Hi, Can anyone help me?

My husband has said he wants to learn the trumpet, We haven't got a lot to spend at the moment, so will probably go 2nd hand. Can anyone provide any tips as to what we need to look out for and what is a realistic minimum to spend.

It will be his first ever instrument, and I want to make sure the quality of the instrument does not hold him back, but we'd rather buy another Trumpet in a year or so and re-sell on his 1st trumpet, once we know if he really does enjoy playing it, so at the moment we're looking for something for a complete beginneer to take him up to say G2 or 3.

Thanks

My son's teacher swears by Yamaha for price/quality. We bought him his 2nd trumpet this year for his Grade 5 and he noticed a huge difference. It was the 4335, not a particularly expensive model either, approx 350 pounds?

She also recommended the cheaper 2335.

Other makes: Selmer, Bach, Conn, Besson.

For the cheapest models, she recommended the Jupiter 308, 600 and 702.

You can also ask here:

http://www.brass-forum.co.uk/

Steve

Thanks Stevensfo.

It's very tempting to step up to a good trumpet in the first place - but I guess upgrading is something to look forward to.

Most trumpet players I know start off on a Yamaha and upgrade to a Bach at around grade 6. Unfortunately I am not sure of the particular models.

We are very pleased with a £99 jobby from http://www.firstbrass.co.uk/index.html at our school, it has the approval of the peri. Nicely presented in a smashing case.

th yammy 2335 is an excellent buy for the money and have a good resale price. The Virtuosi range from first brass are also a decent buy but don't seem to hold their own at resale/trade in - a bit like a second hand volkswagon (hold its own) verus a skoda (doesn't). Both do the job well for the money outlaid but which would you prefer to drive???

p.s. you'd be well advised to chuck away the mouthpiece supplied with the 99 quid virtuoisi and buy something decent!

There's a lot of bunkum around the 'need to upgrade at Grade xxx' idea. Although I have rather a lot of trumpets of various shapes, sizes and qualities (I think I've got about 14, of which 7 are B-flat trumpets), I'd quite happily perform professionally on the £89 John Packer 051 trumpets I've got (I bought two, so I could leave them in schools where I teach). OK, my higher-end trumpets do have qualities that I enjoy, but, to be honest, until you're past Grade 8, an expensive trumpet is going to make a marginal difference at most. As long as the trumpet has decent, reliable valves, and it's got good intonation, it'll be fine for some length of time. Many of the cheap trumpets do the job nicely (but do check for reviews/opinions etc.); there have been duds around (the old 'B&H' model - I think - had notoriously poor valves), but many of the trumpets coming out of China are very passable indeed, if your budget is limited.

Thanks Briantrumpet, Thats a very interesting reply.
I think I agree with your point of view - I'm just about to do Grade 5 on a 'student' Clarinet and can honestly say that I don't feel that the instrument is holding me back at all, and I know I read somewhere about a 'blind audience' trying to tell the decide which was a student (plastic) clarinet and which was a professional (wooden) clarinet when played by the same musician and they couldn't tell the difference. So I guess thte same would apply to trumpets - it's more down to the musician than the instrument.

Clarinets and trumpets are very different. I know very little about trumpets but I do know that our son's trumpet teacher advised us to get a better instrument for his grade 5, which we did. He's 15, very mature for his age, plays in a local band as well as the school orchestra and Big Band and says what he thinks. He found the new Yamaha trumpet made a huge difference to his playing, most of all, the high notes were a lot easier to get out.

I reckon that if I wanted to take grade 5 clarinet, it wouldn't make such a big difference if I used my student or expensive instrument. The MP and reed are vital, as well as the keywork, not just how they feel, but how well the springs are set up. Get the combination right and your student clarinet will be quite sufficient.

The blind test you mention was a study by Tom Ridenour to prove that plastic- hard rubber clarinets could be as good as wooden ones. Because wooden clarinets are usually more expensive, more work is put into finishing the tone holes to get the notes just right, whereas plastic is cheaper so less work is used. It's a bit of a vicious circle. Ridenour sells hard rubber clarinets and they have an extremely good reputation.

Steve

I used a Holton T602 right from beging a beginner until my second year at music college. I still use it occasionally!

When I upgraded to a better trumpet, it did make playing - particularly high range, tone and intonation, a lot easier.

If you buy a good quality student instrument, it can last for years. Holtons are great.

... it's harder to set fire to a trumpet, you mean?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously, of course there are differences between an £89 trumpet and one costing £2000, but we need to remember that a brass player's instrument is really his/her body - the only things a trumpet does is modify/focus the sound that the player actually makes. This is why at all but the most exalted levels, the lump of metal stuck on the player's face is less important that how the player uses his/her body.

With a good technique and musicianship, there is no reason why a Distinction at Grade 8 cannot be achieved on a sub-£100 instrument, as long as that instrument is not a dud. There are a some around, which is why I say that you do need to check reviews, and have a blow on one yourself, if you can, before you buy.

My best (second-hand) trumpets have mostly come from ebay, but you really do need to know what you're doing if you follow that route.

Yep I would recommend the Yamaha range, you do pay for what you get. The 1335 and 2335 are both good starter instruments, the tone improves dramatically when you get up to 4335 and 6335.

My eldest started on a cheap 2nd hand Amanti which had intonation issues, upgraded to Yamaha 4335 from Ebay just after grade 3, upgraded to Vincent Bach 7c mouthpiece. Now grade 8 he's playing a gorgeous silver Yamaha xeno also from Ebay and has recently chosen a new Schilke mouthpiece from Phil Parkers in London which has completely changed his tone and playing overnight. We've had to buy 3 Bb trumpets in 4yrs since, we've been lucky to have found practically new 2nd hand trumpets for less than half the rrp otherwise the upgrades would never have happened!


Good luck in your search.. check out Phil Parkers they have loads of good advice!

Thanks for all the advice, We're going to go to a music shop after Christmas to try some out.
I think it will be a toss up between a £99 one or a Yamaha.

One other question - does a mute make it any more difficult to play? I'm just thinking of the neighbours, as I'm aware trumpets can be quite loud.

A good quality practice mute won't make it much harder to play.
The best system is Yamaha's Silent Brass, which may well cost more than your actual trumpet!

Personally, I use a Bremner Sssshhhh mute. It's from Australia and there's much less resistance than with normal practice mutes so it doesn't feel TOO different from normal playing.

Using a practice mute all the time is not a great idea as you can't hear your tone properly though.