I appreciate your outlook. Finances shouldn't be a barrier for a child pursuing an activity where they can be social, have fun, and learn a skill. If it's a choice between cheap, or nothing; cheap is perfectly acceptable.
This is also my main take on instruments like this. As long as it works to an acceptable level for learning to occur, it shouldn't be stigmatized. Something I didn't note in the video, I think these are also fine instruments for adults who just want to dip their toes in and try out an instrument.
My wife played a Montgomery Ward flute for years, but when she got to college she found she needed to unlearn a very heavy touch before she could progress to playing the difficult stuff. When she picks up the Ward flute now it sounds like a flute . When I pick it up it sounds like a piece of crap.
Buy the trumpet. You'll be better off giving yourself or your child a cheap instrument that works (in the very early stages of learning music, 'cause, when learning... you know). I've paid $50 to rent a clarinet at a music store in the past... This Trumpet you will only have to pay once, and it's yours. It's only like $20 more than my 1 month rental payment. When you or your child actually start having a connection with music and you are making progress, then buy a better trumpet. :)
@@MadMusicBandto be fair the cheap instruments tend to blow like bricks, requiring more breath support. Ive found this especially true of woodwinds - I once bought a cheap saxophone that was more breath support problems than four ContraAlto horns trying to play K 331 Alla Turca in a big band. The thing literally sounded like a muted trumpet, to boot.
I had a cheap amazon sax when I was a kid. I got a decent mouthpiece from my friends dad and it was fine for years. Probably cost my mum 200 pounds instead of 2000.
Funny story, I bought a mouthpiece off amazon a long time ago and this trumpet came in instead..? No idea, but it actually came in clutch. I’m a college student and I had an easter gig. Well, my horn was locked in the music school, so the only horn I could use was this one. Absolutely terrible experience, but I was able to pull through with it. Shoutout to Amazon for making an amazing mistake!
I've thought about buying one of these to make a lamp out of it. For a kid I'd go the used student horn route. There are dozens of high quality Getzen, Yamaha, or Bach trumpets on eBay in the $300-400 price range that will play great and take a beating. I recommend the Getzen 300 series. Sturdy horns and great valves.
It would make a fantastic lamp. You're not wrong about the used horn route, though you could almost get 5 of these trumpets for that $300 used horn. It's kind of unreal just how cheap these are.
Of course, $300-400 is a lot more than $63 by a long shot. And as far as the criticism of cheap instrument that one is never sure what one is going to get, the same goes for buying used instruments. For example, I bought a used cornet a few years ago. It was a brand from days gone by, but a respected brand in its day. I had to take it to a repair man because the tubing was bent in some places and some of the braces were broken. That instrument also had more dents than I was comfortable with. I fixed (or maybe I should have said "improved" rather than "fixed") some of the dents myself to an acceptable level, though not a a level I would have gotten from a professional repair man. In other words, buying used was not as good of a deal as one might have hoped.
@@massmanute the other thing important about buying used is you almost always need to factor in the cost of cleaning and repairs. It's rare you find a $200 used student trumpet online like most people suggest where you don't also need to put in extra money to repair something. Not impossible, but it's hard to know when you first buy it especially as someone who isn't knowledgeable about instruments.
You obviously dont teach or live in a low income community.. parents arent buying 300 or more horns.. they will hope the school will supply instruments
Trumpet teacher to over 40 students: Mendini… the only trumpet I’ve seen with a flat low D and a sharp 5th partial. I’ve seen a person buy two of these in one year due to issues, and lack of parts On the 3rd repair, they bought a used trumpet. A used Olds Ambassador can be found for less than $200. That’s the route to save money.
I can believe it. Personally I was pretty surprised at how good the one I got was. Maybe it's just a huge gamble, or maybe it'll poop out in a month, we'll see.
I totally agree with and advocate for the rent-to-own option. That’s the route my parents took when they bought me my clarinet. It brought me through middle school, high school, college, and even into my adult life, nearly 14 years after the first payment at the time of this comment! Band kids for life!
"Instrument shaped object" is derived from the shorthand "PSO" which Julliard piano students were using about 40-50 years ago. "How was the concert on Saturday with the West Rubber Boot Symphony?" Possible answers. "Good orchestra, meh piano." or "Good piano, orchestra was trying hard" or "PSO." If the answer was PSO, nothing else mattered.
I've played trumpet now for over 30 years. One of the neighborhood kids, friend of my son, decided to play trumpet. My son went woodwind path, so was excited have local kid I can help out. I let him borrow an Olds trumpet I had laying around, good one for beginner to intermediate level (nice jazz tones on it overall). And loaned him a Ruben book and gave him some pointers, etc. He did return the trumpet and book once school started and since his grandparent got him a trumpet, a Mendini. I would been happy to let him keep using my Olds trumpet or even give him an old King trumpet I've been restoring for fun. But yep, a Mendini. I did an once over for him, and notice just like you ran into, the valves get stuck either direction, with the darn clip grabbing both ways. And his numbering was 1, blank, 4. Yep... 4. So I showed him that issue to be aware of it. Half year later, he asked me how to clean his trumpet. I was more than happy to teach him a proper deep cleaning. The valves already shown large amount of wear and pealing apart. I know he uses valve oil, he ran out and I gave him some of my spare. I will be shocked if it gets through another year. Always with beginners, I recommend picking up an used trumpet, if possible a music store or online if needed, such as Olds, Bach, Yamaha, Getzen, etc. It will outlast the cheaper trumpet and won't need replaced all the time. And if not sure if want to continue, a rental, then you can swap around instruments and try different things. I agree it's a challenge to get kids in band and important to get them trying, with about anything. With my son's HS band, it kills me how many of the trumpets are cheap Amazon ones, and how often parts just fall off them. Half the group is missing valve keys, caps, and other such parts. They just vibrate off during marching band season to never be found again.
Yup, I also have had good luck with used horns, but there's definitely a large difference in upfront cost, even with used. I think the cheap horns can be good horns to start a first year on to see if it's even something they want to do at all, and then when they make that commitment they can upgrade, and use the cheapo horn for a stay at home practice instrument or donate it etc. Even rentals are a large investment when looked at as a whole. I think there's a place for a $60 horn as long as it actually works.
@@MadMusicBand My mom plays french horn, and her main horn, was a high end professional Finke French Horn (more European market than US). But it was a non-functional that she traded in one and paid some. Ended up the valves were in incorrect. It has mechanical mechanics (vs string) with monghid valves. And since monghid, it can't have numbering on the valves. She played with it and got is working! Many years later she did take it to one of the top repair technicians for such instruments, which he was able to repair the reset of the issues. Sometimes you can score huge with used instruments!
As a 71 year old who gave up band in 7th grade and am now trying to work my way back to being community band worthy over the next 10 months, I appreciated your review. I am playing a used Getzen 200 series and this will probably be the only cornet I will own. It is possible that some family wouldn't be able to squeeze in another $20 a month payment for a horn so a one time $70 payment for ownership might work out. In 5th grade when I started, I wouldn't have known the difference between a $70 and $700 instrument
Honestly, the thought of putting a $700 instrument in the hands of a 5th grader is kind of risky. It's rare that any of them will take good enough care of them to warrant that high of a level of investment their first year. There are exceptions of course, but there's definitely a lot that aren't mature enough to be trusted with that responsibility.
One tip: The inexpensive Chinese-made instruments typically contain a lot more manufacturing swarf in the bore than a higher end instrument. It's a good idea to clean the instrument out before using it. I'm sure one can find instructions on the internet for doing this. By the way, I own a very inexpensive Chinese-made four valve compensating euphonium. It's a copy of a Yamaha euphonium. I rate it 90% as good as a Yamaha (or more) at 10% of the price (or less). My euphonium professor agreed that it is a good instrument. In fact, his euphonium is essentially the same as mine, though marketed by a different company, meaning that it is the same design made in the same factory but marketed by a different retailer. (He has an inexpensive euphonium because his main instrument is trombone.)
This works with a lot of things. Most bike frames are made in the same factory for example. A lot of price differentiation nowadays can be purely marketing, although I didn't think it's quite that simple with instruments. What baritone do you have? We could use another baritone 😂.
I am a car salesperson and could tell you were not a trumpet player when you pulled out the slide without depressing the corresponding valve. I was afraid you would turn the horn inside-out!
Pro tip: *DO NOT* lay a trumpet on the right-hand side. You'll put unnecessary pressure on the 2nd valve slide that will push into the valve block. When you insert a mouthpiece, you twist slightly so that the friction locks it in place. You take it off by twisting in the opposite direction you screwed it in. If you are going to pull a slide out, you need to press the corresponding valve down. The seal between the valve and valve slide should be air tight; that's why you're hearing the pop.
I´ve played the trumpet since 1981. I have been teaching the trumpet for 30 years plus. I have to say that some of these cheap trumpets actually are quite ok! Not much worse than the yamaha school horns from the eighties. For that small amount you should just play and be happy. Top tip: do not lay the trumpet on the second valve slide! No trumpet was built for that.
As somebody who has had their trumpets handed down to them, I am very thankfully that they are hand me downs, because they are high quality. These hand me down are from generations before me.
Great video. And all great points, especially about new students thinking that sound/performance issues are due to their playing ability and not the instrument. Buying a good brand used trumpet is often a great way to go.
0:20 I made a thing that sounds just like a clarinet out of a 3d printed part, a length of PEX water line, a latex glove and a zip tie, I'm sure a company can do pretty dang good for a 60+$ instrument.
I’m a music lover. Funny story about me being here, my wife promised me months ago that my father in law got me a trumpet from guitar center at the same time i bought a new three piece drum set for me and my little ones. I waited and waited hoping I could get the trumpet any sooner than Christmas, but then the day arrived. Completely inundated by the chaos of family old and young, I received my brand new trumpet among the chaos but I was ecstatic nonetheless. My heart felt complete and I couldn’t wait to go home and play it. I started cramming info by binging how to videos on TH-cam and I even picked it up and discovered for myself the first octave of the harmonic series. Thursday the day after Christmas I see this video in my TH-cam recommendations and think to myself, I completely forgot to check the brand of my trumpet and lo and behold a mendini… after realizing the worth of my new trumpet I’m devastated 😂 can’t help but to feel a little bitterness but I went ahead and learned Digno es El Cordero hymn melody. Sad but still musical
Just for basic advise, I have found that it takes about a week of oiling the valves everyday before you can get a good idea of what the valves are going to do for you on a brand new horn. Great review!!!
Great point! I'll have to put out an update video at the end of the year to see how it has held up. Maybe it'll be better. Maybe it'll have disintegrated.
I'm teaching a trumpet student with one of these. The second valve (I think) got so jammed up that it wasn't playable. He's borrowing another Cecilio from somebody else that's fine, I can make it sound decent. I however have a Mendini Cecilio pocket trumpet that works fine for outdoor busking gigs and jamming occasionally.
I've never used one myself, but I've read the pocket trumpet is pretty alright for the money. Obviously like the regular trumpet you can't expect the world of it, but if a pocket trumpet is something you just want to play around with it seems worth a shot.
When I decided to try playing trumpet again 47 years after graduating from high school, I bought a $90.00 Chinese pocket trumpet, to see if I could still play. I could. Then I bought a $90.00 Tromba plastic trumpet and joined a band and orchestra. Later I found a gorgeous Yamaha 232 in a pawn shop for $140, tax and a plate of Christmas cookies included.. Later, on Facebook, I saw a trumpet for $30, with a mouthpiece. When I saw the actual trumpet, it was really ugly and the mouthpiece is probably for a baritone. But the valves and slides all worked, so I bought it. It is a Conservarte, whatever that is. After a thorough cleaning, inside and out, and oil and c=grease, I gave it a try. I have barely touched the other two trumpets since. The Conservarte is still ugly, but it plays better than any other trumpet I have ever played. It is also more ruggedly constructed than the Yamaha. So I have three trumpets for an investment of less than $200, and they all work quite well. They now sit in a corner while I play French horn in two bands and an orchestra. I also played horn in junior high school and the first two years of high school. The point is that I am playing again in my 70s and thoroughly enjoying myself, and I didn't have to spend many hundreds of dollars.
That's fantastic, I love a good deal myself. I'm getting my first plastic instrument (a trombone) next week and I'm super excited to try it out. Awesome to hear you're still rocking instruments in your 70s, I hope to do the same :)
Just picked up an E-Bay Yamaha 302 to do my college alumni marching band. Great condition horn for $200. I didn't care much about how good it looked, because I have never touched a new marching instrument in my life. For $200 for one performance a year, why not? Having still had contacts with the orchestral music ocmmunity in town, at least three ensembles are exicited I am picking up concert horn again. Not because I am much more than competant, but because French Horn players are hard to come by...
Great video. I was a middle school teacher and in my experience if the parents did not try to find and or buy the darn down cheapest instrument off Amazon but instead spent two or three hundred bucks they did get a serviceable horn, not a great horn or even good horn but like you said they are in band and that is the important thing.
I went to college about 50 years ago intending to be a band director, but during my "student teaching" phase, I pretty much realized NOPE. Early in high school I switched from trumpet to tuba, but after this many years, I decided to take up the trumpet again, and I bought one of these from Amazon, a little over $100, but probably the same horn. It has its quirks, but it gets the job done until I feel like shelling out the big bucks for a "real" one. Anyway, it's just for fun, and the only listener I have to please is myself.😊
The player and skill is far more important than the instrument. The best trumpet players are gonna make any instrument sound fantastic. I'm glad your friend enjoys this horn, so far so good for me as well :)
I am currently running a cheap horn like this due to me being broke. And you can hate me for it, but I actually really like it. To be fair, i do use a Jupiter mouthpiece, but other than that its all cheap, and I love it
Pushing down the corresponding valve makes it easier to pull out or push in the valve slide. If it's easy to move those slides without depressing the valves, that could indicate a possible air leak.
You lead me down a rabbit hole of research, and yup that is correct and makes sense. One of those things that wasn't specifically taught to me that people probably just assume you already know. I'm looking forward to testing this out with my horn soon. Obviously not much reason to move it when not pressing the third valve, but I probably did in the video since I wasn't playing the horn. Thanks!
Back in the late 80's someone gave me a trumpet that they found in a scrap-metal place. It had a hole in the bell. I bought the cheapest mouthpiece I could find at the local music store (pre-internet), and gave it whirl. I'm not a trumpeter, and didn't know what I was doing (Did I mention pre-internet?). THAT thing sounded better than that Amazon trumpet!
Thanks for the compliment! Trumpet is my "play at the podium" instrument because it's hard to get a marimba up there, so I tend to get at least a bit of daily playing in :)
If they are really stuck you can use oil to ease them in. Some people cut oil and grease together to get the level they want. At some point it's a bit of trial and error, but for how stuck the Mendini was out of the box oil would have helped a lot (though so would grease)
I did screw it in all the way, it was just being scratchy. It doesn't do it anymore, I think oiling it and "wearing it in" a bit fixed the issue. The valves aren't the fastest but they seem to work ok for my needs now.
Retired band director. Some time ago WalMart decided to sell basic band instruments (similar Chinese) and they started showing up in my program and creating problems for the kids. I went and had a talk with the manager who started off by telling me he had a “right” to sell the instruments. I didn’t disagree but asked him who did his repair work. He kind of looked puzzled. I told him they have a short warranty and he would be getting every horn that needed even the smallest adjustment returned to the store. I wasn’t going to touch them and no local repairmen would either. He said he had to contact corporate. Next day I get a call that my kids could return the horns, no questions. Most got a couple of free candy bars for their trouble. When the economy soured we started a “Donate your attic instrument” campaign and local repairmen did recondition these well loved instruments at cost to help the program. BTW I love the instrument shaped object description.
I bought the Cecilio Mendini about five years ago, and I use it for daily practice and for travel practice to save wear and tear on my Yamaha. Amazingly, I paid $89 back then. So much for inflation. I've treated it carefully and it has worked well, and the only complaint is that the lacquer is 'melting' off the valve casings where it has constant contact with my hand. As you found, the 1st and 3rd slides are very stiff, but they've loosened up with time. Though I've been lucky, I wouldn't recommend it for a student. As some of the commenters note, the quality out of the box is highly variable, and you don't want a student to deal with returns, refunds, repairs, etc. the first days of band class. But your approach allows vetting the horn before a student gets it, and that's a great approach.
Yup, good points. On the lacquer note, I just bought a protec valve protector to stop that from happening, and to maybe protect the valves from student carelessness. It also makes it easy to spot which horn is mine, which is an added bonus.
My bach Stradivarius 50th anniversary makes the same noice when you push down the valves so i dont think that noise is necessarily a bad thing. This was a great video though. I subbed❤
I’ve spent over $100 on a used instrument one time in the past 33 years I’ve been playing. I picked up my latest trumpet (a mid 40s Reynolds) from eBay for $20 and it just needed some new felt and cork for the spit valves. My oldest son played a trombone older than my parents when he was in band and my youngest is starting next year with a late 60’s Conn. When I used to teach brass band at an inner city school, we used whatever we could get and played our hearts out. I can totally understand why a parent might choose one of these, and I wouldn’t ever call anyone out for it….but, I always recommended finding a used instrument at a pawn shop or thrift store first.
Yup, I typically agree. It's tough though for someone who doesn't know what to look for or whether or not an instrument is actually worth getting if you don't know anything about instruments. An instrument like this may actually be "safer" for someone not in the know, but I agree if you can find someone to help you or a band director who can check over an instrument the used option is viable and often times a better deal.
I've bought several bargain instruments from Amazon and eBay, and my experience has been that the Indian-made instruments (e.g. from Sai Musicals) are mostly just instrument-shaped objects, whereas the Chinese-made ones like the one you show here are surprisingly good for the money. About a year ago I bought a Mendini-by-Cecilio euphonium and it's been absolutely pleasant to play on. A number of years back I bought a $400 double horn that's also really nice and is my daily driver when I'm playing (it's probably closer to $700 now, inflation dontcha know). If you're going to go this route I suggest buying from a place that has a generous return policy and see what you get. You might get lucky like I did
I'm with you on the return policy, it's at least basically impossible to get scammed on Amazon since it's so easy to send things back for returns. A budget euphonium seems right up my alley, I'll have to add that to my list 😂
If you vet your seller, E Bay can be a great source for used brass with careful shopping. Just picked up a former school Yahama Mellophone that plays and looks really great. The school had even recorked the spit valves. Total price was less than 10% of a new one.
I used to be a trumpet player a couple months ago in 4th grade it's summer rn so I'm a 5th grader now but I wasn't doing good in trumpet so a couple days before my concert my band teacher switched me to baritone,good switch
Funny story the band director told us in our first year of band. After explaining what place to get an instrument from, this one mom bought her son's trumpet off of Amazon. And on the day they started to play, the bell just crumbled off. He still has it in his office
Could just leave the piston in the valve casing and oil them by sliding the piston almost all the way out but so the drips go into the casing instead of onto the floor.
I highly recommend using valve grease instead of valve oil especially when you have a tuning slide issue That's when you should use the grease never oil it use the grease oil is for valves only but it is optional and you can do what you want with it just a recommend doing it in the right way
That’s valve lapping compound in the valves. It has an abrasive in it. You need to wash it out very well (including the connecting tubes between the valves) or it will slowly ruin the valve tolerances…
I picked up two Amazon horns. A pocket trumpet for the fun of a smaller trumpet. It works okay the valves are a bit sluggish. The other one was my alto horn. That is the main one I got. It still works great for the once every 3 years my community band has alto horn parts. Not bad and I don’t have any major complaints. Not really the first horn I would recommend for students, but it works fine for a tuba and trombone guy that sometimes covers other brass parts in community bands.
Ooooo, an Alto Horn, I've never played one myself. That's awesome that they work ok. I agree that for the person who just needs to whip out an instrument occasionally to cover some parts cheap instruments make a lot of sense, I'm glad they're working out for you. I've been eyeing those pocket trumpets myself as I love the idea of a smaller horn (and I think they just look cool...). I may have to pick one up eventually, I'll definitely make a video if I do :)
You can't go wrong with any Yamaha horn- they are always consistently good. Your Yamaha is likely much better than this (though obviously more expensive). I also started on a Yamaha, not that I would say no to a Bach Stradivarius either ;)
Actually, a 6335 is a darn decent instrument, even for an intermediate player later in life. The 6335 that I borrowed for a couple of months served me well while I was locating something that I really liked in a price range I could afford. The owner of the instrument needed it back, so she got it back. This was at about the same time as I picked up my King 1117, which is also a good instrument. All Bach trumpets are not necessarily good instruments. I know, the Strad is a well known line, but I would put Bach's student instruments in the category of over priced, and even the Stradivarius name does not guarantee a great horn as they struggled for a while in the early 2000s.
@@MadMusicBand I out played people that have been paying 3 years longer than me 🔥🔥(im a beginner trumpet player and knocked the mariachi out of the park fr)
Flute player- 2 flutes from the 80's. Always and only. Pads out on both, bought "mendini" while waiting. Cork in correct position, but have to pull it like 1/2".. once I do? It plays better than my 2k Geminhardt from the 80's.
I’m a percussionist and a senior in high school going into music education for college next year, i rented a trombone from my school as my first alternate, i could not make a good sound and though i sucked I grabbed a rusted trigger that the director was ok with me trying and it sounded awesome It’s often not u that sounds bad or airy, for me it was a bad horn, now i’m trying to memorize imperial march to play jokes with the “tromboners”
Yup, that's a huge issue with beginners not knowing the instruments and trying on their own. Always good to have someone who plays the instrument well look it over and even try it themselves to see if there's an issue.
@@MadMusicBand I had rental single french horns from elementary through 10th grade. Never dropped or dented it. For my 15th brthday, my parents scrimped and saved and gave ne w New Holton 179 - which was a princely $3500+ in 1985. Took a year a half, but I knocked it off a chair when I set it down during a rehearsal and dented it.
Seeing the white gloves, my first thought was that the metal is not protected by a varnish layer, causing skin oils to immediately cause corrosion. (don’t know)
Hello I'm a trumpet player a way to see if your valve is in correctly is the Play like you normally would but twist your valve until it starts to make sound
It hurts to admit it, but I can't come up with the name either! I've been fake playing it for years but never actually looked it up...and I can't seem to figure it out! Frustrating!!!
@@MadMusicBand I found it!!! It's called "Hungarian Rapsody n2". I remember it from the game "Looney tunes racing" and also from this clip of Tom and Jerry... You should have a look: th-cam.com/video/E1JKd1C7izQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EQTtr-fI1v-lNphC Anyway... Thanks for the reply and keep making video man :)
@@MadMusicBand Found it!! It's called "Hungarian Rapsody n2", I remember it from "Looney tunes racing" (game for ps1) and from this clip of Tom & Jerry: th-cam.com/video/E1JKd1C7izQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Nb1Eirg5hRrl8Gp8 . Btw thanks man :)
Ok so when trying to get your valves in right all you have to do is while they are in is twist the keycap not so it will unscrew but to the point where it locks in you will know when it does
I have seen a trupmet *case* that costs as much as this thing, (and honestly, that case doesn't look half bad...not, that I would ever buy a $70 trumpet case) Edit: I'm actually, kinda shocked this thing is made of brass, because, in the same vein as the plastic trombone, I swear I have seen plastic trumpets on amazon too (or maybe it was a plastic Euphonium) I'm amazed that they could make it for so cheap and still make it out of brass. Edit2: In hindsight, I think that isn't too different from the "beginner" instruments you can find at a regular music shop (as you mentioned, this thing goes through fluctuations, from 140-63. That seems like the kinda price range that my very first trumpet was.) The difference being, like you said, there's no support structure for this Amazon thing.
I really would like to see someone take a cheap trumpet and put on a good mouthpiece and replace the whole valve system. I am curious as to how much better you can make a cheap horn sound with upgrades.
As a trumpet player - I would always advise ANY student (or parent of one) to ask the teacher about an instrument to purchase. A beginner trumpet of any sort will be mostly fine - and better than what you'll likely find in a pawn shop. The used market is great - IF you know what you're looking for and a 'mentor' helps you get it. My experience with the foreign cheap horns is that China has come a long way in catching up on quality and some of these bargain horns sound quite nice. India has a long way to go - don't buy stuff from there. Rent to own from the band shop can be a good choice (make sure to have the protection plan) for kids that you have NO IDEA that they will keep up with it - otherwise you'll end up with a horn in the closet or trying to rid yourself of it on marketplace/e-bay when they quit. Also, most of the mistakes and damage you're likely to do will come with your first horn - better to learn those lessons on a cheap one than a top of the line pro model. This review for a $60 horn was OK from the aesthetic point of view, but I would have liked to seen more about the 'playability' and intonation of a standard scale. How easy is it to blow and get a note out? Are the notes on a Bb scale relatively in tune (against a tuner)? Could you get the slides working a little better with some slide grease (I like to use the stuff that trombone players use on their slides to get that 1st and 3rd slide moving easily). You didn't move the tuning slide - for that one, I'd use a thicker slide grease, or vaseline in a pinch. Incredibly important to get that tuning slide moving and teaching young players to get their ears working at staying in tune. Playing a little tune or two would have been nice to see if it sounds good or really bad. You could have invited a trumpet player to ask him what he thought of it. Still, for a 'loaner' you can't beat a $60 investment.
A lot of good points here. I definitely could have been more thorough (especially on the tuning slide, it does move fine fyi), but the video was already 20 minutes and I wanted to include the info about what I would recommend alternatively to it. I did play a concert Bb scale and a few chromatic lines, and it blows as freely as my old Yamaha student trumpet did. I personally don't think we need to be that picky about intonations etc. on a $60 horn, as that's just not that important for a beginner. From what I heard, it sounds in tune with itself to the point it's not going to hold a student back. When they get good enough that they want to start worrying about intonations between notes it would be a great time to start looking at a larger investment anyways imo. There's other videos out there that compare cheap instruments to multi thousand dollar instruments but I don't think there's much value in the comparison (other than it can be fun haha). When looking at a $60 horn the biggest thing worth noting is if it's "good enough", and honestly this one exceeded my expectations. Now we just need to see if it holds up to use over time.
@@MadMusicBand Beginners are beginners, and no, they don't hear or play things like they should, but any horn should play pretty well in tune and not have weird 'open fingering' intonation issues. Valves should move freely, slides not so important at this stage (other than the tuning one). I often wonder if kids drop an instrument because they are just frustrated with how 'bad' they sound and how hard they are to play. I know I didn't start taking things seriously until I got rid of my Bundy and got my first Benge horn.
The reason the slide is so tight because you need to press the valve to the corresponding slide and it releases pressure and makes it way easier to move.
In marching and jazz band, I use a 100 or so year old Cleveland trumpet (under king instruments) and it’s arguably the best sounding instrument I’ve ever played, I have a TR300, A Strad, and I’ve played a Bell BT345. None reigns king on the tone quality of the Cleveland. I bought it for 65 dollars and it’s insane
Enjoying your video!!🤣🤣(love the sarcasm!) As a former trumpet player and band director, I've had a LOT of experience with ISOs. The intonation is usually horrific, and the valves can be way different, and they break. When they break, there are NO replacements parts at your local instrument repair shop. So you have to buy another one. And as I listen to you play, the tone is different on each valve. HOWEVER, it's better than nothing for kids who can't afford anything else, or to borrow one when they leave them at home or are getting a repair on their "real" horn. So, yes your wrap-up is excellent!! Rentals for decent beginner horns are cheap and service is cheap. As you mentioned, there are tons of used instruments out there...EVERYWHERE! [Caveat: I've seen some used horns online that are WAY overpriced.] Just please do not use the mouthpiece that comes with the horn. Rentals usually come with whatever you tell the dealer you want them to have. In Texas, music stores will bend over backwards for your business. Sure, beginners are gonna sound like beginners on whatever mouthpiece, but some of the off-brands I've tested over the years (even from some of the major mouthpiece companies) are wildly inconsistent, Also, every kids face and teeth are different, There isn't a "universal" mouthpiece for everyone past the first year, If they make it to second year, they will need a better instrument and a mouthpiece that fits them better. For my last years of high school private students, they used GR Tech, Laskey, and one exceptionally great Yamaha Bobby Shew Jazz model.(I had it, and it fit the student. I still have about $1200 worth of mouthpieces that I used when I could play.) VERY few students need to shell $200 for expensive brands UNLESS they are considering a music career. My apologies for this LLOONNGG trumpet post, but I still love it and wish I could still play. Finally, and you may know this already, look up the Brook-Mays Music Company lawsuit regarding ISOs. They were sued, lost $20 MILLION and went bankrupt. Thanks again for your video! I enjoyed it tremendously! And I bet your kids dig your band class!!
Thanks for the awesome comment! You make a lot of great points. I would love...LOVE to be able to sit down sometime with a bunch of different mouthpieces and just try them out, maybe I'll make that a reality some day. I'm sure I could benefit from finding one that actually fit me. I'll have to check out that lawsuit, I'm out of the loop there.
@@MadMusicBand Please do check out the lawsuit. I think the company that "allegedly" sued them was "First Act.," "allegedly." And I "allegedly" or "hypothetically" had students who bought those at a local "MegaMart," (allegedly) and some of them were unplayable (esp. WWs) and some broke within the first couple of weeks. The one you're using is better. And as to the mouthpiece issue, it would be a tremendously valuable experience to go to the local music store and first buzz the mouthpieces, take a few notes on how each one, and then play on the instrument. I can help you eliminate a bunch. In the Bach camp, the 1 1/2 C (large), 3C (great all around mp that a student could use all the way through HS and maybe college, the 5A and 5B (not as close to the same as the numbering suggests), and, if you have a very small student with very small lips, the 10 1/2 C. For Yamaha the numbers work normally, the larger the number the bigger the mp, whereas Bach is the opposite. (Sorry, I am probably telling you things you already know, but it's trumpet and I get excited about trumpet things.) Yamaha - test the 14 and 16 (no extras like "14A4A") for beginners, same for Schilke. This is, of course, just for beginners, although some of those could work in perpetuity for students who are not going to major in music. There are more "tricks' in the mouthpiece world and a great private teacher should help them change, or not, as the case may be. The custom mouthpieces are, as I mentioned, i.e. www.grmouthpieces.com/ or www.laskey.com/ (there are obviously MANY more!), are nearing $200. as I am typing this, there is a video in the sidebar comparing trumpets and cornets. Cornets are FAR easier for small beginners to hold and the more conical shape (if it's a "real" cornet - 2/3 conical). Anyway, I will share one more topic in the next comment box...
@@MadMusicBand New topic: range. It's like a drug for some of us. I'm sure you've seen lots of great instructional videos and they all (mostly!) have important points. But to make this easier on everyone (the teacher included), use the "set point" strategy.I have a TON of range information and it was on my website until I retired. The set point is only ONE aspect developing range, it may be the most crucial and the easiest to teach and learn. On day one, the most important thing to learn is how to take it out of the case, assemble the two parts, how to hold it (cheeseburger in the right hand, soft drink in the left.) WITHOUT dropping anything (watch out for the 1st and 3rd valve slides!). When that's "successful," - and this is the tricky part in SO many ways - have them remove the tuning slide carefully and lay it on the case. Teach them embouchure and airflow (both should be reinforced daily at school and at home). When you are happy with how they breath and blow through the embouchure WITHOUT the horn or mouthpiece, have them play their first notes using just the mouthpiece and the lead pipe. This puts the embouchure in its natural position for each student. It will sound horrible and the kids will laugh...at first. The pitch for trumpets is usually a little below first line E. What you are listening for is a very reedy, free and open sound, regardless of the pitch, because they are not going to match pitch...yet. Eventually, playing the mouthpiece alone, pitch matching and tone will be critical points. You can typically get most students playing 2nd line G pretty easily. And by using the lead pipe process they can usually move up to the next partial in the harmonic series. And then do it with just the mouthpiece. This brings us back to set point theory. (And I'm leaving out a bunch of teaching things, but I am sure you know them, so...) Whatever their highest COMFORTABLE note becomes the note they start on everyday with warm-ups, Some will be on 3rd space C soon if not immediately. When their highest comfy note is perfectly secure (on the mouthpiece alone and on the horn), they can move up a half step. This is a very simple but very powerful strategy that they can use forever to play as high as they want to work for. And, of course, we're using flexibility studies (always start high, go low, and back to high), scales, start on the top, play down and up, then play the top note and drop to the lower tonic and play the scale "normally" while keeping the embouchure and air set for the top note. This is a pattern that applies to all exercises and band book tunes - set for the highest note and the others will be easier. The long term goal is for G5 to be the center of their playable range. I've had some students who could nail C6 by March, some who could play G5, most beginners settle in around D5/E5. By continuing the set point process over the next couple of years, most students are comfortable with G5 to C6. (Remember they are still working on all the other trumpet/music things, just with a stable embouchure/air setting.) When C6 is totally comfy, they will be able to play D6, and maybe E6 with a little extra air pressure. OK - I've said too much, my apologies. I am sure you know most of what I said, but the set point thing I learned from Don Jacoby. It works! Best of luck. I can tell you are having FUN teaching band, something that is often lost in a competitive environment. You CAN be a great teacher AND have FUN! I would encourage you to make MORE videos! Thanks for listening!
@@johnjulian8914 I'm going to save this comment for mouthpieces :) On the lawsuit, I actually looked it up yesterday (you got me curious!). Seems like Brooks Mays sent out a newsletter calling out First-Act instruments as "instrument shaped objects" and questioned their inability to be repaired. Pretty insane that a comment like that can be sued for such a large amount, but when you consider that they are essentially competitors you have to be more careful than that. I always have a good chuckle when I walk through the walmart tech section and see the random instruments haha. It's just so random.
@@johnjulian8914 I can't answer on everything you mentioned but I'm definitely going to come back to your comments in the future. I'd never heard of the "set point" approach before so I'll start there. Seeing other band directors commenting on this video is fun and also makes me a bit nervous for the future haha. It's always humbling to listen to others talk about their area of expertise are realize just how much we can still learn. I even consider myself to be a fairly good trumpet player and teacher, but there's so much more I could be doing! Thanks for your comments :)
What trumpet do you recommend to those of us that aren't in a band, but want a good trumpet ? I've seen them from several hundred up to several thousands of dollars. What's the best trumpet you recommend ? I used to play the trumpet. Got my Grandpa's. He got it second hand from someone else. Even the case locks (But no keys) I got kicked out of band when they figured out I couldn't read music. Teach me to read music or let me play by ear, like I was. And I could read EGBDFAC but the notes confused me. No stem, stem up, stem down, hollow notes, solid notes, flagged notes 2 flags... Then notes that weren't even on the staff. Anyway just curious. My trumpet also did not have neither place on the slides to adjust. The adjustments were there but the rings and hardware were missing, and likely why I got singled out to play solo. Because I was slightly off pitch and when I didn't hear what to play, I couldn't play it. So that's how he caught me. And instead of being a teacher, he was just a jerk and threw me out of band. He could have at very least stay in class to learn, or teach me when other students weren't around. It still bothers me after all these years.
That's a shame, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I didn't learn to read music until college, and it's not because I was unwilling to learn, I just wasn't ever expected to do it, which isn't great. As for trumpet it just depends on what you want to pay. Honestly, to try out trumpet again and get your feet wet I think this trumpet would work fine. If you had the money and know you were going to stick with it, is look for a student level Yamaha or something similar. Used you could find them under $500. That's what I learned on and used for many years until it finally died on me last year.
I was wondering your opinion on a trumpet for me I play trumpet and am currently reaching the top of the staff but my trumpet is broken and I'm looking for a new horn that's good because I'm looking for a career long term but don't want to spend more than 500 on one any advice on a good trumpet.
My safest suggestion would be a Yamaha YTR-2330 from Thomann for $495. www.thomannmusic.com/yamaha_ytr2330.htm Yamaha is about as safe as they come. For a bit more of a risky play, but cheaper, I've heard good things about Jean Paul horns but haven't personally tried them myself. amzn.to/4gS62OP (affiliate link on that one ❤️) that's the intermediate level version, but they also make an even cheaper student level if you want to go even cheaper. I'll need to try one out myself sometime.
It would have been nice to have a real trumpet player demo it for the video. Just FYI: two big things define a trumpet. The first is the first 18" of plumbing, the second is whether the valves work. Listening to you, it sounded like the first 18" were just fine. The tuning was consistent over the range of the horn with no obvious dead spots. I have a suspicion that China has measured and now mass produces lead pipes swiped from a couple of very good American manufacturers. The issue of the valves. First: whether they actually physically line up in the horn itself and secondly whether they go up and down predictably. Again, just listening, it sounded like they did line up reasonably. The up and down part will only be known over time. A student that cares for and cleans often will most likely make something of this horn. A student that doesn't cares for and never cleans will most likely make trash of this horn in a couple of weeks.
I do sort of consider myself a "fake" trumpet player, but is there anything specific you'd have wanted to actually hear from the horn that I didn't demonstrate or is it just that you'd want a second opinion from a "pro"? I'm definitely not a trumpet pro, that's for sure. Throw a marimba at me and we'll talk ;)
Someone on Reddit pointed this out to me too, and I had never been taught or had that pointed out before, but it makes total sense. If anything comes from this video at least I learned not to do that!
Its crazy they can actually sell a functioning horn with a case, mouth piece and accessories for $60. The materials alone seem to cost more than that. I guarantee a skilled trumpeter can make this horn sound very good.
I appreciate that I'm late to the party with this comment but, here goes! I have what appears to be the same instrument but bought from Aldi (a German supermarket chain) here in Australia. My main horn, a Bach Stradivarius, sits in its case ready to go to weekly concert or big band rehearsals and I'm not diligent enough to go and get it and rehearse. My Aldi horn sits next to my desk in my office and when I'm done on my paperwork for the day I can grab it and easily get some 'lip time' in. It sits there, on a stand, with the same mouthpiece that I usually play, ready to go. Is my Bach a better instrument, absolutely! Is it 20 times better, absolutely not. I actually find that practicing on the Aldi trumpet makes me appreciate the quality of the Bach in a way that I never did before and there is no question that I practice more now than I ever did prior to owning this instrument. Sure, there are definitely reasons to upgrade as one progresses but as a starter instrument I think you could do a lot worse. BTW - apologies if this has already been covered in the comments but the numbers on the valve stem need to face the player/mouthpiece when reinstalling to ensure correct alignment the first time! That whole section was painful to watch as the clear implication was that there was something wrong with the horn when, in reality, anyone playing the instrument for as long as the reviewer clearly has should really have know better.
Aldi it basically a grocery store here haha, it'd be wild to find a trumpet there. As to the valve numbers, I've had students come up to me with valves that didn't even have numbers, so I didn't take for granted that the numbers on an Amazon cheapy horn would actually be in any specific place. I just looked, and the 3 and the J (2...) are both facing the player, while the 1 is about at the 5 o clock position (so it's close).
@@MadMusicBand - Aldi is certainly mainly a grocery store here too but they also have a general merchandise area that rotates every couple of weeks through items like tech (TVs etc), camping gear, tools, homeware and clothes etc. About once every six months or so musical instruments come around and they'll have trumpets, clarinets, flutes, guitars, electronic drum kits, music stands and some other smaller items in stock. All very affordably priced (the trumpet is generally $150.00 AUD).
I had an Academy trumpet like this. I think they sold at Costco. Thin brass, played OK, slides were gummed shut. Still, even a 30-year-old Yamaha student trumpet played better. $20 to buy used, $20 to sell used. Most of these don't have parts, but what's not mentioned is that for woodwinds, like clarinets, saxophones, or flutes, the cheaper keys bend too easily for a shop to guarantee the work will stay the way the shop set it. For brasswinds, like trumpets, trombones, or horns, the brass is usually thin, and splits in odd ways when damaged. The valve oil that comes with them is always a step below-grade, and anything else will make the valves move smoother. The white gloves are sometimes used by technicians to assemble these instruments without leaving fingerprints, but these gloves are always way too small to be useful. The cases will last 1-3 months before a zipper breaks, the valves will go up to 2 years before something bad happens to them, and the slides will usually be stuck unless they're greased within a month of purchase. Enjoy.
Just thinking of buying an instrument at Costco is wild to me. Cheap woodwinds are a lot more risky imo than cheap brass, there's just so much more that can go wrong with them.
@@MadMusicBand Indeed. At least in North America, Gemeinhardt flutes, Armstrong or Vito clarinets, and Jupiter saxes are good enough quality that saving $100 by buying a new "whatever" instrument makes very little sense over buying the brands I trust used.
Me realizing that this is the excact trumpet ive been playing for 5 years... Edit: If you face the numbers on the valves towards you, the air wont get trapped and you can play freely
@@MadMusicBand We have a small community band (three trumpet/flugelhorn/altohorn mix/match, french horn, trombone/euphonium mix/match, clarinet and me on the tuba/euphonium mix/match) and my wife is learning to play drums (at 59-years-old) since we need percussion. This method absolutely resonated with her. She's working on your vids and having fun with them. Thanks!
@@wcgdenmasterken3431 That's awesome to hear! Tell your wife good luck for me, and I'm glad that my videos are helping you! I made the "cheat beat" videos because I knew that 13 year old me would have loved to be able to play with something like that; I nerd out a bit hearing that other people are enjoying them as well :) Thanks for letting me know!
I was thinking it would be fun to blindfold people and have them play multiple different horns expensive to cheap, and then see what they think... I'd need some expensive horns first 😂
I know thw feeling. I bought cheap Keyboard melodicas from China for piano class students who had no keyboard at home during the pandemic zoom class period.
We've got some melodicas in our music room as well, they are surprisingly affordable for how fun they are :). Good on you for having that idea during Covid...I tried to teach a full band rehearsal on Zoom the first week of Covid.....it went about as well as you'd expect.
"Seriously tho my kids are sleeping I shouldn't be playing this horn right now." *Continues to play the horn* Btw I'm 21 and I used to play trombone back in middle school thru high school and it was fun till I didn't have an instrument to play anymore so I started playing piano. Anyways I got my little brother to be in the band and he's still in the process of learning how to play the trumpet, and I want to learn as well. So, I'm getting me a cheap trumpet and I will get an expensive one when I improve. Thx to this video, I now want to know more about playing the trumpet. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
This seems to be the same as cheap guitars. The super cheap ones are usable, but around $200-300 is the sweet spot for a beginner, going off other comments. My first (and currently only) guitar was $240. It’s a real workhorse, probably has around 200-300 hours and a couple upgrades on it after 9 months or so and plays 10x better than it did when I got it. Have no idea about horns though because the only wind instrument experience I have was 3rd-5th grade mandatory recorder lol.
I want to look at recorders soon as well lol. Guitars are something else completely, there's just so many different brands, kinds, etc. I wouldn't even know where to start.
@@MadMusicBand Squier sonic/affinity series guitars are the best for the price ($200-$300), only Ibanez really compares, but most of Ibanez’ sub $700 guitars are more metal/shred focused. I don’t know anything about recorders though lol
I appreciate your outlook. Finances shouldn't be a barrier for a child pursuing an activity where they can be social, have fun, and learn a skill. If it's a choice between cheap, or nothing; cheap is perfectly acceptable.
This is also my main take on instruments like this. As long as it works to an acceptable level for learning to occur, it shouldn't be stigmatized. Something I didn't note in the video, I think these are also fine instruments for adults who just want to dip their toes in and try out an instrument.
My wife played a Montgomery Ward flute for years, but when she got to college she found she needed to unlearn a very heavy touch before she could progress to playing the difficult stuff. When she picks up the Ward flute now it sounds like a flute . When I pick it up it sounds like a piece of crap.
Buy the trumpet. You'll be better off giving yourself or your child a cheap instrument that works (in the very early stages of learning music, 'cause, when learning... you know). I've paid $50 to rent a clarinet at a music store in the past... This Trumpet you will only have to pay once, and it's yours. It's only like $20 more than my 1 month rental payment. When you or your child actually start having a connection with music and you are making progress, then buy a better trumpet. :)
@@MadMusicBandto be fair the cheap instruments tend to blow like bricks, requiring more breath support. Ive found this especially true of woodwinds - I once bought a cheap saxophone that was more breath support problems than four ContraAlto horns trying to play K 331 Alla Turca in a big band. The thing literally sounded like a muted trumpet, to boot.
I had a cheap amazon sax when I was a kid. I got a decent mouthpiece from my friends dad and it was fine for years. Probably cost my mum 200 pounds instead of 2000.
Funny story, I bought a mouthpiece off amazon a long time ago and this trumpet came in instead..? No idea, but it actually came in clutch. I’m a college student and I had an easter gig. Well, my horn was locked in the music school, so the only horn I could use was this one. Absolutely terrible experience, but I was able to pull through with it. Shoutout to Amazon for making an amazing mistake!
Haha, that's fantastic.
I've thought about buying one of these to make a lamp out of it. For a kid I'd go the used student horn route. There are dozens of high quality Getzen, Yamaha, or Bach trumpets on eBay in the $300-400 price range that will play great and take a beating. I recommend the Getzen 300 series. Sturdy horns and great valves.
It would make a fantastic lamp. You're not wrong about the used horn route, though you could almost get 5 of these trumpets for that $300 used horn. It's kind of unreal just how cheap these are.
@@MadMusicBand Then again these Celio/Mendini horns are made in sweatshops by slave labor and I don't think I can support that.
Of course, $300-400 is a lot more than $63 by a long shot. And as far as the criticism of cheap instrument that one is never sure what one is going to get, the same goes for buying used instruments. For example, I bought a used cornet a few years ago. It was a brand from days gone by, but a respected brand in its day. I had to take it to a repair man because the tubing was bent in some places and some of the braces were broken. That instrument also had more dents than I was comfortable with. I fixed (or maybe I should have said "improved" rather than "fixed") some of the dents myself to an acceptable level, though not a a level I would have gotten from a professional repair man. In other words, buying used was not as good of a deal as one might have hoped.
@@massmanute the other thing important about buying used is you almost always need to factor in the cost of cleaning and repairs. It's rare you find a $200 used student trumpet online like most people suggest where you don't also need to put in extra money to repair something. Not impossible, but it's hard to know when you first buy it especially as someone who isn't knowledgeable about instruments.
You obviously dont teach or live in a low income community.. parents arent buying 300 or more horns.. they will hope the school will supply instruments
Trumpet teacher to over 40 students:
Mendini… the only trumpet I’ve seen with a flat low D and a sharp 5th partial.
I’ve seen a person buy two of these in one year due to issues, and lack of parts On the 3rd repair, they bought a used trumpet.
A used Olds Ambassador can be found for less than $200. That’s the route to save money.
I can believe it. Personally I was pretty surprised at how good the one I got was. Maybe it's just a huge gamble, or maybe it'll poop out in a month, we'll see.
I totally agree with and advocate for the rent-to-own option. That’s the route my parents took when they bought me my clarinet. It brought me through middle school, high school, college, and even into my adult life, nearly 14 years after the first payment at the time of this comment! Band kids for life!
Honestly, that's what we may end up doing with our kids.
@@MadMusicBand They really need to pay band directors more. Music education helped shape me into the person I am today.
Meh, my parents spend $800 back in the day on a rent to own trombone that I ended up not playing much.
That is popular in sweden where we all have music class.
@@williamsanborn9195 I'll always get behind this comment ;)
"Instrument shaped object" is derived from the shorthand "PSO" which Julliard piano students were using about 40-50 years ago. "How was the concert on Saturday with the West Rubber Boot Symphony?"
Possible answers.
"Good orchestra, meh piano." or "Good piano, orchestra was trying hard" or "PSO." If the answer was PSO, nothing else mattered.
I've played trumpet now for over 30 years. One of the neighborhood kids, friend of my son, decided to play trumpet. My son went woodwind path, so was excited have local kid I can help out. I let him borrow an Olds trumpet I had laying around, good one for beginner to intermediate level (nice jazz tones on it overall). And loaned him a Ruben book and gave him some pointers, etc. He did return the trumpet and book once school started and since his grandparent got him a trumpet, a Mendini. I would been happy to let him keep using my Olds trumpet or even give him an old King trumpet I've been restoring for fun. But yep, a Mendini. I did an once over for him, and notice just like you ran into, the valves get stuck either direction, with the darn clip grabbing both ways. And his numbering was 1, blank, 4. Yep... 4. So I showed him that issue to be aware of it. Half year later, he asked me how to clean his trumpet. I was more than happy to teach him a proper deep cleaning. The valves already shown large amount of wear and pealing apart. I know he uses valve oil, he ran out and I gave him some of my spare. I will be shocked if it gets through another year. Always with beginners, I recommend picking up an used trumpet, if possible a music store or online if needed, such as Olds, Bach, Yamaha, Getzen, etc. It will outlast the cheaper trumpet and won't need replaced all the time. And if not sure if want to continue, a rental, then you can swap around instruments and try different things. I agree it's a challenge to get kids in band and important to get them trying, with about anything. With my son's HS band, it kills me how many of the trumpets are cheap Amazon ones, and how often parts just fall off them. Half the group is missing valve keys, caps, and other such parts. They just vibrate off during marching band season to never be found again.
Yup, I also have had good luck with used horns, but there's definitely a large difference in upfront cost, even with used. I think the cheap horns can be good horns to start a first year on to see if it's even something they want to do at all, and then when they make that commitment they can upgrade, and use the cheapo horn for a stay at home practice instrument or donate it etc. Even rentals are a large investment when looked at as a whole. I think there's a place for a $60 horn as long as it actually works.
@@MadMusicBand My mom plays french horn, and her main horn, was a high end professional Finke French Horn (more European market than US). But it was a non-functional that she traded in one and paid some. Ended up the valves were in incorrect. It has mechanical mechanics (vs string) with monghid valves. And since monghid, it can't have numbering on the valves. She played with it and got is working! Many years later she did take it to one of the top repair technicians for such instruments, which he was able to repair the reset of the issues. Sometimes you can score huge with used instruments!
Wtf who is going to read all of that
As a 71 year old who gave up band in 7th grade and am now trying to work my way back to being community band worthy over the next 10 months, I appreciated your review. I am playing a used Getzen 200 series and this will probably be the only cornet I will own.
It is possible that some family wouldn't be able to squeeze in another $20 a month payment for a horn so a one time $70 payment
for ownership might work out. In 5th grade when I started, I wouldn't have known the difference between a $70 and $700 instrument
Honestly, the thought of putting a $700 instrument in the hands of a 5th grader is kind of risky. It's rare that any of them will take good enough care of them to warrant that high of a level of investment their first year. There are exceptions of course, but there's definitely a lot that aren't mature enough to be trusted with that responsibility.
One tip: The inexpensive Chinese-made instruments typically contain a lot more manufacturing swarf in the bore than a higher end instrument. It's a good idea to clean the instrument out before using it. I'm sure one can find instructions on the internet for doing this.
By the way, I own a very inexpensive Chinese-made four valve compensating euphonium. It's a copy of a Yamaha euphonium. I rate it 90% as good as a Yamaha (or more) at 10% of the price (or less). My euphonium professor agreed that it is a good instrument. In fact, his euphonium is essentially the same as mine, though marketed by a different company, meaning that it is the same design made in the same factory but marketed by a different retailer. (He has an inexpensive euphonium because his main instrument is trombone.)
This works with a lot of things. Most bike frames are made in the same factory for example. A lot of price differentiation nowadays can be purely marketing, although I didn't think it's quite that simple with instruments. What baritone do you have? We could use another baritone 😂.
However bad Chinese horns may be, they're much better than the stuff from India.
I am a car salesperson and could tell you were not a trumpet player when you pulled out the slide without depressing the corresponding valve. I was afraid you would turn the horn inside-out!
Pro tip: *DO NOT* lay a trumpet on the right-hand side. You'll put unnecessary pressure on the 2nd valve slide that will push into the valve block. When you insert a mouthpiece, you twist slightly so that the friction locks it in place. You take it off by twisting in the opposite direction you screwed it in. If you are going to pull a slide out, you need to press the corresponding valve down. The seal between the valve and valve slide should be air tight; that's why you're hearing the pop.
Yup, all good info. I actually point out two of those things in my trombone video :)
Im not even a trumpet player and even i know you should always case your instrument when not in use after cleaning and lubricating it.
I´ve played the trumpet since 1981. I have been teaching the trumpet for 30 years plus. I have to say that some of these cheap trumpets actually are quite ok! Not much worse than the yamaha school horns from the eighties. For that small amount you should just play and be happy. Top tip: do not lay the trumpet on the second valve slide! No trumpet was built for that.
As somebody who has had their trumpets handed down to them, I am very thankfully that they are hand me downs, because they are high quality. These hand me down are from generations before me.
Great video. And all great points, especially about new students thinking that sound/performance issues are due to their playing ability and not the instrument. Buying a good brand used trumpet is often a great way to go.
0:20 I made a thing that sounds just like a clarinet out of a 3d printed part, a length of PEX water line, a latex glove and a zip tie, I'm sure a company can do pretty dang good for a 60+$ instrument.
I’m a music lover. Funny story about me being here, my wife promised me months ago that my father in law got me a trumpet from guitar center at the same time i bought a new three piece drum set for me and my little ones. I waited and waited hoping I could get the trumpet any sooner than Christmas, but then the day arrived. Completely inundated by the chaos of family old and young, I received my brand new trumpet among the chaos but I was ecstatic nonetheless. My heart felt complete and I couldn’t wait to go home and play it. I started cramming info by binging how to videos on TH-cam and I even picked it up and discovered for myself the first octave of the harmonic series. Thursday the day after Christmas I see this video in my TH-cam recommendations and think to myself, I completely forgot to check the brand of my trumpet and lo and behold a mendini… after realizing the worth of my new trumpet I’m devastated 😂 can’t help but to feel a little bitterness but I went ahead and learned Digno es El Cordero hymn melody. Sad but still musical
Just for basic advise, I have found that it takes about a week of oiling the valves everyday before you can get a good idea of what the valves are going to do for you on a brand new horn.
Great review!!!
Great point! I'll have to put out an update video at the end of the year to see how it has held up. Maybe it'll be better. Maybe it'll have disintegrated.
@@MadMusicBand
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'll be looking forward to it.
I was a section leader my junior and senior year. Played a black lacquer trumpet by Cecilio.
We universally loved our grade 5 band leader Bill Buchan. Music teachers are often the most loved teachers.
I'm teaching a trumpet student with one of these. The second valve (I think) got so jammed up that it wasn't playable. He's borrowing another Cecilio from somebody else that's fine, I can make it sound decent. I however have a Mendini Cecilio pocket trumpet that works fine for outdoor busking gigs and jamming occasionally.
I've never used one myself, but I've read the pocket trumpet is pretty alright for the money. Obviously like the regular trumpet you can't expect the world of it, but if a pocket trumpet is something you just want to play around with it seems worth a shot.
When I decided to try playing trumpet again 47 years after graduating from high school, I bought a $90.00 Chinese pocket trumpet, to see if I could still play. I could. Then I bought a $90.00 Tromba plastic trumpet and joined a band and orchestra. Later I found a gorgeous Yamaha 232 in a pawn shop for $140, tax and a plate of Christmas cookies included.. Later, on Facebook, I saw a trumpet for $30, with a mouthpiece. When I saw the actual trumpet, it was really ugly and the mouthpiece is probably for a baritone. But the valves and slides all worked, so I bought it. It is a Conservarte, whatever that is. After a thorough cleaning, inside and out, and oil and c=grease, I gave it a try. I have barely touched the other two trumpets since. The Conservarte is still ugly, but it plays better than any other trumpet I have ever played. It is also more ruggedly constructed than the Yamaha. So I have three trumpets for an investment of less than $200, and they all work quite well. They now sit in a corner while I play French horn in two bands and an orchestra. I also played horn in junior high school and the first two years of high school. The point is that I am playing again in my 70s and thoroughly enjoying myself, and I didn't have to spend many hundreds of dollars.
That's fantastic, I love a good deal myself. I'm getting my first plastic instrument (a trombone) next week and I'm super excited to try it out. Awesome to hear you're still rocking instruments in your 70s, I hope to do the same :)
Just picked up an E-Bay Yamaha 302 to do my college alumni marching band. Great condition horn for $200. I didn't care much about how good it looked, because I have never touched a new marching instrument in my life. For $200 for one performance a year, why not? Having still had contacts with the orchestral music ocmmunity in town, at least three ensembles are exicited I am picking up concert horn again. Not because I am much more than competant, but because French Horn players are hard to come by...
The quality of this video was actually very good! I looked at your sub count and was surprised!
Thanks for the kind words! Gotta start somewhere :)
Same here!
10:57 as a trumpet player in the eighth grade I can confirm you put the "goodest" amount of valve oil
incase you didn't know, the letter/number on the valve faces towards you, that makes sure the valves are lines up correctly
Great video. I was a middle school teacher and in my experience if the parents did not try to find and or buy the darn down cheapest instrument off Amazon but instead spent two or three hundred bucks they did get a serviceable horn, not a great horn or even good horn but like you said they are in band and that is the important thing.
I went to college about 50 years ago intending to be a band director, but during my "student teaching" phase, I pretty much realized NOPE. Early in high school I switched from trumpet to tuba, but after this many years, I decided to take up the trumpet again, and I bought one of these from Amazon, a little over $100, but probably the same horn. It has its quirks, but it gets the job done until I feel like shelling out the big bucks for a "real" one. Anyway, it's just for fun, and the only listener I have to please is myself.😊
i appreciate your decision to switch to tuba 😊
also nice sotry!
A friend of mine has this trumpet and he is our main trumpet soloist and he is amazing with this thing.. if you are just getting started GET IT
The player and skill is far more important than the instrument. The best trumpet players are gonna make any instrument sound fantastic. I'm glad your friend enjoys this horn, so far so good for me as well :)
I am currently running a cheap horn like this due to me being broke. And you can hate me for it, but I actually really like it. To be fair, i do use a Jupiter mouthpiece, but other than that its all cheap, and I love it
No hate from me, I still use mine every day!
Those gloves remind me of Spongebob Squarepants "GloveWorld"🤣🤣🤣
Pushing down the corresponding valve makes it easier to pull out or push in the valve slide. If it's easy to move those slides without depressing the valves, that could indicate a possible air leak.
You lead me down a rabbit hole of research, and yup that is correct and makes sense. One of those things that wasn't specifically taught to me that people probably just assume you already know. I'm looking forward to testing this out with my horn soon. Obviously not much reason to move it when not pressing the third valve, but I probably did in the video since I wasn't playing the horn. Thanks!
Back in the late 80's someone gave me a trumpet that they found in a scrap-metal place. It had a hole in the bell. I bought the cheapest mouthpiece I could find at the local music store (pre-internet), and gave it whirl. I'm not a trumpeter, and didn't know what I was doing (Did I mention pre-internet?). THAT thing sounded better than that Amazon trumpet!
seriously great video, earned a sub
Thanks! :)
Nice video man as a trumpet player instruments like this are just for trolls but it was actually good and your playing was very nice.
Thanks for the compliment! Trumpet is my "play at the podium" instrument because it's hard to get a marimba up there, so I tend to get at least a bit of daily playing in :)
@@MadMusicBand so true trumpet has an amazing projection. Your trumpet range and skills are very good 👍
7:19 Wait a minute, I don’t think you are supposed to put oil on the slides. I think you should use grease, isn’t that right?
If they are really stuck you can use oil to ease them in. Some people cut oil and grease together to get the level they want. At some point it's a bit of trial and error, but for how stuck the Mendini was out of the box oil would have helped a lot (though so would grease)
@@MadMusicBand ok! Thanks for helping out a new player!
I put grease on the 3rd 2nd and 1st slide but the big slide I put oil on that’s just me
I tbink the reason why the middle valve was making that sound was because it wasnt screwed in all the way. This happens a lot with my Euphonium
I did screw it in all the way, it was just being scratchy. It doesn't do it anymore, I think oiling it and "wearing it in" a bit fixed the issue. The valves aren't the fastest but they seem to work ok for my needs now.
Retired band director. Some time ago WalMart decided to sell basic band instruments (similar Chinese) and they started showing up in my program and creating problems for the kids. I went and had a talk with the manager who started off by telling me he had a “right” to sell the instruments. I didn’t disagree but asked him who did his repair work. He kind of looked puzzled. I told him they have a short warranty and he would be getting every horn that needed even the smallest adjustment returned to the store. I wasn’t going to touch them and no local repairmen would either. He said he had to contact corporate. Next day I get a call that my kids could return the horns, no questions. Most got a couple of free candy bars for their trouble. When the economy soured we started a “Donate your attic instrument” campaign and local repairmen did recondition these well loved instruments at cost to help the program. BTW I love the instrument shaped object description.
Woah, a Walmart wind instruments is news to me! I wonder just how rough those were 😂
I bought the Cecilio Mendini about five years ago, and I use it for daily practice and for travel practice to save wear and tear on my Yamaha. Amazingly, I paid $89 back then. So much for inflation. I've treated it carefully and it has worked well, and the only complaint is that the lacquer is 'melting' off the valve casings where it has constant contact with my hand. As you found, the 1st and 3rd slides are very stiff, but they've loosened up with time.
Though I've been lucky, I wouldn't recommend it for a student. As some of the commenters note, the quality out of the box is highly variable, and you don't want a student to deal with returns, refunds, repairs, etc. the first days of band class. But your approach allows vetting the horn before a student gets it, and that's a great approach.
Yup, good points. On the lacquer note, I just bought a protec valve protector to stop that from happening, and to maybe protect the valves from student carelessness. It also makes it easy to spot which horn is mine, which is an added bonus.
My bach Stradivarius 50th anniversary makes the same noice when you push down the valves so i dont think that noise is necessarily a bad thing. This was a great video though. I subbed❤
Thanks! 😊
Probably just need some thicker felt or rubber on top of the valve body to keep it from clicking.
I’ve spent over $100 on a used instrument one time in the past 33 years I’ve been playing. I picked up my latest trumpet (a mid 40s Reynolds) from eBay for $20 and it just needed some new felt and cork for the spit valves. My oldest son played a trombone older than my parents when he was in band and my youngest is starting next year with a late 60’s Conn. When I used to teach brass band at an inner city school, we used whatever we could get and played our hearts out. I can totally understand why a parent might choose one of these, and I wouldn’t ever call anyone out for it….but, I always recommended finding a used instrument at a pawn shop or thrift store first.
Yup, I typically agree. It's tough though for someone who doesn't know what to look for or whether or not an instrument is actually worth getting if you don't know anything about instruments. An instrument like this may actually be "safer" for someone not in the know, but I agree if you can find someone to help you or a band director who can check over an instrument the used option is viable and often times a better deal.
I've bought several bargain instruments from Amazon and eBay, and my experience has been that the Indian-made instruments (e.g. from Sai Musicals) are mostly just instrument-shaped objects, whereas the Chinese-made ones like the one you show here are surprisingly good for the money. About a year ago I bought a Mendini-by-Cecilio euphonium and it's been absolutely pleasant to play on. A number of years back I bought a $400 double horn that's also really nice and is my daily driver when I'm playing (it's probably closer to $700 now, inflation dontcha know). If you're going to go this route I suggest buying from a place that has a generous return policy and see what you get. You might get lucky like I did
I'm with you on the return policy, it's at least basically impossible to get scammed on Amazon since it's so easy to send things back for returns. A budget euphonium seems right up my alley, I'll have to add that to my list 😂
If you vet your seller, E Bay can be a great source for used brass with careful shopping. Just picked up a former school Yahama Mellophone that plays and looks really great. The school had even recorked the spit valves. Total price was less than 10% of a new one.
That's a great find! A school was selling on eBay?
I used to be a trumpet player a couple months ago in 4th grade it's summer rn so I'm a 5th grader now but I wasn't doing good in trumpet so a couple days before my concert my band teacher switched me to baritone,good switch
Happy to hear the switch is going well! I love the baritone :)
hold a magnet up to its various parts - wondering if some funky steel "alloy"
I'll try and remember to do this when I get to school tomorrow :)
Not magnetic, finally tried it 🧲
The super casual Double High C at the end of the playtest hahaha
No big deal ;)
“ Opening Implement “ is such a creative way of bypassing TH-cam monetization restrictions 😂
Ha! Didn't even think of that. I blame my wife for all the weird ways that I say things 🤣
Funny story the band director told us in our first year of band.
After explaining what place to get an instrument from, this one mom bought her son's trumpet off of Amazon. And on the day they started to play, the bell just crumbled off. He still has it in his office
I've heard stories like this as well, but haven't personally ever had that happen. Mines still working great, used it just today.
He even showed us at the teacher parent meeting on where to get our instrument.
I play percussion in my band and we are in the back row behind the trumpets and that doesn’t sound to bad.
Could just leave the piston in the valve casing and oil them by sliding the piston almost all the way out but so the drips go into the casing instead of onto the floor.
Just so you know he yaps until 13:55
I highly recommend using valve grease instead of valve oil especially when you have a tuning slide issue That's when you should use the grease never oil it use the grease oil is for valves only but it is optional and you can do what you want with it just a recommend doing it in the right way
That’s valve lapping compound in the valves. It has an abrasive in it. You need to wash it out very well (including the connecting tubes between the valves) or it will slowly ruin the valve tolerances…
Interesting, good to know!
OOO do a Euphonium or Baritone Next!!! I saw one on Temu for like $250 and I'm so tempted to buy it but don't want to end up with a lemon.
I plan on getting to baritone eventually! Temu does has some really cheap ones...
I picked up two Amazon horns. A pocket trumpet for the fun of a smaller trumpet. It works okay the valves are a bit sluggish. The other one was my alto horn. That is the main one I got. It still works great for the once every 3 years my community band has alto horn parts. Not bad and I don’t have any major complaints.
Not really the first horn I would recommend for students, but it works fine for a tuba and trombone guy that sometimes covers other brass parts in community bands.
Ooooo, an Alto Horn, I've never played one myself. That's awesome that they work ok. I agree that for the person who just needs to whip out an instrument occasionally to cover some parts cheap instruments make a lot of sense, I'm glad they're working out for you.
I've been eyeing those pocket trumpets myself as I love the idea of a smaller horn (and I think they just look cool...). I may have to pick one up eventually, I'll definitely make a video if I do :)
What do you think of the pBone pTrumpet?
I've sadly never played one. Spoiler for you though, I've got a plastic trombone on the way I plan on reviewing :)
I'll subscribe so I don't miss it!@@MadMusicBand
same level as my ytr 6335g good for student that wants a horn thats play and sound well saving money for a bach
You can't go wrong with any Yamaha horn- they are always consistently good. Your Yamaha is likely much better than this (though obviously more expensive). I also started on a Yamaha, not that I would say no to a Bach Stradivarius either ;)
Actually, a 6335 is a darn decent instrument, even for an intermediate player later in life. The 6335 that I borrowed for a couple of months served me well while I was locating something that I really liked in a price range I could afford. The owner of the instrument needed it back, so she got it back. This was at about the same time as I picked up my King 1117, which is also a good instrument.
All Bach trumpets are not necessarily good instruments. I know, the Strad is a well known line, but I would put Bach's student instruments in the category of over priced, and even the Stradivarius name does not guarantee a great horn as they struggled for a while in the early 2000s.
You are kidding aren't you?
I HAVE THIS TRUMPET 🎺
Nice! How's it working for you?
Awesome
It's my first one too!
5 months after how is it going w that trumpet@@sillyvideostudioforsadpeop8033
The trumpet in the thumbnail is my exact trumpet! :D
Nice! I hope it's working out well for you
@@MadMusicBand I out played people that have been paying 3 years longer than me 🔥🔥(im a beginner trumpet player and knocked the mariachi out of the park fr)
1:44 “case”
Flute player- 2 flutes from the 80's. Always and only. Pads out on both, bought "mendini" while waiting. Cork in correct position, but have to pull it like 1/2".. once I do? It plays better than my 2k Geminhardt from the 80's.
Nice! That's a heck of a deal :)
I have this trumpet but as a pocket trumpet and i have had it for years and its worked great but also i dont use it for band use just for fun
I've heard a lot of good things about the pocket trumpet, such a cool instrument.
I’m a percussionist and a senior in high school going into music education for college next year, i rented a trombone from my school as my first alternate, i could not make a good sound and though i sucked
I grabbed a rusted trigger that the director was ok with me trying and it sounded awesome
It’s often not u that sounds bad or airy, for me it was a bad horn, now i’m trying to memorize imperial march to play jokes with the “tromboners”
Yup, that's a huge issue with beginners not knowing the instruments and trying on their own. Always good to have someone who plays the instrument well look it over and even try it themselves to see if there's an issue.
finally, a trumpet priced such that young me could be trusted with it.
The thought of handing a 5th grader anything worth $1000+ has always scared me.
@@MadMusicBand I had rental single french horns from elementary through 10th grade. Never dropped or dented it. For my 15th brthday, my parents scrimped and saved and gave ne w New Holton 179 - which was a princely $3500+ in 1985. Took a year a half, but I knocked it off a chair when I set it down during a rehearsal and dented it.
Somebody has probably already mentioned this, but when you are removing the valve slides press the corresponding valve down.
Yup! I even mentioned how I was wrong in my trombone video 😂
Seeing the white gloves, my first thought was that the metal is not protected by a varnish layer, causing skin oils to immediately cause corrosion. (don’t know)
That's an idea. I've been using it for months now (without gloves) and so far haven't had issues there, so hopefully it's not the case.
Hello I'm a trumpet player a way to see if your valve is in correctly is the Play like you normally would but twist your valve until it starts to make sound
Yup, that's a good method :)
Hey, don't despair. Like the Bb 'alto' saxamophone (tenor sax) you bought from Temu, the trpt would make a nice lamp.
Could you tell me what song you're playing at 20:26? It's on the tip of my tongue
It hurts to admit it, but I can't come up with the name either! I've been fake playing it for years but never actually looked it up...and I can't seem to figure it out! Frustrating!!!
@@MadMusicBand I found it!!! It's called "Hungarian Rapsody n2". I remember it from the game "Looney tunes racing" and also from this clip of Tom and Jerry... You should have a look: th-cam.com/video/E1JKd1C7izQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EQTtr-fI1v-lNphC
Anyway... Thanks for the reply and keep making video man :)
@@MadMusicBand Found it!! It's called "Hungarian Rapsody n2", I remember it from "Looney tunes racing" (game for ps1) and from this clip of Tom & Jerry: th-cam.com/video/E1JKd1C7izQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Nb1Eirg5hRrl8Gp8 . Btw thanks man :)
I think, but don't quote me on it, that it's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, by Franz Liszt...
I am in orchestra but I’m still a very big fan of pretty much every instrument
When your moving the third valve slide always always always press down the third valve unless you are trying to break it
I was a trumpeter, and my first standalone mouthpiece was almost the cost of that instrument. It was a $50 mouthpiece. It looks like an okish trumpet.
Yea, it's wild you can even make a trumpet to sell for 60 bucks and make a profit at all.
9:02 I’m a trumpet player and when you just hold it it should not sound like that😂
FR i play it too and it rlly shouldn’t
@@preppyinpinkkx ikr lol
I’m a trombone player so I don’t know
I’m a trombone player so I don’t know.
10:35 As being a specialized trumpet player for four years, your gonna' need some more oil
Ok so when trying to get your valves in right all you have to do is while they are in is twist the keycap not so it will unscrew but to the point where it locks in you will know when it does
This didn't work for this trumpet- It had more than one locking point and not each was correct.
I have seen a trupmet *case* that costs as much as this thing, (and honestly, that case doesn't look half bad...not, that I would ever buy a $70 trumpet case)
Edit: I'm actually, kinda shocked this thing is made of brass, because, in the same vein as the plastic trombone, I swear I have seen plastic trumpets on amazon too (or maybe it was a plastic Euphonium) I'm amazed that they could make it for so cheap and still make it out of brass.
Edit2: In hindsight, I think that isn't too different from the "beginner" instruments you can find at a regular music shop (as you mentioned, this thing goes through fluctuations, from 140-63. That seems like the kinda price range that my very first trumpet was.) The difference being, like you said, there's no support structure for this Amazon thing.
Yup, all around. I was also surprised at just how much cheaper this way compared to even the cheapest plastic trumpets.
I really would like to see someone take a cheap trumpet and put on a good mouthpiece and replace the whole valve system. I am curious as to how much better you can make a cheap horn sound with upgrades.
You're giving me ideas ;)
As a trumpet player - I would always advise ANY student (or parent of one) to ask the teacher about an instrument to purchase. A beginner trumpet of any sort will be mostly fine - and better than what you'll likely find in a pawn shop. The used market is great - IF you know what you're looking for and a 'mentor' helps you get it. My experience with the foreign cheap horns is that China has come a long way in catching up on quality and some of these bargain horns sound quite nice. India has a long way to go - don't buy stuff from there. Rent to own from the band shop can be a good choice (make sure to have the protection plan) for kids that you have NO IDEA that they will keep up with it - otherwise you'll end up with a horn in the closet or trying to rid yourself of it on marketplace/e-bay when they quit. Also, most of the mistakes and damage you're likely to do will come with your first horn - better to learn those lessons on a cheap one than a top of the line pro model. This review for a $60 horn was OK from the aesthetic point of view, but I would have liked to seen more about the 'playability' and intonation of a standard scale. How easy is it to blow and get a note out? Are the notes on a Bb scale relatively in tune (against a tuner)? Could you get the slides working a little better with some slide grease (I like to use the stuff that trombone players use on their slides to get that 1st and 3rd slide moving easily). You didn't move the tuning slide - for that one, I'd use a thicker slide grease, or vaseline in a pinch. Incredibly important to get that tuning slide moving and teaching young players to get their ears working at staying in tune. Playing a little tune or two would have been nice to see if it sounds good or really bad. You could have invited a trumpet player to ask him what he thought of it. Still, for a 'loaner' you can't beat a $60 investment.
A lot of good points here. I definitely could have been more thorough (especially on the tuning slide, it does move fine fyi), but the video was already 20 minutes and I wanted to include the info about what I would recommend alternatively to it. I did play a concert Bb scale and a few chromatic lines, and it blows as freely as my old Yamaha student trumpet did. I personally don't think we need to be that picky about intonations etc. on a $60 horn, as that's just not that important for a beginner. From what I heard, it sounds in tune with itself to the point it's not going to hold a student back. When they get good enough that they want to start worrying about intonations between notes it would be a great time to start looking at a larger investment anyways imo. There's other videos out there that compare cheap instruments to multi thousand dollar instruments but I don't think there's much value in the comparison (other than it can be fun haha). When looking at a $60 horn the biggest thing worth noting is if it's "good enough", and honestly this one exceeded my expectations. Now we just need to see if it holds up to use over time.
@@MadMusicBand Beginners are beginners, and no, they don't hear or play things like they should, but any horn should play pretty well in tune and not have weird 'open fingering' intonation issues. Valves should move freely, slides not so important at this stage (other than the tuning one). I often wonder if kids drop an instrument because they are just frustrated with how 'bad' they sound and how hard they are to play. I know I didn't start taking things seriously until I got rid of my Bundy and got my first Benge horn.
The reason the slide is so tight because you need to press the valve to the corresponding slide and it releases pressure and makes it way easier to move.
You're totally right, I had no idea :p
I play the baritone saxophone you should do a baritone saxophone review 😊❤
In marching and jazz band, I use a 100 or so year old Cleveland trumpet (under king instruments) and it’s arguably the best sounding instrument I’ve ever played, I have a TR300, A Strad, and I’ve played a Bell BT345. None reigns king on the tone quality of the Cleveland. I bought it for 65 dollars and it’s insane
That's awesome!
Enjoying your video!!🤣🤣(love the sarcasm!) As a former trumpet player and band director, I've had a LOT of experience with ISOs. The intonation is usually horrific, and the valves can be way different, and they break. When they break, there are NO replacements parts at your local instrument repair shop. So you have to buy another one. And as I listen to you play, the tone is different on each valve. HOWEVER, it's better than nothing for kids who can't afford anything else, or to borrow one when they leave them at home or are getting a repair on their "real" horn. So, yes your wrap-up is excellent!! Rentals for decent beginner horns are cheap and service is cheap. As you mentioned, there are tons of used instruments out there...EVERYWHERE! [Caveat: I've seen some used horns online that are WAY overpriced.] Just please do not use the mouthpiece that comes with the horn. Rentals usually come with whatever you tell the dealer you want them to have. In Texas, music stores will bend over backwards for your business. Sure, beginners are gonna sound like beginners on whatever mouthpiece, but some of the off-brands I've tested over the years (even from some of the major mouthpiece companies) are wildly inconsistent, Also, every kids face and teeth are different, There isn't a "universal" mouthpiece for everyone past the first year, If they make it to second year, they will need a better instrument and a mouthpiece that fits them better. For my last years of high school private students, they used GR Tech, Laskey, and one exceptionally great Yamaha Bobby Shew Jazz model.(I had it, and it fit the student. I still have about $1200 worth of mouthpieces that I used when I could play.) VERY few students need to shell $200 for expensive brands UNLESS they are considering a music career. My apologies for this LLOONNGG trumpet post, but I still love it and wish I could still play. Finally, and you may know this already, look up the Brook-Mays Music Company lawsuit regarding ISOs. They were sued, lost $20 MILLION and went bankrupt. Thanks again for your video! I enjoyed it tremendously! And I bet your kids dig your band class!!
Thanks for the awesome comment! You make a lot of great points. I would love...LOVE to be able to sit down sometime with a bunch of different mouthpieces and just try them out, maybe I'll make that a reality some day. I'm sure I could benefit from finding one that actually fit me. I'll have to check out that lawsuit, I'm out of the loop there.
@@MadMusicBand Please do check out the lawsuit. I think the company that "allegedly" sued them was "First Act.," "allegedly." And I "allegedly" or "hypothetically" had students who bought those at a local "MegaMart," (allegedly) and some of them were unplayable (esp. WWs) and some broke within the first couple of weeks. The one you're using is better. And as to the mouthpiece issue, it would be a tremendously valuable experience to go to the local music store and first buzz the mouthpieces, take a few notes on how each one, and then play on the instrument. I can help you eliminate a bunch. In the Bach camp, the 1 1/2 C (large), 3C (great all around mp that a student could use all the way through HS and maybe college, the 5A and 5B (not as close to the same as the numbering suggests), and, if you have a very small student with very small lips, the 10 1/2 C. For Yamaha the numbers work normally, the larger the number the bigger the mp, whereas Bach is the opposite. (Sorry, I am probably telling you things you already know, but it's trumpet and I get excited about trumpet things.) Yamaha - test the 14 and 16 (no extras like "14A4A") for beginners, same for Schilke. This is, of course, just for beginners, although some of those could work in perpetuity for students who are not going to major in music. There are more "tricks' in the mouthpiece world and a great private teacher should help them change, or not, as the case may be. The custom mouthpieces are, as I mentioned, i.e. www.grmouthpieces.com/ or www.laskey.com/ (there are obviously MANY more!), are nearing $200. as I am typing this, there is a video in the sidebar comparing trumpets and cornets. Cornets are FAR easier for small beginners to hold and the more conical shape (if it's a "real" cornet - 2/3 conical). Anyway, I will share one more topic in the next comment box...
@@MadMusicBand New topic: range. It's like a drug for some of us. I'm sure you've seen lots of great instructional videos and they all (mostly!) have important points. But to make this easier on everyone (the teacher included), use the "set point" strategy.I have a TON of range information and it was on my website until I retired. The set point is only ONE aspect developing range, it may be the most crucial and the easiest to teach and learn. On day one, the most important thing to learn is how to take it out of the case, assemble the two parts, how to hold it (cheeseburger in the right hand, soft drink in the left.) WITHOUT dropping anything (watch out for the 1st and 3rd valve slides!). When that's "successful," - and this is the tricky part in SO many ways - have them remove the tuning slide carefully and lay it on the case. Teach them embouchure and airflow (both should be reinforced daily at school and at home). When you are happy with how they breath and blow through the embouchure WITHOUT the horn or mouthpiece, have them play their first notes using just the mouthpiece and the lead pipe. This puts the embouchure in its natural position for each student. It will sound horrible and the kids will laugh...at first. The pitch for trumpets is usually a little below first line E. What you are listening for is a very reedy, free and open sound, regardless of the pitch, because they are not going to match pitch...yet. Eventually, playing the mouthpiece alone, pitch matching and tone will be critical points. You can typically get most students playing 2nd line G pretty easily. And by using the lead pipe process they can usually move up to the next partial in the harmonic series. And then do it with just the mouthpiece. This brings us back to set point theory. (And I'm leaving out a bunch of teaching things, but I am sure you know them, so...) Whatever their highest COMFORTABLE note becomes the note they start on everyday with warm-ups, Some will be on 3rd space C soon if not immediately. When their highest comfy note is perfectly secure (on the mouthpiece alone and on the horn), they can move up a half step. This is a very simple but very powerful strategy that they can use forever to play as high as they want to work for. And, of course, we're using flexibility studies (always start high, go low, and back to high), scales, start on the top, play down and up, then play the top note and drop to the lower tonic and play the scale "normally" while keeping the embouchure and air set for the top note. This is a pattern that applies to all exercises and band book tunes - set for the highest note and the others will be easier. The long term goal is for G5 to be the center of their playable range. I've had some students who could nail C6 by March, some who could play G5, most beginners settle in around D5/E5. By continuing the set point process over the next couple of years, most students are comfortable with G5 to C6. (Remember they are still working on all the other trumpet/music things, just with a stable embouchure/air setting.) When C6 is totally comfy, they will be able to play D6, and maybe E6 with a little extra air pressure. OK - I've said too much, my apologies. I am sure you know most of what I said, but the set point thing I learned from Don Jacoby. It works! Best of luck. I can tell you are having FUN teaching band, something that is often lost in a competitive environment. You CAN be a great teacher AND have FUN! I would encourage you to make MORE videos! Thanks for listening!
@@johnjulian8914 I'm going to save this comment for mouthpieces :)
On the lawsuit, I actually looked it up yesterday (you got me curious!). Seems like Brooks Mays sent out a newsletter calling out First-Act instruments as "instrument shaped objects" and questioned their inability to be repaired. Pretty insane that a comment like that can be sued for such a large amount, but when you consider that they are essentially competitors you have to be more careful than that. I always have a good chuckle when I walk through the walmart tech section and see the random instruments haha. It's just so random.
@@johnjulian8914 I can't answer on everything you mentioned but I'm definitely going to come back to your comments in the future. I'd never heard of the "set point" approach before so I'll start there. Seeing other band directors commenting on this video is fun and also makes me a bit nervous for the future haha. It's always humbling to listen to others talk about their area of expertise are realize just how much we can still learn. I even consider myself to be a fairly good trumpet player and teacher, but there's so much more I could be doing! Thanks for your comments :)
What trumpet do you recommend to those of us that aren't in a band, but want a good trumpet ? I've seen them from several hundred up to several thousands of dollars. What's the best trumpet you recommend ? I used to play the trumpet. Got my Grandpa's. He got it second hand from someone else. Even the case locks (But no keys) I got kicked out of band when they figured out I couldn't read music. Teach me to read music or let me play by ear, like I was. And I could read EGBDFAC but the notes confused me. No stem, stem up, stem down, hollow notes, solid notes, flagged notes 2 flags... Then notes that weren't even on the staff.
Anyway just curious. My trumpet also did not have neither place on the slides to adjust. The adjustments were there but the rings and hardware were missing, and likely why I got singled out to play solo. Because I was slightly off pitch and when I didn't hear what to play, I couldn't play it. So that's how he caught me. And instead of being a teacher, he was just a jerk and threw me out of band. He could have at very least stay in class to learn, or teach me when other students weren't around. It still bothers me after all these years.
That's a shame, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I didn't learn to read music until college, and it's not because I was unwilling to learn, I just wasn't ever expected to do it, which isn't great.
As for trumpet it just depends on what you want to pay. Honestly, to try out trumpet again and get your feet wet I think this trumpet would work fine. If you had the money and know you were going to stick with it, is look for a student level Yamaha or something similar. Used you could find them under $500. That's what I learned on and used for many years until it finally died on me last year.
Very interesting and well presented.
Thanks! :)
I was wondering your opinion on a trumpet for me I play trumpet and am currently reaching the top of the staff but my trumpet is broken and I'm looking for a new horn that's good because I'm looking for a career long term but don't want to spend more than 500 on one any advice on a good trumpet.
My safest suggestion would be a Yamaha YTR-2330 from Thomann for $495. www.thomannmusic.com/yamaha_ytr2330.htm Yamaha is about as safe as they come. For a bit more of a risky play, but cheaper, I've heard good things about Jean Paul horns but haven't personally tried them myself. amzn.to/4gS62OP (affiliate link on that one ❤️) that's the intermediate level version, but they also make an even cheaper student level if you want to go even cheaper. I'll need to try one out myself sometime.
I thought this was froggy fresh/ crispy creamy when I saw the thumb nail
It would have been nice to have a real trumpet player demo it for the video. Just FYI: two big things define a trumpet. The first is the first 18" of plumbing, the second is whether the valves work. Listening to you, it sounded like the first 18" were just fine. The tuning was consistent over the range of the horn with no obvious dead spots. I have a suspicion that China has measured and now mass produces lead pipes swiped from a couple of very good American manufacturers. The issue of the valves. First: whether they actually physically line up in the horn itself and secondly whether they go up and down predictably. Again, just listening, it sounded like they did line up reasonably. The up and down part will only be known over time. A student that cares for and cleans often will most likely make something of this horn. A student that doesn't cares for and never cleans will most likely make trash of this horn in a couple of weeks.
I do sort of consider myself a "fake" trumpet player, but is there anything specific you'd have wanted to actually hear from the horn that I didn't demonstrate or is it just that you'd want a second opinion from a "pro"? I'm definitely not a trumpet pro, that's for sure. Throw a marimba at me and we'll talk ;)
14:42 double c are you kidding me??
😉😏😎🤗🫡
@@MadMusicBand get his man at blue devils! awsome vid keep it up!
"I'm not seeing, like, a big dent." *proceeds to put to 2nd valve flat down on the table, which causes dents*
Someone on Reddit pointed this out to me too, and I had never been taught or had that pointed out before, but it makes total sense. If anything comes from this video at least I learned not to do that!
Its crazy they can actually sell a functioning horn with a case, mouth piece and accessories for $60. The materials alone seem to cost more than that. I guarantee a skilled trumpeter can make this horn sound very good.
I agree, any working horn for $60 seems like a great deal
What about Carol Brass Instruments.. good bad, or indifferent?
Never played one, but I'd love to try one eventually
I appreciate that I'm late to the party with this comment but, here goes!
I have what appears to be the same instrument but bought from Aldi (a German supermarket chain) here in Australia.
My main horn, a Bach Stradivarius, sits in its case ready to go to weekly concert or big band rehearsals and I'm not diligent enough to go and get it and rehearse.
My Aldi horn sits next to my desk in my office and when I'm done on my paperwork for the day I can grab it and easily get some 'lip time' in. It sits there, on a stand, with the same mouthpiece that I usually play, ready to go.
Is my Bach a better instrument, absolutely! Is it 20 times better, absolutely not. I actually find that practicing on the Aldi trumpet makes me appreciate the quality of the Bach in a way that I never did before and there is no question that I practice more now than I ever did prior to owning this instrument.
Sure, there are definitely reasons to upgrade as one progresses but as a starter instrument I think you could do a lot worse.
BTW - apologies if this has already been covered in the comments but the numbers on the valve stem need to face the player/mouthpiece when reinstalling to ensure correct alignment the first time! That whole section was painful to watch as the clear implication was that there was something wrong with the horn when, in reality, anyone playing the instrument for as long as the reviewer clearly has should really have know better.
Aldi it basically a grocery store here haha, it'd be wild to find a trumpet there. As to the valve numbers, I've had students come up to me with valves that didn't even have numbers, so I didn't take for granted that the numbers on an Amazon cheapy horn would actually be in any specific place. I just looked, and the 3 and the J (2...) are both facing the player, while the 1 is about at the 5 o clock position (so it's close).
@@MadMusicBand - Aldi is certainly mainly a grocery store here too but they also have a general merchandise area that rotates every couple of weeks through items like tech (TVs etc), camping gear, tools, homeware and clothes etc. About once every six months or so musical instruments come around and they'll have trumpets, clarinets, flutes, guitars, electronic drum kits, music stands and some other smaller items in stock. All very affordably priced (the trumpet is generally $150.00 AUD).
I had an Academy trumpet like this. I think they sold at Costco. Thin brass, played OK, slides were gummed shut. Still, even a 30-year-old Yamaha student trumpet played better. $20 to buy used, $20 to sell used. Most of these don't have parts, but what's not mentioned is that for woodwinds, like clarinets, saxophones, or flutes, the cheaper keys bend too easily for a shop to guarantee the work will stay the way the shop set it. For brasswinds, like trumpets, trombones, or horns, the brass is usually thin, and splits in odd ways when damaged. The valve oil that comes with them is always a step below-grade, and anything else will make the valves move smoother. The white gloves are sometimes used by technicians to assemble these instruments without leaving fingerprints, but these gloves are always way too small to be useful. The cases will last 1-3 months before a zipper breaks, the valves will go up to 2 years before something bad happens to them, and the slides will usually be stuck unless they're greased within a month of purchase. Enjoy.
Just thinking of buying an instrument at Costco is wild to me. Cheap woodwinds are a lot more risky imo than cheap brass, there's just so much more that can go wrong with them.
@@MadMusicBand Indeed. At least in North America, Gemeinhardt flutes, Armstrong or Vito clarinets, and Jupiter saxes are good enough quality that saving $100 by buying a new "whatever" instrument makes very little sense over buying the brands I trust used.
Me realizing that this is the excact trumpet ive been playing for 5 years...
Edit: If you face the numbers on the valves towards you, the air wont get trapped and you can play freely
Glad to hear it has lasted 5 years for you!
If your band ever plays outdoors in winter (think Santa Claus Parade!) tell the kid to keep the gloves.
Ha! I don't think they'd be very warm...at least not for the winters we have here. Better than nothing I guess 😜
@@MadMusicBand if they get your hands off the metal, it makes life a lot better.
Outstanding content!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@MadMusicBand We have a small community band (three trumpet/flugelhorn/altohorn mix/match, french horn, trombone/euphonium mix/match, clarinet and me on the tuba/euphonium mix/match) and my wife is learning to play drums (at 59-years-old) since we need percussion. This method absolutely resonated with her. She's working on your vids and having fun with them. Thanks!
@@wcgdenmasterken3431 That's awesome to hear! Tell your wife good luck for me, and I'm glad that my videos are helping you! I made the "cheat beat" videos because I knew that 13 year old me would have loved to be able to play with something like that; I nerd out a bit hearing that other people are enjoying them as well :) Thanks for letting me know!
Would be interesting if you have this to a number of players without telling them what or how much it is and see what they think….
I was thinking it would be fun to blindfold people and have them play multiple different horns expensive to cheap, and then see what they think... I'd need some expensive horns first 😂
I know thw feeling. I bought cheap Keyboard melodicas from China for piano class students who had no keyboard at home during the pandemic zoom class period.
We've got some melodicas in our music room as well, they are surprisingly affordable for how fun they are :). Good on you for having that idea during Covid...I tried to teach a full band rehearsal on Zoom the first week of Covid.....it went about as well as you'd expect.
Do a cheap french horn test next please! 😅
Next is flute (sorry! 😂) I'd love to get to French horn soon though!
@@MadMusicBand Flute will be interesting too! :D
Would this be fine just to use during marching season ?
I'd say that would be the perfect use for it.
The gloves are for marching band 🎺🧤 ??? Sounds like a trumpet to my woodwind ears 🤪🎷👂
"Seriously tho my kids are sleeping I shouldn't be playing this horn right now."
*Continues to play the horn*
Btw I'm 21 and I used to play trombone back in middle school thru high school and it was fun till I didn't have an instrument to play anymore so I started playing piano. Anyways I got my little brother to be in the band and he's still in the process of learning how to play the trumpet, and I want to learn as well. So, I'm getting me a cheap trumpet and I will get an expensive one when I improve. Thx to this video, I now want to know more about playing the trumpet.
👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
That's awesome! I hope it works well for you :)
Also...haven't woken a kid yet recording a video, fingers crossed 😂
@@MadMusicBand 😂😂
This seems to be the same as cheap guitars. The super cheap ones are usable, but around $200-300 is the sweet spot for a beginner, going off other comments. My first (and currently only) guitar was $240. It’s a real workhorse, probably has around 200-300 hours and a couple upgrades on it after 9 months or so and plays 10x better than it did when I got it. Have no idea about horns though because the only wind instrument experience I have was 3rd-5th grade mandatory recorder lol.
I want to look at recorders soon as well lol. Guitars are something else completely, there's just so many different brands, kinds, etc. I wouldn't even know where to start.
@@MadMusicBand Squier sonic/affinity series guitars are the best for the price ($200-$300), only Ibanez really compares, but most of Ibanez’ sub $700 guitars are more metal/shred focused. I don’t know anything about recorders though lol