ubieday

Let's be clear, here -- we are talking about the relatively new Challenger line of B&S trumpets, not the older B&S trumpets, rotary and otherwise. The Challenger line is very good, sometimes very very good. They are worth a try. I have owned a few challenger Bb's, a Beautiful C trumpet, and a flugelhorn. They all played very well. Look at challenger-trumpets.com. B&S trumpets have many different names etched into the bell, from accent to allora, to gerhard schneider, to many others. In fact, the Cannonball trumpets are actually a B&S challenger trumpet, built to slightly different specs. So they are worth looking into -- not to be overlooked. And bear in mind that they are made by the same group that produces Scherzer trumpets. They are mass produced, and some are better than others. Much like with Bachs. In my experience, no one does mass production as well as Yamaha, but not everyone prefers that sound. I strongly preferred my B&S C trumpet to my Yamaha heavywall C...

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"The right way is the easy way." Herbert L. Clarke

BudBix

I'll throw a vote in for a Yamaha Xeno if you can't get a Bach. I have no experience with B&S and a Xeno would be a good place to start on C. Lot's of Internet stores have them in stock with trial periods. I have a Bach 229/25S and tried a Xeno C and it was easier playing than my horn.

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Men govern nothing with more difficulty than their tongues, and can moderate their desires more than their words. - Baruch Spinoza

jflores

Thanks a lot for the help everyone. I'll definitely read over all of these replies a few more times before heading out to the bay area and maybe even San Diego.

I did find a Bach C with a 239 bell/25H leadpipe. Is the 239 very different from the 229?

Thanks again

TheRiddler

Im letting my 239 standard pipe go - Rent doesn't pay itself...

I'm posting it on eBay this weekend... if you're interested, check it out!

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Kunst kommt nicht von können, sondern von müssen.

jflores

Well I hit up Bronstein Music in the Bay Area this weekend and got myself:
Bach Strad 239G (gold brass) bell with a 25A pipe. I played about 10 different horns from shops in SF and Oakland and fell in love with this one. I know everyone says 229 with a 25H pipe, but I can't help it, this one felt really good to play on. Thanks to all the advice from everyone!

Richard Oliver

J,

Glad you found a horn you really like. I've heard 1st hand from some people that they prefer the Adelstein leadpipe.

I bet she's a sweet horn.

Happy Day,

Richard Oliver

mwlezien

I have been all over the C trumpet realm it feels like (Bach 229G RL, Xeno, Blackburn) and now I find myself going back to Bach. Its a good place to start and there is alot of customizing you can do to the horn as you grow.