MKS Cutaway Mouthpieces were designed, developed and tested over a period of seven years with students of all ages from beginner through adult. My goal was to create a tool that would help my students connect the process of what the lips are actually doing when playing a brass instrument with what is coming out of the bell. Once the connection between buzzing and tone production is established, students will advance their playing very quickly. All MKS Cutaway Mouthpieces are machined from stainless steel and will provide a lifetime of use with no worries of plating wearing off. All MKS products are manufactured in the US (Iowa), which allows me to have control over all stages of quality control. I examine every cutaway mouthpiece before it is packaged. I believe my products to be superior in design and construction and are available at a very reasonable price.