<p>I completely agree with the posters who said to ask the teacher first. I’m now a junior in high school and started playing in fourth grade (we had to pick an instrument, I somehow knew trumpet was right). I’m the only one in my family who plays an instrument, so my parents were COMPLETELY clueless and also had no expectation that I would remotely enjoy music.
In fifth grade I started private lessons after much begging. By seventh grade it was apparent that I needed my own non-student trumpet and I went to the store and bought a Bach Strad (model 37). My teacher went ahead of time and put out a bunch of models he thought I would like and then stayed while I chose.
My advice is to rent for now. I don’t know the specific models you’re thinking of, but honestly most rental student trumpets are pretty much the same: not too good. The problem with buying his own horn is that your son is a 10 or 11 year-old boy. Trust me when I say that even if he is the most gentle boy in the world, the others are not. Especially trumpet players. His trumpet WILL be used in a sword fight or thrown across the room or will just fall off his chair by accident. When I finally bought my trumpet, I used the rental for the rest of the year at school and only brought my Strad to concerts. I practiced and had lessons on the Strad.
At his level, a professional trumpet or even intermediate model is unnecessary unless he is some sort of prodigy, which a teacher can determine. Chances are he’ll drop the trumpet, get braces, and maybe even quit before he hits middle school. They also require more air, which he hasn’t learned to regulate at a level that will allow him to make a good sound.</p>
<p>So my advice is to wait until he needs it. He will hit a point in a few years where the rental trumpet is hindering his playing. Until then, however, a nice trumpet will make playing harder and more frustrating, will be considerably banged up in a few years (student models are a LOT more resistant to dents and scratches) and might even be sitting in the closet in two years never to be seen again. I know many players who got nice trumpets only to find that they quit in sixth or seventh grade or switched to another instrument or completely dented it beyond repair.
Trust me, waiting is worth it.</p>