Trumpet guy

Well, if you can tell the difference, then it does matter. Even If you're on a limited budget, save and get a better instrument later. Don't just blow money on cheap stuff because that's all you have at the time. If you really need the Alto for a performance soon then get it, but otherwise, hold off for a better brand (especially that compensating one if you're really conscious about tuning)

P.S. there are no "bad" horns when it comes to Yamahas and other reputable brands, only good horns, better horns, and fantastic horns. Any non compensating baritone or Euphonium would be hard to tune

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Equipment
Bach Stradivarius 180S37 - Bach 3C
Bach TR300 - Bach 3C
Berkeley Cornet
Berkeley Picc - Vincent Bach Corp. Mt.Vernon 10 1/2 DW
Jupiter JST314 Soprano Trombone - 3C/B Megatone

Euphoniumlord

Alright I think I will take your word for it. I have a lot to think about right now. Thanks for your sage advice!

Hairy James

Here's some good advice for everyone when shopping for any Trumpet
online :
Keep in mind: "Instructor approved," "Not a throw away," "German type," "Phosphorus Copper Lead Pipe," "It has a serial number!", "This is a genuine," "This is not a Cheap imitation","Wholesale","Bankruptcy'' or "You won't find a better Instrument at this price," "One year Warranty", or displayed religious symbols. .etc.. means absolutely nothing on a website or anywhere else and infact is a Big Red Flag!!! Remember just because a Cheap Bargain Trumpet looks great doesn't mean its a good instrument and all that glitters is not Gold, in fact it most likely is pot metal a combination of Lead & Copper! Low end cheap Trumpets with names you have never heard of usually are unrepairable because of the metal quality and music stores don't carry the parts for good reason. Most of these "Instruments" are made in 3rd World sweatshops in India, Pakistan & Mainland China by the same company and sold under different names, most of them European sounding. Some intentionally have names very similar to a quality brand name to trick you! Do research on any Trumpet brand you want to buy and the seller. Any reputable Musical Instrument manufacturer should have their own website, distributors and sell their product in music stores not just on the Internet. Are there any reviews or complaints on the web? Where are they made? Is the shipping cost overly high and what's the return policy if they send you an inferior instrument? Are you stuck with paying their overpriced shipping, handling and probably a hefty restocking fee not to mention your time and cost to send it back if its no good? The Seller has nothing to lose and everything to gain even if you ship it back! Forget about the positive feedback, most customers see a beautiful looking Trumpet which arrives quickly and they immediately leave positive feedback and don't realize they have an inferior "instrument" till it falls apart a couple months later. They never think to go back to leave the new negative feedback to warn others or they are afraid they will receive retaliatory feedback. So be sure to throughly check for any and all feedback about defective merchandise whether its a Trumpet or any other instrument they sell. If the Instruments are high quality there is very little chance of ever hearing such feedback because they are always inspected before being sent out by any reputable Manufacturer. If you read any promised supplies are missing with the order or that they are inferior is another sign of non inspection & bad quality control. Be aware another sign is when a customer complains they received a poorly made Instrument the seller replies contact us it must have been damaged during shipping. Sometimes they blame the customer for mishandling it or reply: "Best Quality at this price" This means: Did you expect a decent trumpet for what you paid? Another red flag is if the Seller has left rude feedback on the buyer's feedback page who has a legitimate complaint.

Schilke player

I have wondered what it would be like to play a nickel plated laquered C trumpet that costs $129.00. Would it contain lead that would be hazardous to your health like smoking? :) I was in a Mexican restaurant the other day and one of the Mariachi group was playing a shiny red trumpet. I dont know what it was made out of but it sounded like a trumpet. I dont know how much adjusting he had to do to play in tune;maybe he didnt care. But the red trumpet I guess was mejor que nada with his particular budget.

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David E. Harris, D.M.A.
Brentwood/Nashville, TN

Schilke B2, Beryllium bell
Schilke 13A4a (goldplate)
Schilke 13A4 rim (silverplate) on Bob Reeves ES 692sL underpart.

www.MySpace.com/DavidHarristrumpet

Trumpet guy

The red color is due to a tinted lacquer. As a general rule the coolored ones that sell on ebay are to be left alone (because the coloring is meant to attract customers as a compensation for it's lack of quality). But it's not impossible (more like fairly easy) to find a technician to lacquer your trumpet with the tint. There is little to no change in the sound unless the amount of lacquer applied is as thick as on a student horn (which it shouldn't be). Just because an instrument is "colored" doesn't mean it's automatically inferior (unless you buy it from some unknown name on eBay).

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Equipment
Bach Stradivarius 180S37 - Bach 3C
Bach TR300 - Bach 3C
Berkeley Cornet
Berkeley Picc - Vincent Bach Corp. Mt.Vernon 10 1/2 DW
Jupiter JST314 Soprano Trombone - 3C/B Megatone

Darthsunshine

Now you HAVE turned to the dark side!

Darth

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Glen

1976 Benge 3X+
1952 Olds Ambassador Trumpet
1951 Olds Ambassador Cornet
1938 King Master Model Cornet

Bonasa

Keep doing what you're doing: I think frank discussions like this thread on forums like this are the best way to rid the marketplace of dishonest sellers and inferior products. True, there will always be buyers too ignorant or too lazy to do the research on what they're buying and whom they're buying from, but I don't think they deserve our pity or sympathy. I mean, really, how hard is it to type the words "buy Selman trumpet" into Google and see what comes up--including, presumably, this thread? Yes, the Web has made it easy for scam artists to bilk people by selling inferior products, but it has also made readily available tons of information to educate buyers before they make their decision. There's simply no excuse for an uninformed buyer, if he or she has access to the Web. And, yes, shoddy products and dishonest sellers will always be with us as long as there are uninformed buyers. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Jimi Michiel

Guys, this is out of left field, but I did a gig with a guy a few months ago who was playing a Selman B-flat that he had gotten on eBay. I didn't recognize it, so I asked him what it was and he told me. I played a few notes and, to be completely honest, I wasn't completely turned off. I had to do some adjusting to get the pitch in line, and it didn't project much, but for fifty or a hundred bucks, I'd get one to keep it in my trunk or (god forbid) march with. I would have never known the guy who had it was not playing a pro horn.

That having been said, the construction looked pretty shoddy, and I can't imagine the plating is too good, but all in all, cheap Chinese knockoffs have come a long way. Truth be told, dollar for dollar you get a lot more value with a Selman than you do a Bach.

-Jimi

PS. I'm not defending what seems to be a very fishy eBay seller. I get more wary of eBay each day... But if WWBW starts selling these things, even for a little more, I'm in...

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CHAMP

or a monette?

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POW!!!

Trumpet guy

Well coming from the that same Ebay, you can get a used Bach Strad at any time for around 600-700 dollars (and a fairly good one at that).

Also although, I have never played one, I've heard that Selman is one of the "good" chinese brands alongside Jupiter. That being said, it seems that leaves Selman in the mid intermediate range and a really good player can make it sound good.

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Equipment
Bach Stradivarius 180S37 - Bach 3C
Bach TR300 - Bach 3C
Berkeley Cornet
Berkeley Picc - Vincent Bach Corp. Mt.Vernon 10 1/2 DW
Jupiter JST314 Soprano Trombone - 3C/B Megatone