Are Monique Horns Chinese?

[bluesaxgirl]

Rumor has it that although engraved on the sax itself, it states, "designed by French technicians" that these horns are Chinese. Is this hear-say true?

[tbone]

It's true.

Personally, I've never seen a Monique that deserved to be called a saxophone.
I'm not saying that they're all bad, just the two dozen or so that I've had the displeasure of working on. :shock:

[hornimprovement]

The ones I have seen were from Taiwan and "supervised by French technicians"...
..."Hey Jacque, pass zee Beaujolais, and, how are zee saxophones coming?"
:D

[Dave Dolson]

I just played a Monique alto today at a gig. The guy who had it used to own a music store and he imported them from China, did a re-pad, swedged the keywork, and sold them for a profit. He was playing the one he kept - had it for a while, too. It played wonderfully. He said they all were that way.

I was amazed at how it sounded (he made it sound like Rudy Weidoeft had come back). After the gig, I put my mouthpiece on it (a Morgan-Bilger 6M with a Java 1 1/2 reed) and I swear the thing had more resonance and response than my Ref 54.

According to my friend, the horn is Chinese-made with a body tube matching a Selmer. The only thing lacking is the finish-work to make these horns sound and play well.

I believe it, now. DAVE

[martysax]

I guess Dominic owes Dave some money now.

[stitch]

... he imported them from China, did a re-pad, swedged the keywork, and sold them for a profit.

That's a pretty serious amount of work. He must have gotten them reeeeeally cheaply to have turned a profit!

[Mark5047]

I have a Laval that was also "By French Engineer" that plays remarkably well.
My only gripe is the keywork is softer than other horns I have played.
It doesn't have those fancy colors though......

[Dave Dolson]

Don't know Dominic . . . never been there, talked to him by telephone once years ago (rude and unresponsive).

The guy who had the Monique alto yesterday has been a long-time trad-jazz pal who owned a music store in Ventura County, CA. He is a wonderful musician (trombone, saxophone, clarinet, guitar and I don't know what else).

According to him, he personally called a contact in China, bought several Monique saxophones (I'm guessing altos but not sure), and then did the re-pads and swedging himself at his store. He mentioned a price he paid per unit and the price for which he sold them. It WAS a tidy profit, but yes, he had some time into them. The sale price he received seemed extremely reasonable to me, having played some nice altos in the $1K +/- range and purchased at that price a year or so ago.

The one I played yesterday showed the work he put it into. I've never played a Monique before so had no baseline to compare. But this horn was a pistol. DAVE

[fballatore]

On my last trip to New Orleans a couple of years ago, I stopped into Storyville to enjoy the band that was playing. The sax player was awesome. He had total control over his horn; he could make it sing or wail or whatever as required by the tune. During a break, I went over and chatted with him for a bit. I asked his setup, and although I forget what mouthpiece and reed he mentioned, I do remember him saying it was a Monique tenor he had just picked up a couple of weeks prior. Go figure.

[Sax Hut]

I couldn't help noticing the date of all these glowing Mo-Neek posts... You guys were serious, though, right?

[BobbyC]

I played a Monique alto in a local shop (I believe it's still there) just as a comparison to the Winston and Palatino that I was checking out.

I only had the thing in my hands a few minutes but it felt and played comparable to the Taiwanese horns the shop had.

It was some sort of strange purplish copper color.

[themacintrasher]

There's a little kid that comes to the local jams that just rips on one of these things. He needs a new mouthpiece though, Selmer s80 C's aren't for jazz.

[Dave Dolson]

There's a little kid that comes to the local jams that just rips on one of these things. He needs a new mouthpiece though, Selmer s80 C's aren't for jazz.

Tell that to the many players who use them . . . for jazz. DAVE

[jordanreed]

check this one out

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/msg/598989791.html

[themacintrasher]

Tell that to the many players who use them . . . for jazz. DAVE

I stand by my previous statement!:twisted:

[martysax]

There's a little kid that comes to the local jams that just rips on one of these things. He needs a new mouthpiece though, Selmer s80 C's aren't for jazz.

Sounds like the kid's doing alright. Maybe when he's older he could handle the more open pieces, but it seems this set-up is working for his present anatomy.

You know you can play anything with anything. I can.:twisted::D

[tenorskateboard]

My friend has a curved soprano from this company, and it made itself obvious the first time I played it, the intonation is terrible! I like their idea of how they make some of the parts because it's surely a different concept, BUT that's not that makes it a saxophone. He either got a lemon, or they are just that bad. :-P