The boy starts band next month. Just missed a dirt cheap Bach Strad, and of course now there are no Yamahas or Olds horns on Craigslist in the area. I can find some on ebay, but you can't fondle the valves to see how worn or sticky they really are.
Anyone got a decent horn to sell cheaply?
I will not buy one of those junk purple or orange horns on ebay, no matter how cool he thinks they look.
I've got one that has been turned into a lamp... 
I have a Prestini . If you want it PM me.
I got a bugle at Harbor Freight once. Does that count?
You never know how long the trumpet is going to hold his interest, so you might want to check the nearby music stores to see if you could rent one. Might cost you $15-$20 a month and if he really wants to continue with it, they'll most likely have a purchase plan. If he loses interest, you're not out any real money.
I think BJ's Warehouse Club has starter kits for about $150. I've seen beginner clarinets, trumpets, etc in the pawn shops for under $100. Then its a matter of getting it checked out by a music store. Mainly to repair worn parts. Not sure about trumpets, but clarinets need the pads changed and valves( can't think of the right term) every so often.
Rats, I just sold a Conn with a Bach mouthpiece for $15. I wish I knew....
I have a single french horn sitting around as junior upgraded to a double french horn.
we rented a violin for his fourth grade year and then went to the french horn since his school had no strings in their orchestra.
we bought him a $1700 double french horn 8 years ago that he still plays weekly in a church orchestra.
I would remind him about the base starter 240Z I could have bought for $1700......I agree to rent for the first year.
Debbie's got a point. As young'un my parents rented a sax and then a trumpet for me. They also rented one for my brother who only played when he had company, gave it up for baseball.
Dan
I planned on renting, but between the damage rider and the length of the rental contract, I can buy a good used Yamaha horn for less money.
If only I'd have asked earlier and gotten 914's $15 Conn. Ah well.
I didn't even know Prestini make trumpets.
Yah, rent vs. buy. A perennial puzzler. I usually go with "buy." Try to find a decent used one. If he sticks with it, you can always get him a nicer one.
I'd stay away from the cheap new stuff. I bought my 7-year old a "First Act" or whatever it's called electric guitar for like 60 bucks and it's absolute garbage. Wish I'd have put that money toward something used.
On rent vs. buy:
Are trumpets anything like guitars where you can buy a cheap one for $100 that has ridiculously high action and hurts fingers to play, but can get a "good' cheap one for $250? The $100 guitar would discourage lots of kids from playing, whereas the $250 would help them stick with it. If the cheap ones can play well, go with that and buy it.
Also, from what I've seen with guitars and mandolins--and that is a lot, at least 10 come and go from my house a year--instruments don't lose their value if condition is kept constant. If you buy it and jr. doesn't like it, sell it back.
Yamaha, from what I've seen with guitars and piano's/keyboards, is a very good value. It might be cheap and nothing special, but at least it is quality.
Also, again I don't know anything about trumpets, but I'm going to assume (make an ass of me) that its similar to guitars.
Just to reiterate and clarify, a $100 dollar new guitar is absolute junk. A $250 new guitar is probably pretty decent. Nothing special, but it will play well enough. A $250 used guitar can get you into a damn good instrument. Upgrade that $150, when you look at it as a percentage of the price of "really good" instruments, its nothing.
I don't know where Westminster, Md is, unfortunately $100 - $150 seems about market price.
Pawn shops?
http://westmd.craigslist.org/msg/1906463232.html
http://frederick.craigslist.org/msg/1924263926.html
Brass instruments aren't quite like that.
My family has owned a music store for a long time.
There are some brass instruments which are recognized as special- tone, action, etc. They hold or gain value (like my Dad's Bach he recently sold for $3500).
Others aren't really worth the metal they are made of. We make lamps out of those.
My 30 year old Buffet Tenor saxophone is worth about $1500.
My 108 year old gold plated Conn Soprano Saxophone is apparently worth very little (except to me).
A decent playable Baritone sax in almost any condition is worth upwards of $3k.
Go figgar...
SVreX wrote:Brass instruments aren't quite like that.
My family has owned a music store for a long time.
There are some brass instruments which are recognized as special- tone, action, etc. They hold or gain value (like my Dad's Bach he recently sold for $3500).
Others aren't really worth the metal they are made of. We make lamps out of those.
Is this Prestini a good entry level horn or lamp fodder?
I'm not familiar with a Prestini.
If the price is right... what the heck. It's not hard to upgrade if his interest grows.
Generally, I'd say stick with the name brands- Yamaha, Bach, Conn, maybe Olds. In starter horns your money is like money in the bank in most of these. Earning 0% interest, but still there.
Does he play yet? Then get him something he's comfortable with.
Yamaha is a pretty good starter horn for the price, with room to grow for more advanced players.
racinginc215 wrote:she's now playing a 1912 Carl Fischer Senator.
That's a nice horn.
Don't tell her I said so.
Absolutely no need to start a new player out on a top of the line horn... at that level a good basic starter Conn or the like will suffice... upgrade to a better horn as he progresses and matures. Heck, I never felt the need to upgrade to a Strad and I've played for decades.
The big flea market at Harpers Ferry generally has a handful of good solid starter horns available... sometimes really cheap. I bet the drive in flea market up on 15 does as well...
And it's common to find them in antique stores, too, but they are generally overpriced.
Good luck! Bill
I forgot all about that Harpers Ferry flea market. Haven't been to it in years.
I used to play the cornet myself, and love their sound. But the young'n seems to have been seduced by the trumpet itself. He's not getting any airs or such, just thinks the trumpet sounds brighter, and he likes that. Shesh kid, can't you wait until you've been playing before you start discriminating?
Pawn shops seem convinced trumpets are made of solid gold. Cheapest I found was $600.
This miss almost makes me cry. But then, it probably would make me cry to watch an elementary school kid bang it around. I did speak to the guy, it really was a Strad, and was in good shape. $65 Bach Stradivarius
Flugelhorn?? 
mmm :( i miss my flugel :(... but i miss my courtois 311 phantom more then anything (so much nicer playing and sounding then a bach strad)
anyway... for a starter i'd recomend a small to med bore cornet... easier to hold, easier to play, and smoother tone...
honestly the bright tone of the trumpet won't be found within the first year or 2 (or likely more)...
if a trumpet is a must then it sounds like you know what you are looking for... an inexpensive but decent looking yammy, bach (bundy), or conn or olds that has fairly smooth valves and slides will likley be fine after a good bath and scrubbing... and if they keep playing it will make a good marching horn in HS...
