Originally Posted by
dsurkin
I didn't realize monel was considered an upgrade from stainless steel. I thought that the monel, being softer, was more prone to small dents or distortions that would affect smoothness as the horn aged.
This is pretty much like the beer situation in the US now. Maybe you've noticed that it's become almost impossible to find (what I think of as) "real" beer -- i.e., lager, and particularly German style lagers. 99% of the cool little breweries that have sprung up and offer a bewildering list of "beers" all make ales. Part of this is because of the huge marketing success in convincing American beer drinkers that IPA actually tastes good, but there is a more fundamental economic issue in play.
Ales are cheap, quick, and easy to make. Lagers are more expensive to make, require more attention in the brewing and fermentation processes, and require MUCH longer before they're ready to drink. So the market is flooded with ales of various sorts and very few breweries make lagers. The Brits make ales, the Germans make beer (lager). There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but it's close to universal in terms of products. There are now only a few lagers available in supermarkets in the US, and fewer of them are drinkable (some are really excellent, but really in the minority). On the other hand, I have a picture on my cell phone from when I was in Vienna a bit over a year ago, in a supermarket on Mariahillferstrasse, and in the beer section all you see is rows and rows of lager (with some hefeweizen, Kölsch, and Guinness thrown is for the sake of some ale presence).
So, ending the beer rant ... Monel is cheaper and easier to use than stainless steel. Each has some advantage (other than the purely major economic/production one). Some people have a taste for one, and some for the other. It appears that stainless is, in the brass community, generally (though not universally) regarded as superior. It is a bit odd to regard Monel as an "upgrade" -- but things like that can always be chalked up to marketing -- like IPA. I thought most Chinese beers were lager, but most British beers are ales. Make of that what you like.
Last edited by ghmerrill; 12-16-2016 at 01:45 PM.
Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)