Hi Rowuk,
The horn I have is perfectly adequate for now, and maybe will be forever - it's a mid-1950s Olds Ambassador (a Fullerton - nothing for the vintage folks to get excited about. Raw brass, with only the slightest of dents in the bell.)
Shortly before Christmas I was tempted by the offer of a good deal on a beautiful (looking and sounding) Getzen that actually intimidated me a bit - beginners should not be entrusted with horns like that, it's almost indecent. Anyway, I remember your writing a while back about teaching your beginning students how to test horns when out shopping for their first "real" one - around $500, I think the level was. That was the procedure I was intending to ask you about, when the time comes.
At this point, it's the player that's the weak element in this horn-player system: I can't hear that I sound any different on a Bach Strad, so buying a new horn is obviously no necessity. But if I keep at my scales (long tones, lip slurs, pedal tones...) there may come a time when it will make sense to start trying out others. All in good time.
Next day: I just came across your thread
http://www.trumpetmaster.com/vb/f139...ces-30829.html (Trumpet Design-Our Experiences) with people's descriptions of their horns. This is a good starting point for thinking about what parameters are important and how to test them.