<p>I guess I would suggest speaking to your son’s current teacher. That person will have a sense of the features your son would need on a trumpet. Monal piston valves (I believe this is still the case…I’m not the trumpet player…my son is) are the best valves. Some student trumpets do not have this type of valve. I actually checked and even my husband’s old Conn had a tuning slide. I guess I didn’t know that there were trumpets without them. Is there any chance you can go to a music store and have your son try a couple of different trumpets? We have a number of rental vendors with stores in this area who rent to the local schools. The kids can go in and try different trumpets. There are many characteristics to a trumpet that I can’t explain…the bore for example. Some trumpets actually have reverse tuning slides and some players prefer this. Also…your son would be able to explain what he doesn’t LIKE about his current horn. The brass person at the store might be able to advise him on a horn that would be a better choice. I will say…my son recently purchased a new trumpet…and he tried at least 50 different horns. It took him almost a year to find one that he felt was “right”.</p>
<p>Another thing you need to be sure of is that the mouthpiece is the right size. Sometimes that can make a difference in how a student feels about playing a horn too.</p>
<p>As mentioned above…check with your vendor. Many have “trade up” policies for student trumpets. When the student is ready to upgrade, a large portion of the rental fee is used towards the upgrade. </p>
<p>My son’s elementary trumpet teacher at the time recommended that he use a student trumpet until he was ready to buy a professional level one (there are also intermediate level trumpets…she felt this was a waste of money). This is what we did. I will say…if your student continues to play and does get a nice professional trumpet, you probably want to keep a student one around if the student is required to play in the marching band at the school. </p>
<p>I’ll see if my son has any suggestions.</p>
<p>And one question…you had a note that you would be looking for a male trumpet teacher for your son. My son has had both male and female teachers. His first teacher was a woman and his current grad school teacher is as well. They were both outstanding teachers and players.</p>