What trumpet is right for me?

Question

I have been playing 5 years, 1st chair in a class A band. I have received a division 1 rating every year so far at Solo and Ensemble.

Here are the two trumpets that I was looking at:

Holton ST550 MF Admiral series

Jupiter 1002S

Personal preference would be a first valve thumb saddle and third key ring (preferably non-fixed, but not as important).

I know Bach Strads are the best, but they are too expensive for me at the moment. Please keep any suggestions within $859 (Price of the Jupiter) and around $1200.

Answer 1

Hi,

There are two trumpets that you can buy new in your price range.

1.King Silver Flair 2055T

Price:$1,149.00

This is trumpet is Silver Plated. It comes with a mouthpiece and a case and of course the horn. The trumpet has a first valve slide trigger, something you see on more expensive trumpets. You can also get it with a saddle for no extra cost. The main tuning slide is double braced.

The trumpet itself is a good trumpet.

2.Conn CONNstellation 52BSP

Price:$1,279.00

This trumpet is a little more expensive but let me tell you, this is the best horn considering what you're paying for. It has many many very

good features. This trumpet is also Silver plated but you can get it in lacquer for about $100 less. This trumpet has a thumb saddle and fixed third slide ring and the third slide stop. Its has a reverse leadpipe with a round crooked main tuning slide making this horn very free blowing. It also comes with the modular valve weight system, meaning that if you want your tone to be darker, you add weights, and if you play jazz, take them off, if you want neither, it also includes the regular valve caps. It also has heavy top and bottom caps, and short valve stems which would help you to play faster. It comes with a mouthpiece, and a case and horn. This is horn has a 5 year warranty.

The other horns you mentioned are good but I wouldn't buy a Jupiter.

Stick with the USA made trumpets. These three horns(Holton ST550, King Silver Flair, Conn CONNstellation).

Well, good luck on your new horn and hope that helped!!! :)

Ps. You can see pictures of all of these horns on this site-

http://www.wwbw.com/Welcome.aspx

Answer 2

What I would suggest is waiting until you have enough money to purchase a professional trumpet, rather than upgrading to an intermediate trumpet. More often than not, an intermediate trumpet is merely a student trumpet with a fixed third valve slide ring, and a thumb hook for the first valve slide.

A high quality professional trumpet will cost you anywhere from about $1600.00 and up. Then, you would be looking at something like the Jupiter 1604S Tribune XO series, which is a very good trumpet, or a Yamaha YTR6335. For not much more, you can buy a Yamaha Bobby Shew model, which is an excellent choice and a good value. Yet a little more and you're looking at a Yamaha 8335 LA model, which was made in cooperation with Wayne Bergeron. All of these are under $1800.00.

There are a lot of different manufacturers out there. I have played just about every trumpet that is currently on the market. No doubt, you can find a brand besides Yamaha that fits you well. However, in my opinion, Yamaha's are made with a great deal of consistency from horn to horn... unlike Bach, and many of the hand-built trumpets. Because they are a major corporation, their prices are very hard to beat. When you have excellent quality, a good selection of models to choose from, and a very good price, that makes the task of choosing a new trumpet very easy.  

The other option would be to purchase a used professional trumpet. Generally, you would be looking in the $850.00 to $1500.00 range for a used pro horn. The difficult part of this is that you are taking a risk that the horn has not had some serious repair work, or it has been altered to fit the player that owned it previously. There are some very good ones... but, I'm just pointing out the possibilities to you.

Again, my advice would be to wait just a little while longer. Then, you can buy the trumpet that you really want, and play it for the rest of your life!

Best of luck to you!

*Regarding your discovery about how the Bach trumpet bell sounded darker to your ears than the Holton...

Most sound-related issues with trumpets are related to the bell design itself. If you were to take the bell completely off the trumpet and straighten it out, you would notice a taper from small to large. You can also see the bell flare more easily. In general, a faster rate of taper will result in a broader tone, while the slower rate of taper will result in a more focused tone. The bell flare, however, can change this a bit. Again, a more open bell flare will tend to give you a broader sound. But, how it is combined with the overall bell taper is what helps to define the "shape" of the sound.

This can also be altered by the finish of the trumpet. There is virtually no difference in the sound characteristics of a plated trumpet or a raw brass trumpet. However, when an instrument is lacquered, it can sound a lot darker. Some people say that it deadens the sound. Basically, the reason for this is that the lacquer application is much thicker than silver plating.

The very end of the bell, or the "bell bead" also helps to determine the sound qualities, or the response of a bell. When a bell is made, the end is usually rolled to give it more strength and durability. Bach trumpets usually have a wire enclosed within the bell bead, which is what tends to give Bach trumpets a characteristic sound.

What you may notice between the two horns that you are comparing is that the bell bead of the Bach may appear thicker. However, since many companies have copied each other's components, there may or may not be much of a difference. Basically, this is where an "all of the above" answer would apply.

I hope that this answers your questions.

Answer 3

the trumpet that YOU feel comfortable with playing is a good trumpet for you.  There are some brands and models of trumpets that I can't play very well, but other people I know find that they love those same brands and models.  So, it is really up to personal choice.  The last horn I bought I tried 8 differenct horns of the same brand and model until I found the one horn that played better for me then all the others.  Everyone has different physical characteristics and for trumpet players it's not just the difference in the strenght of you lips.  Other characteristics such as the shape and condition of your teeth, breathing ability, lung capacity, stomach strength, etc. all contribute to how you play a trumpet.  Also, for ALL manufacturers, every horn made, even the same model, is different from others of the same model, since alot of hand manufacture is involved in making trumpets.  

  What this all means is the best way to find the trumpet for you is to find a music store that has several of the same models for the trumpet you are interested in trying.  Select a piece of music you can play well, then try playing this piece and various scales on each trumpet to see which one plays best for you.  It's also best to have another trumpet player, your instructor, etc.  accompany you and hear you play each different horn. For used trumpets the best horns generally are Bach, Yamaha, Schilke, Besson (not Bessons-an imitation of the French Besson, Selmer Paris.  Other brands made before 1970 that are good used trumpets are: Olds, Conn, King, Reynolds.  Stay away from the ones made in India, China, Eastern Europe as they are all junk.