass instrument manufacturer (custom and production trumpets including the 3000/4000 series Custom Reserve line), comparable to Monette in pro-level customization but operating at meaningfully higher volume.
• Vincent Bach (Conn-Selmer): The dominant US mass-market pro trumpet and mouthpiece brand (Bach Stradivarius line); broad incumbent serving the same professional trumpet players as Monette but at much higher production volume and lower price points.
• Yamaha (Brass Division): Global mass-market maker of brass instruments (including the Xeno and Artist-model custom trumpets); broad incumbent competing with both Monette's Unity line for mass-produced instruments and its custom shop at the pro level.

Emerging players

• Stomvi: Spanish custom brass instrument and mouthpiece maker with growing international visibility in jazz and orchestral circles; an emerging custom-shop competitor with similar go-to-market emphasis on professional endorsements.
• CarolBrass: Chinese maker offering customizable professional brass instruments (trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns) at price points below Western custom shops; an emerging player threatening Monette's mid-tier price band, especially outside the US.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/monettecorporation
• Facebookfacebook.com/monettetrumpets
• Instagraminstagram.com/monettetrumpets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/david-g-monette-corp.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monette