My 11 year-old daughter currently plays on a Yamaha compact trombone. As she has grown considerably over the past couple of months her teacher said on Friday that it is beginning to become urgent that she move onto a full size trombone.

He suggested that she buy a Yamaha student trombone as they are the best quality for the price. He said he usually advises students to wait until they are about 16 or 17 to upgrade properly for three reasons:
1) they are fully-grown (or almost) and have a better idea of the weight they are comfortable playing with.
2) they know if they want to just "play for fun" or go to music college and so have a better idea of the quality of instrument they need.
3) they are more experienced and know what sort of sound they want to make and have a better idea of how different elements influence the sound.

All these seem to be valid reasons to me so I am inclined to follow his advice.

Does anyone have any recommendations apart from the Yamaha? (Having just looked on the yamaha website I'm not actually sure if he means the YSL354 or the YSL 445 - will check next lesson). We have no local instrument shop and given that the pound is quite low against the Euro I am considering buying her one in England at Christmas.

Final question is would you recommend buying second-hand or new? I am inclined to go for new as I don't know what to look out for in second-hand trombones but my husband thinks that there are probably bargains to be had second-hand.

I'm not a proper trombonist, but I teach brass for the county music service so I play a little.

I've got a Yamaha and it's great. Highly recommended! Go for it!

(and in the future, when she's taking it really seriously... have a look at Rath trombones. They are absolutely the best, according to those who know!)

Well, I'm currently playing on a second-hand Yamaha student trombone and it's very good. It has a lovely sound, although it does limit the player on louder passages as the dynamics aren't incredibly varied. On the whole, though, it's definitely an excellent instrument However, the Jupiter student trombone is also pretty good, as well as being cheaper too

Happy shopping!

Go with the Yamaha YSL354, nobody can fault them. Most of my trombone students play on a Yamaha, a couple have Jupiters which are ok. Second hand can be ok too, providing you ask the right questions prior to buying, mainly ensure the slide is in good order, the odd dent in the bell can be fixed but many just live with them. 2nd hand Yamaha's sell for around £200 via ebay i notice.

Best of luck!

TC