<p>Looking for some advice/recommendations on a trumpet purchase for a 12 year old, that would see her through high school ? We were looking at the Getzen 700SP and the Selmer/Bach TR 300.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about trumpets in particular (though I’d suggest getting a good intermediate level horn), but I highly recommend stopping by <a href=“http://www.wwbw.com%5B/url%5D”>www.wwbw.com</a> to compare prices. They have a pretty useful buyer’s guide and have always been great for any clarinet stuff I’ve needed throughout the years.</p>
<p>If my son were home, he could help you. However, he is gone for a little over a week to a summer music program. He is a trumpet performance major, and he was recently giving advice to a couple of his students on what trumpet to buy. I know he said that Bach trumpets have improved in recent years, although I know he likes the Stradivarius (sp?) model best. He has a couple of Bach trumpets–a C and a B flat–along with his beloved Monette. Wish I could help more, but he’s the expert, not me.</p>
<p>Check out the forum at <a href=“http://www.trumpetherald.com%5B/url%5D”>www.trumpetherald.com</a></p>
<p>I also recommend posting this on CC’s music forum - along with SusanTm, there are several others knowledgable about trumpets.</p>
<p>A caution - buying a brass instrument is a bit different from a woodwind. Each individual instrument has unique qualities, so it is harder to buy “mail order.” We bought S’s first horn (as in horn, not trumpet – some call it a French horn) from woodwinds/brasswinds (link given above), and it arrived with some bad valves. He had tried the horn in a local music store, but it was much cheaper via wwbw. By the way, despite our experience, I think they are a quality firm. We had to send it back to have the valves fixed, and when it arrived the second time, it was smashed. Various companies - store, manufacturer, shipping - took turns blaming the other, and I don’t know who finally won. They did send S a new horn.</p>
<p>For a beginner, it is not going to be quite as important that the trumpet be perfect in every respect. But I highly recommend getting a private teacher or at least band instructor to help you choose.</p>
<p>We play a lot of instruments at our house (all play piano, one plays organ, two play violin, one plays guitars - plural, one plays horn, one plays clarinet, one plays flute. There are only 5 of us.) We have learned that it is easier to learn on a decent instrument. A beginner needs quick success sometimes. To try to practice and get a decent sound from an inferior instrument can be quite frustrating, when those around you are making progress faster because they don’t have to overcome defects.</p>
<p>We recently purchased a new trumpet for our HS sophomore. We bought a Bach Stradivarius, and it has been wonderful. Great sound, good valves, easy to play. I’ve only heard good things about Woodwinds & Brasswinds, although we purchased our elsewhere. Our older son has a Benge 3XSP which has also been a good instrument.</p>
<p>Thank for all the suggestions. She has been playing for 2 years now, but only through the school band. No private lessons yet, though we are considering that now that she is showing some more serious interest and fair talent. The 2 instruments we are looking at, for no real reason, are in the $700 range for new.</p>
<p>Chocoholic, I think your decision will depend on how serious you think she is about playing trumpet. Both of my kids have played in regional youth orchestras, and most of the trumpet players had professional instruments. You can buy a professional quality instrument for just a little more than what you described above. (A used Bach Strad might run $1200 or so) But the resale on a Bach or Benge will be much better than on the lower level instrument, and if she sticks with trumpet, you’ll probably end up buying her a better instrument within the next 3 or 4 years. I hope this helps!</p>
<p>I am so glad to see this thread!</p>
<p>Son has been playing trumpet since fourth grade and hopes to continue in college. He has been making do with his original “student” trumpet but his year, in 11th grade, will be in some select ensembles and we want to upgrade his trumpet to one he can use in college as well. (He will not be a music major, but may do marching band, concert band, jazz band, etc. EC’s.)</p>
<p>I would appreciate any suggestions on trumpets and sources, with some price info. Son’s birthday is next month so we may do it for that occasion.</p>
<p>Binx, I don’t mean to argue with you or anything because I know others in your house play woodwinds as well, but all instruments have unique qualities which make it hard to find a perfect fit…not just brass ones. I’ve played on many top-of-the-line clarinets at conventions, and they all have different feels, tones, and overall quality (on the exact same models).</p>
<p>Anyway, if you don’t feel comfortable ordering an instrument, WWBW still has a ton of useful information and is great for everything else.</p>
<p>All the guys in my family play the trumpet. Husband is in a wedding band (plays about 30 dates a year in Phil. area), oldest son played through high school and youngest plays in MS band and is BS troop bugler (following after his older brothers did it for 6 years). Our youngest son actually has a coronet and will inherit his brothers bach strad this fall unless his brother takes it to college. Oldest son had a student trumpet that he used for marching band.</p>
<p>My stepdad played the trumpet, practiced, I swear to God, 5 -6 hours a day…to this day, i still twitch when i here one…scales all day long</p>
<p>arggh</p>
<p>We recently bought a Getzen (not sure of the number offhand) for our 7th grader, but I would recommend enlisting the aid of a teacher. I’ve bought three horns for our kids with such aid. A private teacher came to the store with us, helped narrow down the choices (considering price range), and then supervised as our kids tried each horn out. It somehow turns out that the horn the kid feels most comfortable with sounds really good!</p>
<p>We have two trumpet players here, and asked the advice of a professional player who lives across the street. He advised a Bach Stadivarius ($$$$) or a Bach Omega for our high schoolers as it would take them into college nicely. We purchased a used Omega MG290 and the kids love it. Our daughter did eventually purchase a different mouthpiece; these can be changed for different sounds evidently.</p>
<p>My son has never bought a trumpet without trying it out first–other than his very first student trumpet, when we had no clue. He has generally been able to arrange to borrow the trumpet from the shop (leaving my credit card number for their security) so that he could take it to a lesson and have his teacher inspect it and hear him play it. He also knows the trumpet repair person at one shop (recommended by his teacher) and has relied on his advice a time or two.</p>
<p>My son does like Bach Strads, especially old ones. However, he says that the company has improved in recent years, so the new ones are pretty good now, too. As sjmom said, you should be able to get a good used Strad for around $1200. And yes, there are different mouthpieces for different uses. A student will also need a different mouthpiece as he or she progresses and improves.</p>
<p>See, I really wish you lived in my area so I could send you to Mr. Grant at Tatum music. He’s an amazing trumpet player who knows just about everything there is to know about trumpets (and most other instruments as well). The people there are awesome. I wouldn’t go to any other shop for advice or repairs.</p>
<p>I can tell you that we bought one for S #1 and then passed it down to S #2 (when one kiddo was out of band, the other began-got a lot of milage out of it). Anyway, I can tell you that if your child will be in band the trumpet will get banged up/dented. I have paid to have dents taken out (did not cost much). I have had the trumpet cleaned and general care done over each summer. I don’t know how to care for it, and opted to send it in once a year. This was enough to keep it going without problems. BTW, tell your child not to eat and then blow into it. We bought a middle priced trumpet.</p>
<p>I agree that you should try them out. When my son upgraded from his first trumpet he played four or five (or more?) and then brought two of them to his teacher. He ended up with a Bach – but that’s all I remember about it. It was about $1500 as I recall. </p>
<p>By the way, the different trumpets really did sound different - even to me!</p>
<p>My parents bought me a Bach Strad in 9th grade (I’m in college now) from Woodwind Brasswind. I remember my mom talked a long time with their trumpet specialist, who pointed out differences and features to look for (very helpful, she said). They shipped (free) 3 different trumpets, which I tried for a week, and just kept the one I liked best. I still play the same horn and still love it after 7 years.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d mention that we have never purchased a trumpet without the ability to return it for a full refund if the teacher didn’t feel it was a good instrument.</p>