Another newbie but from the UK! Horn advice

[Toyino]

Hi All!

I am from London, I'm 39 and have been playing the trumpet for about 11 months. I have never really played any instruments before but my mother in law heard me say I'd love to play the trumpet and bought me a £150 one online.

I am playing for about 45-60 minutes almost everyday and I was taking lessons weekly for about 3 months before the pandemic. I have two questions -

Is too soon to be thinking about getting a better horn?

And with a current budget of about £700, what would be a good horn to buy? Or should I wait to save some more and practice more?

Grateful for all advice and especially if you are able to recommend trumpets available/easily accessible from the UK.

Thanks all!

[Christian K. Peters]

Hello,
Welcome to the TH. Continue lessons online/skype. Always be on the lookout for another horn. A nice used one will pop up. There are many UK folks, probably close to you that will respond and might even be able to help you find a good horn to take you through the levels. Be patient with yourself. Older learners have a conceptual capacity well beyond current ability. Have a goal and stick to it. You will get to a place, and when covid is easier to deal with, maybe a community group to gain ensemble experience in. That will be fun. That is the experience many of us are really missing right now.
_________________
Christian K. Peters
Schilke Loyalist since 1976

[JayKosta]

[Brassnose]

Here‘s what I did (before the days of the internet): I played my Blessing student horn for twelve years (still have it for rougher gigs) and then upgraded to the Bach in my signature. Played it for close to 30 years and never felt the need to change.

About three years ago when all my bands broke up I started becoming interested in other horns. Plus I went through a massive embouchure change that dramatically improved my (amateur) playing. Now in my late 40s I have the experience and sometimes the cash to have some fun with horns.

I don’t collect but sometimes buy, sometimes sell. And this is what everyone can do to check out horns. If you buy used and if you have some more experience you’ll find something you like and keep. Until you find something you like better. Then you sell the other horn and keep the one(s) you like best. If you stay reasonable money-wise and brand-wise you won’t lose much money but you’ll have some fun.
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[jondrowjf@gmail.com]

Toyino
Welcome to the forum. You are lucky to have such a considerate, generous mother in law. Very generous gift.
What trumpet did your mother in law buy you?
I agree with the other posters, it is to early to buy another trumpet. It is hard to separate wants from needs. Do you need another trumpet. No.
_________________
King 603 cornet American wrap
Yamaha 2330 Shepherds crook
Denis Wick 4 W classic gold mouthpiece
Getzen 4 B mouthpiece
Yamaha 11 e mouthpiece

[Rapier232]

Check out Mike Lovatt for an online lesson, or better yet, go visit him. He’s just out in Hertfordshire (I think). He can help you improve and give advice on your current trumpet. He is professor of trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music and a really nice guy.
_________________
"Nearly as good as I need to be. Not nearly as good as I want to be".

Smith-Watkins Bb
Will Spencer Bb
Eclipse Flugel
Smith Watkins K2 Cornet
JP152 C Trumpet
Besson Bugle

[cheiden]

If the current horn doesn't appear to be hanging you up I'd stick with it and wait to return to lessons. I reasonable teacher should be able to tell you if and when your current horn becomes a problem. They might also be in a position to let you play a higher quality instrument so you can feel what difference it could make.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

[Bflatman]

If you wish to see the flight of the arrow look to the archer

If you want to hear the quality of the instrument look to the player

Your teacher will tell you when it is time to upgrade and it wont be for some time.

Right now I am proud to say my go to is a student horn and it exceeds my playing abilities by a good margin.

On the other hand my greatest disappointments are hearing the many players with strads who can only make squeeks grunts blats and horse whinneys with them.

They should have spent their money on lessons instead of upgrades

When I finally get a strad I hope by then to be good enough to avoid producing the mating calls of a moose in heat.

Your existing horn I am sure is just fine.
_________________
Conn 80a Cornet
Boosey & Hawkes Emperor Trumpet
Olds Fullerton Special Trumpet
Selmer Invicta Trumpet
Yamaha YCR 2330II Cornet
Selmer Student Trumpet
Bohland and Fuchs peashooter Trumpet
Boosey and Hawkes Regent Cornet
Lark M4045 Cornet

[BraeGrimes]

There's lots of good advice here, but I disagree with the notion that an instrument is only as good as the player behind it. There are a number of features on instruments that help with player development, or at least, give the student room to grow. To be clear, I'm sure Wynton would sound phenomenal on anything - but he plays a Monette because that's the right instrument for him.

In terms of what you need and what you have, well that's a conversation that should be lead by an instructor if you really don't know. Some people want a particular 'sound' and that might be easiest to achieve with a vintage instrument, but realistically if you haven't really got a handle on how to play with good intonation on a modern horn that won't serve you well!

For now, I would just enjoy yourself! If you want a new horn and you've put some money aside - why not? Trumpet is fun. You're in London - I'm sure there's a bunch of stores you could visit to try horns or at least get an idea of the range that's available.

[blbaumgarn]

You have received some sage advice from very knowledgeable folks here. Biggest of all is give yourself time. This includes the horn you are using too. You should probably run into several instances where you play and feel like you/yourself are ahead of the performance your instrument can give. If you took lessons before the skype alternative is just a modern day miracle. Welcome to the world of music and playing trumpet. As you see there are a bunch of people who love the instrument just as we hope you do.
_________________
"There are two sides to a trumpeter's personality,
there is one that lives to lay waste to woodwinds and strings, leaving them lie blue and lifeless along a swath of destruction that is a
trumpeter's fury-then there is the dark side!" Irving Bush

[khedger]

I don't know what kind of horn you have, but if it is functional and you can practice on it comfortably (that is, there's nothing horribly wrong with it), then I'd wait. I think your budget's a bit light to get a really good horn, so buying another horn, at your stage of development, is probably not going to make much difference to you.
I'd save my money until you get more playing and improvement under your belt and really feel you could use a better horn. By then you'll probably have enough money that yoou can go ahead and get a very good student model or even pro level horn.

keith

[deleted_user_687c31b]

Wait a little while longer until you feel you've learned enough to make such a decision yourself. Ultimately, you're the one that needs to feel comfortable with your choice of equipment and while advice is helpful, those giving the advice aren't the ones that end up playing whatever trumpet (or mouthpiece) you end up buying.

If you do go shopping for a horn, bring an experienced player (preferably your teacher) along to make sure the horn you pick is the right one for you. Online advice will only get you so far: there's no substitute for onsite testing and advice. And no, the salesperson is not generally someone you can trust on this matter.

[jazzjezz]

I don't disagree with any of the advice above.... however if you want a better quality instrument, and you feel that it would help your own motivation / interest - then why not?

In the UK a relatively commonly available next step would be something like the Yamaha 4335. Quite a few tend to come up on ebay (about £400).

[Shawnino]

Put me on the other side from what most people here are saying--yeah, get a new piece of equipment.

Make it a very targeted purchase: figure out the one thing that would most help you when you practice to improve your sound and get a horn that addresses that one thing really well. Maybe it's bore size, maybe it's something specific about the mouthpipe... who knows, maybe it's not the horn and you'd be best served by changing mouthpieces instead...?

But figure out one structural thing that will help you practice more efficiently and go and get the equipment that makes that one specific improvement.

[Rapier232]

One thing I forgot earlier. When I first started to learn, I had a Regent cornet. I practised and practiced but although I sounded ok I wasn’t really happy. One day at a brass band rehearsal, I was having huge problems playing my part. The MD, a very good cornet player, took my cornet to demonstrate my part.

He couldn’t play the cornet! The solo cornet player tried it. He couldn’t play it either. I was the only one in the band that could play it vaguely in tune. The pitch was all over the place. I bought a new ‘professional" model cornet the next day. What a revelation. Instantly improved my playing. So, the moral of the story, is go to a shop and try a couple of other instruments just to make sure you don’t have to work harder than you need to on what you have now.
_________________
"Nearly as good as I need to be. Not nearly as good as I want to be".

Smith-Watkins Bb
Will Spencer Bb
Eclipse Flugel
Smith Watkins K2 Cornet
JP152 C Trumpet
Besson Bugle

[AndyDavids]

Not to derail, just a quick question...has anyone had any experience with buying or selling
and shipping from UK to the States or vice versa? Just wondering about cost, customs,
and best carrier (UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc.) This may offer the OP other options as well, thanks!
Andy

[Toyino]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! It is appreciated.

[jondrowjf@gmail.com]

Toyino
Many choices out there. Although I am not a fan of Yamaha horns,as mentioned the Yamaha 4330 or even the 6330 would be a good next trumpet. I have owed three yamaha horns, including student, intermediate and professional. Only liked the professional cornet.
As noted in my signature I prefer Getzen trumpet.A used Getzen 700 S Eterna trumpet is another good choice. I love my used Getzen Canadian Brass Trumpet. Bought that trumpet for $530.00 dollars excluding shipping and handling.
I agree with other posters, play as many as possible. Also think of resale value.
_________________
King 603 cornet American wrap
Yamaha 2330 Shepherds crook
Denis Wick 4 W classic gold mouthpiece
Getzen 4 B mouthpiece
Yamaha 11 e mouthpiece

[cgaiii]

Welcome to trumpet playing. You have lots of good advice above, so I will just say that I played a student horn for many years. I replaced it because of mechanical problems. A decent student horn will take you a long way.
_________________
Bb: Schilke X3L AS SP, Yamaha YTR-6335S
C: Schilke CXL, Kanstul 1510-2
Picc: Kanstul 920
Bb Bugle: Kanstul
Bb Pocket: Manchester Brass
Flugel: Taylor Standard
Bass Trumpet: BAC Custom
Natural Tr: Custom Haas replica by Nikolai Mänttäri Morales