We finish our mouthpieces in gold because gold is softer and more comfortable on the lips, it holds moisture better, and it protects the mouthpiece better than silver.

Our acoustic innovation called constant pitch center requires that each mouthpiece be individually play-tested and adjusted on the correct key of instrument both before plating and before delivery. The extreme quality control involved is labor intensive and therefore expensive. Monette mouthpieces are also gold plated, rather than silver plated, which is also more expensive.

The throat size varies from model to model and from key to key in order to optimize each individual design. The throats are large compared with those of conventional mouthpieces, which helps every performance aspect of our constant-pitch-center designs.

No, they are not. There is simply now an option for purchasing an improved version of what you already use, if you choose to upgrade. quot;Well, just when you figured this is as good as it gets, Dave makes another giant leap toward perfection. The new "Prana" is as big an improvement over standard Monette mouthpieces, as Monette mouthpieces are an improvement over everything that went before.

Gold plated plugs can actually cause problems. When plugged in to a regular nickel plated socket, the dissimilar metals can create distortion (through a slight diode action). The real benefit of gold plated connectors is that they do not tarnish, but they must be mated with gold sockets.

Monette mouthpieces are much more delicate than conventional mouthpieces. The temper of the brass is optimized to enhance the playing characteristics of the mouthpieces, and as a result they will dent much more easily than conventional mouthpieces. In addition, the shank end is extremely delicate, and any dent or out-of-round-ness will destroy the true pitch center that makes our mouthpieces unique.

They usually work great, as demonstrated by the ever-increasing number of players using them on all brands of instruments. The exact performance when used on any individual instrument will be determined by the pitch center of that instrument. Monette mouthpieces are different from conventional mouthpieces in many ways, including the shank size and the length. This is part of what makes them an improvement over the mouthpieces many players have grown accustomed to using.

Unless you already play Monette mouthpieces and you know what size Monette rim and cup size works for you, we advise you to consider purchasing a less expensive, standard model Monette mouthpiece. There is less initial investment, and these still have the "constant pitch center" design Monette mouthpieces are famous for. Standard model Monette mouthpieces are available at all Monette mouthpiece dealers and directly from our shop.

We use gold because it doesn’t corrode and also has better contact than silver conductors and looks excellent.

Yes. The company built two 24 karat gold plated cars for an American Express promotional campaign. A third car was later produced using the spare parts from the first two. These cars are featured among our Unique DeLoreans section of this website.

Yes. Gold Vermeil is usually 22 or 23kt Gold plated on Sterling Silver. Gold-filled is usually 12kt Gold plated on Base Metal.

Most of our designs by Arabesque are now available by special order in 14k and 18k gold. Most items not listed on our Prices page can also be made as a custom order. All of our gold jewelry is pure gold, so while it is more expensive than gold-plated or gold-toned, it is also of a much higher quality. When a product is advertised as "Gold Tone" or "Silver Tone" it means that there is a thin coating of some kind (brass or nickel) over an inexpensive base metal (iron etc.).

Yes, this is called selective plating. Designated areas of the metal object can be plated with yellow, rose and green gold deposits. It also is used for selectively restoring gold plating on metal objects when traditional plating is not suitable due to the fragility of the piece.

Gold plated rings have the Gold electroplated on top of silver, where the Gold will eventually wear off. Gold-Filled rings have the Gold bonded onto the base metal, so the Gold will last longer, yet remain affordable. Solid Gold of course is just that, making it more expensive. For more details, please see our Gold Toe Rings selection page [ Back to Top ]

Entirely made in the USA, we are in control of every facet of mouthpiece design and manufacturing. There are three general parts to the mouthpiece manufacturing process. First, the material must be of the highest quality. We determined that the only way that we could be in complete control of the hard rubber is to make our own. Second, CNC machining of the rubber rods gives us precision and flexibility.

Absolutely not! When you select the white karat gold option, the item will be 10k or 14k white gold all the way through.

Don't waste your money on "hyped" imported cables with gold plated connectors. The thin soft gold (5-10 microns) "flash" plating looks cool, but scrapes off easily. The brass material underneath prevents you from seeing that the gold has worn off! That brass eventually tarnishes and causes crackling when the plug moves or twists in the socket contacts. Gold is a very good conductor of electricity and helps to reduce contact resistance, but only when mated with a gold plated socket.

All gold chains at Vanshi are either in 18Karat gold or in 22 karat gold, designed specially to match our pendants. None of the chains are gold plated .

Mostly, I do not. All of the silver I use is Sterling Silver or better. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver. I use some silver beads and components that come from the Karen Hill Tribe in Thailand. These silver beads and components are 95% silver. The rest of the sterling silver beads come from India, Turkey, Israel, China, Bali, Nepal and the USA, and maybe a few other places as well. The gold wire I use is 14K gold-filled. Occasionally I will use 12K gold-filled beads or components.

Mouthpieces with special plating and/or finishes are NON-CANCELABLE and NON-RETURNABLE. Please read our plating policies before ordering mouthpieces with special plating or finishes.