<p>Thank you, thumper1. Your name was dropped in the other thread I started in the Parent Cafe, before I realized that there was a music forum.</p>
<p>The reason that I am changing trumpets is that my son has been unhappy with this one all year. Last summer we rented a Jupiter from a different source, and he liked it much better. I switched after the summer to the instrument company that services our school music program, picking up and dropping off instruments, because it was so much easier. </p>
<p>What exactly are Monal piston valves? And how do I tell whether the trumpet has a good tuning slide, or a tuning slide at all?</p>
<p>I am thinking of buying a used trumpet in a year, if he continues, but I want him to have something good in the meantime. This seems to be the time to change, since so many trumpets are coming in from school year rentals.</p>