Brass Trumpets......

[SeanLR]

There's always been an itch I've wanted to scratch and at a young age I always knew I was a bit 'different' from my mates. I was the 'uncool one' They wanted to sing in a punk band, play drums, rock guitar, pop synth.... whereas I leant towards singing soul ballads, sax, the classic DX electric piano sounds etc. etc.

Regardless of my moniker of being 'uncool', I thought I was REALLY cool and I'm pleased to say I stuck with MY kind of cool, loved it, and am still doing it, but I ALWAYS wanted to give the trumpet a go. I'm not suggesting I will give Gerard Presencer or Rick Braun a run for their money, but I can dream. Here's a bit of Rick Braun 'duelling' with Boney James:

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My question is, where do I start? I'd love to invest in a decent instrument to learn on. There are sooo many instrument names out there, that I fear just buying a 'Yamaha' doesn't mean it's a good place to start. Ask most of us about sax, and we all know what is what, but trumpet?? Any suggestions would be most welcome !!

Thanks

 

[GCinCT]

I suggest you ask this question on a trumpet forum.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The p trumpet has had good reviews. Check you tube. Gear4music had the p cornet on sale a while back and the p bone.

 

[Nikki]

My brother plays trumpet and he’s pretty good.
It’s a beautiful instrument. Good luck scratching your itch. Lol.

 

[SeanLR]

I suggest you ask this question on a trumpet forum.

Yes, I thought of this, but most players will give you their own preferred brand above everything else, rather than what is actually 'good' for a doubler or a new player. "Oh, don't get a Getzen, they fall apart....." or "Steer well clear of Jupiter, sticky valves...." I'm sure you know what I mean, as we read on many forums, good instruments are overlooked soley on biased or limited experience opinions. Either that, or you get "Dude, use the search function..."

As we are primarily sax players, it would be interesting to hear what works for sax players as doublers, or what their band mates play on.

 

[SeanLR]

The p trumpet has had good reviews. Check you tube. Gear4music had the p cornet on sale a while back and the p bone.

Colin, thank you. These look ideal as they're much cheaper than a brass trumpet. Should things not work out, the financial impact would be minimal.

 

[Greg Strange]

I play the trumpet as well as saxes, flute, clarinet, guitars, keyboards, drums & percussion etc. The trumpet I use is a John Packer JP251SWS which I imported from the UK 9 years ago. Ironically I purchased the horn on-line from Just Flutes based in Croydon. I played the trumpet and other brass instruments from the age of 9 but gave up after a few years, and then played saxophones for over 30 years. The reason I purchased the John Packer was because it got good reviews and a cheaper alternative to get back into playing the trumpet. At the time of purchase I worked with a guy who was a pro-quality trumpet player and he tried the horn and thought it was very good for the money. This guy owned some good horns like a Benge from the 1970s, a Yamaha 6335 James Morrison model, a Yamaha Custom Bobby Shew, and a B&S Challenger II.

When I bought the JP251SWS it was John Packer's top trumpet and then it was superseded by their 351SWS model. I play a Vincent Bach 7C mouthpiece which is a good all round mouthpiece...

A couple of videos featuring the JP251SWS...

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Good luck...

Greg S.

 

[GCinCT]

Yes, I thought of this, but most players will give you their own preferred brand above everything else, rather than what is actually 'good' for a doubler or a new player. "Oh, don't get a Getzen, they fall apart....." or "Steer well clear of Jupiter, sticky valves...." I'm sure you know what I mean, as we read on many forums, good instruments are overlooked soley on biased or limited experience opinions. Either that, or you get "Dude, use the search function..."

As we are primarily sax players, it would be interesting to hear what works for sax players as doublers, or what their band mates play on.

Okay, I see where you're coming from here. I bought a pCornet from Gear4Music about a month ago just for fun. I didn't mention it because I don't know enough about brass instruments to really comment. It's fun, inexpensive and seems like a decent instrument for a beginner. As @Colin the Bear said, the pTrumpet has gotten generally good reviews.

 

[Clivey]

Does the P trumpet,cornet also have a plastic mouthpiece? I stopped playing brass simply as I could not stand the cold metal against lips, never really enjoyed my Berg either which was the one and only metal piece I have played seriously.
I could be tempted by an all plastic cornet ,Rex Stewart stylee. I can dream.
Ok did check. These are really inexpensive horns and indeed have plastic mouthpieces I will be taking a look at video reviews for more info

 

[Greg Strange]

Does the P trumpet,cornet also have a plastic mouthpiece? I stopped playing brass simply as I could not stand the cold metal against lips, never really enjoyed my Berg either which was the one and only metal piece I have played seriously.
I could be tempted by an all plastic cornet ,Rex Stewart stylee. I can dream.
Ok did check. These are really inexpensive horns and indeed have plastic mouthpieces I will be taking a look at video reviews for more info

Looks like they could be plastic...

pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet, Orange at Gear4music

pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet, Orange at Gear4music

www.gear4music.com

The ptrombone looks like a lot of fun...maybe another purchase on the horizon...

Greg S.

 

[SeanLR]

I play the trumpet as well as saxes, flute, clarinet, guitars, keyboards, drums & percussion etc. The trumpet I use is a John Packer JP251SWS which I imported from the UK 9 years ago. Ironically I purchased the horn on-line from Just Flutes based in Croydon. I played the trumpet and other brass instruments from the age of 9 but gave up after a few years, and then played saxophones for over 30 years. The reason I purchased the John Packer was because it got good reviews and a cheaper alternative to get back into playing the trumpet. At the time of purchase I worked with a guy who was a pro-quality trumpet player and he tried the horn and thought it was very good for the money. This guy owned some good horns like a Benge from the 1970s, a Yamaha 6335 James Morrison model, a Yamaha Custom Bobby Shew, and a B&S Challenger II.

When I bought the JP251SWS it was John Packer's top trumpet and then it was superseded by their 351SWS model. I play a Vincent Bach 7C mouthpiece which is a good all round mouthpiece...

Good luck...

Greg S.

Greg, thanks for some really good insight. After your reply I'm looking at the JP251SW right now. I'm guessing it's the same as the SWS but LQ finish rather than silver? It looks like these can be picked up for not much more than a p trumpet. Those video links are great and shows what a good player can achieve on a relatively low cost instrument.

If it were a sax I would go out and grab a Yamaha, but it seems it doesn't work like that in the world of trumpets.

Thanks again

 

[SeanLR]

Does the P trumpet,cornet also have a plastic mouthpiece? I stopped playing brass simply as I could not stand the cold metal against lips, never really enjoyed my Berg either which was the one and only metal piece I have played seriously.
I could be tempted by an all plastic cornet ,Rex Stewart stylee. I can dream.
Ok did check. These are really inexpensive horns and indeed have plastic mouthpieces I will be taking a look at video reviews for more info

It looks so:

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What's the difference between a cornet and a trumpet? I'm clueless

 

[Clivey]

Looks like they could be plastic...

pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet, Orange at Gear4music

pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet, Orange at Gear4music

www.gear4music.com

The ptrombone looks like a lot of fun...maybe another purchase on the horizon...

Greg S.

Me too ,not much fun for my neighbors if I did though. These suckers are LOUD.

 

[Greg Strange]

Greg, thanks for some really good insight. After your reply I'm looking at the JP251SW right now. I'm guessing it's the same as the SWS but LQ finish rather than silver? It looks like these can be picked up for not much more than a p trumpet. Those video links are great and shows what a good player can achieve on a relatively low cost instrument.

If it were a sax I would go out and grab a Yamaha, but it seems it doesn't work like that in the world of trumpets.

Thanks again

Yeah, SWS stands for Smith Watkins Silver which means leadpipe designed by Smith Watkins and Silver-Plated finish...different finishes available with the JP251SWS including gold lacquer, raw brass, rose gold, etc...

Greg S.

 

[Greg Strange]

It looks so:

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What's the difference between a cornet and a trumpet? I'm clueless

Cornet is smaller than a trumpet, cornet is bit more mellower sound - think of the theme from "Coronation Street", cornet is usually used in brass bands a lot...trumpet is a longer horn...Nat Adderley played cornet...

Greg S.

 

[SeanLR]

Cornet is smaller than a trumpet, cornet is bit more mellower sound - think of the theme from "Coronation Street", cornet is usually used in brass bands a lot...trumpet is a longer horn...Nat Adderley played cornet...

Greg S.

I'm guessing my neighbours would prefer me getting a cornet then

 

[Greg Strange]

I'm guessing my neighbours would prefer me getting a cornet then

You can buy a ssshhh mute - invented right here in good ol' New Zealand...

sshhmute Practice Mutes

The sshhmute helps you warm up before going on stage. Gives accurate tuning throughout the range and is designed to fit into all brands and models of instruments without compromising effectiveness.

www.sshhmute.com

I have one and they work pretty good...one good thing about the trumpet than the sax is you can completely mute the sound of the trumpet, and you can also buy a Silent Brass system from Yamaha...

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Greg S.

 

[Ivan]

I'm guessing my neighbours would prefer me getting a cornet then

Cornet has a conical bore, hence mellowed harmonics

...as does the flugel horn which was championed by past member and doubler, Tomapfumo... juss sayin' like

 

[Halfers]

I love the Trumpet. I remember the day in Junior School (must have been 8 or 9) when we were asked which instrument we wanted to learn. In my head I had Saxophone, Saxophone, Saxophone, but when it came to me I found myself saying "Trumpet"!?

I played for a few Years then it was put aside! Still remember my Trumpet Teachers name. Mister Lister..he had fag yellow hair and fag yellow fingers. He died of Cancer quite soon after I started lessons with him..

To those that double Sax and Trumpet, Any pros and cons that cross over to the other instrument?

 

[Colin the Bear]

What's the difference between a cornet and a trumpet? I'm clueless

No flake with a trumpet.

Cornet has shorter wider bore.