lauren student trumpets

trumpetman3000 · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:21 am Post subject: lauren student trumpets

I am teaching trumpet at a school starting students on Lauren trumpets and wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with starting a student on this instrument. I couldn't find a website for Lauren and have never heard of this line. Any comments welcome. Thanks!

rolling360 · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:57 am Post subject:

Never heard of them either. I would guess they are made over seas somewhere. The big draw back could be durability and finding parts. I have always insisted new students start on a quality student horn like the Getzen 300, Conn, Olds etc. The other factor is re-sale value. If one buys a nice used Getzen etc they most likely will be able to sell it for the purchase price. Nice used Getzen 300's run in the 100 to 300 range. Not sure as to the new cost.

As a player and teacher yourself, what do you think of the quality, durability, intonation etc. of the Lauren line you are recommending to your students?

trumpetman3000 · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:26 am Post subject:

Unfortunately I have never played on one, the previous instructor recommended them so that is what the director is going with. I wanted to learn of any potential problems so I could try to come up with a solution quicker.

veery715 · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:59 am Post subject:

ltkije1966 · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:14 am Post subject:

Capt.Kirk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 5792

I have heard of schools reguireing various brands before but they have always been lower end American made brands or Yamaha or Jupiter. I have never heard of the brand you are asking about and that makes me nervous already. Mostly from a cost to durability stand point and the ability to source new parts. Jupiter,Yamaha are both foreign but they are well documented and have a ready parts supply and are built to last plus they have good intonation even if the over all sound is different then I like.

Maybe the guy before you you found a diamond int he rough but I will await you review once you lay hands on one!
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Capt.Kirk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 5792

I just went and looked at some online and they do not look like a good product. In fact I think that Barringtons are made much better then these Laurens just by looking at them. They definitely are not up to Jupiter Standards in fit, finish and durability....They look really really cheaply made and I am guessing that is what you will tell use when you get a hand on one. They are defiantly Chinese made and the sites I saw them on had them iin the $149-$162 price rang and non of the sights I was at mentioned a warranty on them not saying their is not one. I can vouch for Barrington being a well built cheap Chi-com trumpet that has good intonation and build quality since I know a very nice man that own ones and use's it often for performance. I would worried about these Lauren's because they could never make it at the H.S. level so as long as parents knew it was a cheap throw away horn that would not make it at the H.S. level let alone beyond that.........I would never buy one for my son or recomend one to anyone else when their are so many nice used King Tempo's Cleavands,Old,Reynolds,Conn's online just waiting to be bought!

So do give us a good review of it. I just googled it and I got a lot of hits so I just read the first 3 that poped up!
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LittleRusty · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:48 pm Post subject:

trumpetman3000 · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject:

SURPRISE!!! They let me play on them. This is by far the best student trumpet I have ever played on. It felt very open for a student trumpet. The Lauren label is aparently a part of Musicorps (http://www.musicorp.com) based in Charleston, SC. The school I work at is selling them for $150-175, I forget which. Very cheap though. It felt well crafted, open tone... valves worked easily, had third slide ring and a first slide hook. Not as much resistance as what I'm used to feeling on student instruments. It wasn't as strong of a change from my Bach Strad like I was expecting. I was extremely surprised. The instrument worked very well throughout the normal range of the trumpet.

If you have any more questions about it, let me know and I'll try to answer. Just by playing on two of their trumpets (and each playing as well as the other) I am sold on recommending this as a student instrument. This horn would be a great first step.

Capt.Kirk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 5792

That is crazy right? A $175 trumpet and you think it is just as good as a Yamaha 232 or it's modern replacement!!! I am not doubting you either! I do not know where it was made but for that price I am guessing China or Taiwan. In any event it is a sign that other like Yamaha and Bach that have been milking the student line with prices almost as high as their pro line have a short time to either get in line and lower prices or get the heck out of the student market all together! The quality of the imports is just going to keep improving! Their was a time when Japanese cars where thought to be inferior tot heir detroit counter parts now Toyota is the leader inthe industry for quality and durability and Detroit is almost like a turtle on it's back!

History repeats itself and the same thing that happened in the auto industry will happen in the trumpet world if companies do not learn from other's past mistakes. It was smart of Kanstul to get out of the student market really!
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crzytptman · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:29 pm Post subject:

trumpetman3000 · Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 3:12 am Post subject:

good points, and definitely more than this... i am definitely by no means calling it a professional horn, just it surprised me for a a student.

Everything stated above stated with it being a student trumpet in mind. I am definitely not saying to buy this instead of a xeno or a strad, but if you have a beginning student and you find this price, it might be worth it to the beginner in the long run unless you know they can afford a pro model should rapidly develop a love for the instrument.

ScottA · Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:00 am Post subject:

Good thing they are cheap because chances of finding replacement parts are very slim. Just buy another horn.
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Indialantic, FL

dmamazon · Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:14 am Post subject:

Yeah, we call these "disposable" horns....or ISO's(instrument shaped objects) in my store. Our company does not even let our shop guys work on them because if they break a part the horn is trashed.
I've seen the Laurens come in and they play just about the same as any other overseas horn. I still haven't figured out the metal they use to make most of these horns:).
I will say this, however.....there was this one instance a couple years ago where a student and mom came in to try out some new name brand horns(they were playing on a Simba aththe time I believe). They went into the practice room with a brand new Yamaha student model(and the lion king horn). They went in, I heard the usual C scale and a few more familiar things out of the EE2000 book and noticed that the girl inside was crying. I of course popped my head in and made sure everything was ok...the first thing Mom said was "we'll take the Yamaha". The poor student was just so happy she finally had a horn that played well and sounded good she was in tears. A very gut wrenching moment for me:).
Some students, especially the exceptional ones, really deserve a good quality horn:). In my ten years as a music store manager I am utterly convinced that we have lost some considerable talent over the years due to poor quality horns.

Capt.Kirk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 5792

What type of replacement parts do you except somone to need the first 1-3 years of use? Guides,Springs and felts should be able to make it at the least 3 years which is plenty of time for $150 new trumpet to go to get all of ones money out of it. In fact most rentals are $25-$55 a month so 2 1/2 to 5 months of use to get back what you have invested over renting? At $150 new I do not think people are expecting Yamaha type customer service. I am sure that Music Corp has a parts line for repair technicians but at that price for a new one I would imagine repair cost's would exceed the price of a new one!

It does drive home one point though when a company can build and sell a trumpet at $150 what does it say about the insane mark up that parts have on them like $165 for a leadpipe from M/k for instance. I doubt their material cost or production cost for a leadpipe exceed that of an entire trumpet. The problem is that for the most part people have grown accustom to having their wallet picked so this type of out of sight pricing does not even raise a red flag.

So I am love the competition as it will hopefully drive the prices down. SO far all we have seen though is a glut of small middle men buying Cheap Chinese instruments and putting their name on them and charging too much for them. When the Eastman trumpets first came out the top of the line was selling on the internet from private importers for under $600 now look at the price! Once it goes main stream and places like Warburton and Dillions start selling them the price doubles over night! So what we need is a complete and total flooding of the market by private importers to drive down the price. If they just keep trickling in all we will get is high priced Chi-Com horns to provide a better profit margin for the retailers as they prop up their market share by undercutting their American suppliers whichis fairly easy to do with Chi-Com products!
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oliver king · Heavyweight Member Joined: 07 Aug 2008 Posts: 1742

"One of the advantages of being a Captain is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it." - James T. Kirk

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GregSpires · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:05 pm Post subject: I had a Lauren

Years ago I had a Lauren that I bought new from a local pawn shop in the Charleston, SC area. I got it because a student that I met had once played the trumpet in elementary school but her family had been tight on money and had to sell her horn. I was wanting to re-introduce the trumpet to her and give her a few lessons. I play a Getzen Eterna Severensen model and that Lauren was very similar. It was a good horn

. Paid $165 for it and sold it 5 years later for $125 to a friend.

Greg

Ortrouvere · Regular Member Joined: 10 Aug 2018 Posts: 12

the Lauren trumpet is made in China. They were established about thirteen years ago. As to their quality, i have no idea. They look nice, but......

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