A newbie question

[jruthefam]

I am new to the sight and seriously considering taking up the trumpet again. I have not played since High School in 1974. How should I best invest my equipment dollar. When I was in school I played a Bach Stradivarius and a Conn Constellation. What should I look for and where should I look for it. My conditions are this:

1. If I really get serious I don't want to have to replace the horn I
purchase any time in the near future.
2. If I don't do well, I would like to recover as much of my investment as
possible.
3. I want a great sounding horn.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Gene]

You sound very close to where I was 11 months ago. I decided to go with a "Pro" model horn.... but which one?

A major thing is the try as many as you are able chose the one you feel most confortable with.

From a lack of knowing where to start I bought a Bach 5C mouth piece (which has since been replaced by a Curry 5C) just to see if I could get any noise out of it. Then I tried Conn Vintage 1, two Bach Strads, Yamaha Zeno, something else, Getzen Doc Sever, Getzen Custom 3050, and wound up getting a Getzen Custom 3051 and was near on to information over load as well as driving people areound here and at a couple of music stores nuts. I think these makes pretty well covers the gambit of the 'production custom pro horns' The ones I tried are all in the $1800 range new and none should loose much of there value latter.

If you have $3,000 or more to spend then look at the Lawler, Eclipse, Monette, Wild Thing etc. There are many horns out there at any price.

Again if you seriously persue a return take your time in picking a horn as it will be close to you and in yur face a lot so it makes sense to try as many as you are able........
_________________
Bb Getzen Custom 3051S
Bb Eclipse MR Gold
C Bach Strad 229/25H
Yamaha 9830 Pic

[gregc]

You can get a killer Lawler for less than 2K. Check out the C7, Model T, and the Model B. If you decide to sell, you'll recover almost all yer dough.
gregc

[LittleRusty]

I might try renting a horn for six months and see if you still want to play after that.

If you buy, find a horn that will have good resale value. A search on eBay and stores like Dillions can give you a feel for which horns.

However, this is said over and over, try before you buy. There are many opinions on which horn is a good one to buy and if you follow this site you will see that the opinions are often not very objective (not that I would know how to make an objective test).

I would suggest that even more important than the horn is that you 1, find a place to play regularly. A church is often a good option. If you can't play the whole service you can just lay out on the songs that are beyond you. Community bands also seem to be popular. Failing having a group I like to play along with music minus one.

2, find a teacher to help guide you into the proper embrochure and technique.

[janet842]

So, how's sticker shock treating you? I bought a Bach C in 1975 for $475 which was one of
those one-in-a-million Bachs. A truly perfect horn. To get that quality now, I paid $2800 for a
Flip Oakes C.

I have to agree with Little Rusty -- rent a horn (trust me, you are going to sound really bad
at first) and find a teacher because if you didn't have some pretty extensive training when you
were in high school, you may not know, or remember, what you need to do to pick up the
trumpet now and be successful at it. (I sounded unbelievably horrible after being off the horn
for 25 years.)

On the bright side, it seems that most comeback players that have stayed with it are finding
that they are better players now than when they quit.

[JAM393]

I am a comeback player after being away since 86. I started playing again and almost immediately begin shopping for a trumpet teacher. That may mean you shop around a bit and take lessons for a month or two with each person until you find who you are looking for. I found with the lessons I was forced to practice and had someone keeping me accountable each week. I also discovered how much I had forgot since college. As for the horn, find something to play...anything. I would find a good used Olds Ambassador and get a decent mp and have fun.

[Tom LeCompte]

I think Rusty is right - try renting a trumpet for a few months and determine a) whether you want to stick with it, and b) what you like and don't like about the rental. That will make it easier to pick your next trumpet.

[Bob Cross]

Whether you succeed or not, and whether you stick with it, will depend on finding a good teacher and a place to play. You will soon tire of playing to your dog or television set. I would investigate that first. What do you want to do? That could dictate what kind of horn.

The easiest choice is a Bach 180 S37 - largest selling horn, sounds great, easiest to sell, very versitile, good resale, and you played a Bach in high school. More pros play this than all the rest combined.

Since you are old enough to be able to afford one, I'd get a new one. Some of the older vintages had quality control issues, and as a new comebacker, you are not going to be able to play well enough yet to tell a gem from a clunker. The new ones are consistently excellent.

Find the going rate by checking the good retailers like Springfield Music, Tulsa Band, or Dillon's etc. You might find a local store that will match or come close to that price. Our local store is actually less, since they have some old stock before the last price increase. Some local stores will rent you something and apply it to the purchase of a pro horn.

Stay away from the more "botique" horns like Wild Thing or Lawler etc. You specifically said you wanted to be able to easily recover your investment. But find out what you want to do and find a teacher. If you are going to play in a community band or orchestra, scout it out and find out what they play. Somebody might even lend you a horn or rent it to you cheap.

Bob

[m4]

I think you're asking too many questions and wooring about the wrong things. PRACTICE and enjoyment should be your priorities.

Why not go the Chet baker route. Make the best music on whatever horn you have in hand. Just get anything in upper student range off ebay and you should be fine. heck, Chet recorded, and sounded great, on much worse--same with Lee Morgan. A YTR-4000 Yahma type horn is probably dirt cheap.

By the way--if you follow my threads you know my background as a pro and I owned a Yahama YTR-1000 level horn for quite a while and played a lot of gigs on that horn.

Its about the music my friend--any horn you get--student or pro can last a life time--as long as music is the priority.

Get the "investment banking" vibe out of your musical head.

All meant in the spirt of learning and the love of music.

I remain,

m4--or whoever you might think I am

[elExtranjero]

[jruthefam]

Lots of great advice and I appreciate it. I am trying to take my time and find a good trumpet at a great price. It seems everyone has a favorite. I have seen what look like some solid deals in the marketplace and a few on eBay. Can anyone tell me about the schilke X3? I see lots of information about the brand but it seems as though the B1 is the one most talked about. According to the manufacturer the X3 is a larger bore.

Any comments or suggestions? What should a used one in great shape go for?

[Jerry]

For a wealth of information about trumpets in general but probably the best site for information about Schilke, including recent ebay prices of Schilkes, see http://www.dallasmusic.org/schilke/

Read about the differences among the specific Schilke models: click the Bflat trumpet links.

[tx trpt]

jruthefam, did you see the Schilke listed in the Marketplace? Looks like he has reduced his price today. (For the record, that is not my trumpet and I do not know the seller.)

[DaveH]

In reply to your three conditions, I think there is pretty much one best answer...Bach Stradivarius 180-37S. Replying point by point:

1. That horn will serve you well if you get serious. You will find it in the hands of many professionals in a variety of situations, making it very versatile. It is a "middle of the road horn," so to speak...not a specialized design that may not meet your present or long term needs.

2. That horn will hold its value as well, if not better, than most others. Probably less depreciation due to the strength of the resale value of the Bach name.

3. That horn has the potential for excellent sound quality. The sound quality can be as good as any other.

You say you had a Strad in the past. If I were you, I'd look into getting another one. An lightly used Strad in excellent condition might offer the best combination of value and economy. But, if I were thinking long term, I'd probably get a new one. Educate yourself on the many options that are available regarding Bach instruments, but I think the basic 180-37 is probably the best bet...avoid specialized designs.

This is exactly the advice I would follow myself if I had your specific concerns as mentioned above.

Good luck.

[trumpetmom]

Good morning,

[DaveH]

How much money do you want or expect to spend?

You might want to know how much certain instruments will cost, unless cost is of no importance. There have been a pretty wide range of costs in this thread that remain unmentioned.

Remember that someone's recommendation is purely a matter of personal opinion. You are right that many who post here have personal favorites, so take opinions that way. There are horns in use and are recommended on this forum that not everyone likes or wants, regardless of how good they may be. Again, look for the middle of the road equipment, unless you have identified specialized playing requirements and you know exactly what instrument will fill that need.

Also, on this website, it is often recommended try as many horns as possible. That is not as easy as it sounds. An interesting idea in theory, but as a practical matter, it can be complicated. Either you will need to travel to a dealer(depending on where you live) who actually has a large variety of instruments in stock(not typical of your local music store), or you willl need to engage in a shipping process(can get rather costly also) with a mail order dealer who will ship horns to you to try until you stumble on to something you want(considerable trial and error - works best for someone who has already narrowed it down to something in particular and is maybe comparing a couple different horns).

In an ideal situation, you could just go down to your local music store and play horns all day until you found one you liked the best. Unfortunately, that is not the case, unless you live near a big dealer such as Dillon Music or WWBW or Giardinelli. There are some smaller dealers like Tulsa Band, Springfield Music, or Kesslar Music that could help you also. There are many, many different horns, no one that I know of has them all, and I think it is best to get your playing goals and desires clearly identified, and then get a horn with average playing characteristics that is versatile and will work in virtually any situation. Then you are more likely to be satisfied and less likely to have made an ill-advised purchase.

[trumpetmom]

[bilboinsa]

Honestly, and WADR, if you have not played in 30 years, then walking into a store and trying different horns will not help you out. Your chops are just not there anymore, and in a couple of minutes, you will be comparing horns with big, numb lips.

I say this out of personal experience a year ago.

My humble advice, again, from personal experience, is to hit e-bay, get a good student horn--since you WILL be a student again--then see if a upgrade is in order after a year or so. I bought a reconditioned Conn and have had no "problems" with the horn that MORE PRACTICE will not overcome. I know. After I had returned to a "reasonable" level of my ability to play again (this IS the Comeback Players section) I tried a nice Schilke that belonged to another player in the band I am in. It was nice, but I had the same NEED to work on range, tone, transposing skills, etc....

..I have to EARN a nice horn...
_________________
Doug Walsdorf

Schilke B2;
Kanstul 1525;
1927 Conn 22B
1970 B&H Regent
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
http://www.myspace.com/schilkeb2
Member: http://xeml.buglesacrossamerica.org/

[Tom LeCompte]

I am going to disagree with the idea of hitting Ebay. Yes, you might get a decent student horn on the cheap. But you might also get something that costs a non-trivial amount to get into playable condition.

Renting a rental-return (rather than brand new) instrument for ~6 months is going to cost in the neighborhood of $85. There's no need to start again on a brand new instrument, and it's not a bad idea to get to know the people at the local music store. Once you've built your chops back up, you can try out pro horns and get one that suits you.

[_dcstep]