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Hiwiller · 03-10-2005, 01:58 PM

Hi Rupren,

I can only give you my personal experience with one I picked up cheap. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews, even for the ones that seem to get decent feedback by those who have purchased them (the Jupiter horns on wwbw.com for instance) so I was hesitant to spend even the $400-$500 on those.

The main issue I've heard with these horns is intonation, especially for the cheap "chinese made horns". (I've quoted it because the ones getting decent reviews these days are supposedly also made in China). I would not be as confident with the lower priced Chinese models and would completely avoid the VERY inexpensive Indian made horns you see on eBay. In short, I would avoid something selling new for under $100.

Other issues deal with bad valves, bad joints, etc.

That said, here are my thoughts about my recently purchased, used, Jean Baptiste pocket trumpet (that I'm convinced is identical to the new Jupter horns):

Sound quality: much thinner than my Bach but not awful. Projects nicely when I push it.

Comfort: takes a bit of getting used to 1. playing with your right thumb about 1 inch from your chin. 2. hearing the sound from the bell much closer to your ears. 3. not having a 1st valve slide to adjust 4. figuring out how to hold the horn with your left hand (5. after a week on this tiny thing, switching back to your regular sized horn feels like your fingers are a mile from your face

)

Pitch: with tuning slide all the way in, 3rd space C (concert Bb) is very close to my Bach with the slide in. Problem is that the C an octave lower is oddly flat to this pitch and difficult to lip up. Strangely, pulling the tuning slide a quarter inch affects the middle and upper register more than the low so it brings everything into a better pitch alignment.

Response, slotting, etc: horn is pretty free blowing with good resistance (really the reason I got this when traveling so I could get that real horn resistance). Seems pretty tight. Response is suprisingly good and the biggest surprise was slotting in the upper register. I found it almost better than my Bach

Workmanship: slide joints seem like they weren't lapped very well at the factory, needed to work them a bit with copious grease and oil to get them to move somewhat easily. Don't think I'm gonna be using the 3rd valve slide very often. Solder joints look clean from the outside but haven't run a scope to see what's on the inside. One valve is a bit sticky, maybe needs to be broken in to my "push angle" as the horn was light used if at all when I bought it. I'll try some Blue Juice or something if it continues. Again, not playing COV on this thing, just something to blow on the road.

Hope that helps. Again, this represents ONE horn and recall that even with Bach's, there are lemons and quality varies from time to time with changes in production so maybe I got a lucky one.

03-10-2005, 01:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
Hiwiller New Friend Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: near Cleveland, OH, USA Posts: 33	Hi Rupren, I can only give you my personal experience with one I picked up cheap. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews, even for the ones that seem to get decent feedback by those who have purchased them (the Jupiter horns on wwbw.com for instance) so I was hesitant to spend even the $400-$500 on those. The main issue I've heard with these horns is intonation, especially for the cheap "chinese made horns". (I've quoted it because the ones getting decent reviews these days are supposedly also made in China). I would not be as confident with the lower priced Chinese models and would completely avoid the VERY inexpensive Indian made horns you see on eBay. In short, I would avoid something selling new for under $100. Other issues deal with bad valves, bad joints, etc. That said, here are my thoughts about my recently purchased, used, Jean Baptiste pocket trumpet (that I'm convinced is identical to the new Jupter horns): Sound quality: much thinner than my Bach but not awful. Projects nicely when I push it. Comfort: takes a bit of getting used to 1. playing with your right thumb about 1 inch from your chin. 2. hearing the sound from the bell much closer to your ears. 3. not having a 1st valve slide to adjust 4. figuring out how to hold the horn with your left hand (5. after a week on this tiny thing, switching back to your regular sized horn feels like your fingers are a mile from your face ) Pitch: with tuning slide all the way in, 3rd space C (concert Bb) is very close to my Bach with the slide in. Problem is that the C an octave lower is oddly flat to this pitch and difficult to lip up. Strangely, pulling the tuning slide a quarter inch affects the middle and upper register more than the low so it brings everything into a better pitch alignment. Response, slotting, etc: horn is pretty free blowing with good resistance (really the reason I got this when traveling so I could get that real horn resistance). Seems pretty tight. Response is suprisingly good and the biggest surprise was slotting in the upper register. I found it almost better than my Bach Workmanship: slide joints seem like they weren't lapped very well at the factory, needed to work them a bit with copious grease and oil to get them to move somewhat easily. Don't think I'm gonna be using the 3rd valve slide very often. Solder joints look clean from the outside but haven't run a scope to see what's on the inside. One valve is a bit sticky, maybe needs to be broken in to my "push angle" as the horn was light used if at all when I bought it. I'll try some Blue Juice or something if it continues. Again, not playing COV on this thing, just something to blow on the road. Hope that helps. Again, this represents ONE horn and recall that even with Bach's, there are lemons and quality varies from time to time with changes in production so maybe I got a lucky one.