Best Off-brand Trumpets

L.A.Horn

Not too long ago, I purchased a new Allora ATR-250 in silver for my nephew. It was a bit of a roll of the dice, but it's working great and he's enjoying it, which is what's ultimately important.

Of course, it's not a Bach or Yamaha, but it sorta shows that not all off-brands are necessarily bad products. I'm wondering who else has had an experience with an off-brand that turned out be surprisingly pleasant?

djeffers78

I have a Cecilio trumpet and a Brasspire cornet. Both are great instruments

Dr GO

My Allora pocket trumpet is also amazing for the price. Very esthetic visual appeal and plays very sexy with a Harmon mute.

ROWUK

@djeffers78 Standard “problem” thread. What does best mean? Good enough? What definition of value do we declare? Resale value, acceptance by teachers, blend with other horns, bling factor for the student? The list goes on and on.

My point is that the term “BEST” is about the WORST description that there is. Because Monette is not Bach or Yamaha, would that be an off brand?

Are we looking in this thread for good value at a lowest price or innovation at any price? Are we considering dealer support? Financing possibilities?

I am actually allergic the the word “best” because it simply is not a factor, rather an opinion that is generally worthless.

Now, if we are looking for good deals for students, we need to be very clear about the advantages and disadvantages IF that student is going to music school. If we are considering vintage instruments, there may be a coolness factor but a big disadvantage in ensemble playing. Vintage instruments may need serious TLC to get the valves tight and slides working smoothly.

My students generally start with a Yamaha 3xxx or 4xxx model. Resale is great if they end up in sports programs. Performance makes life easy. Playing characteristics are sensational. Service in Germany is top notch - from the dealers AND Yamaha.

Dr GO

Here is a pic of my Allora Pocket Trumpet

ROWUK

@Dr-GO said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Here is a pic of my Allora Pocket Trumpet

Can't get more "off" than that...

Dr GO

@ROWUK said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Can't get more "off" than that...

Tis true. You know, I did not even know about this horn until I saw it advertised in the AFM trade journal as a good buy and investment in their items review section. the price was just around $300 and I was about to travel out of the country for a business trip to Saudi Arabia when at the time music was outlawed in public. So I didn't want to risk any of my other horns to be confiscated when I travel as I always bring a horn with me when I travel. So if Saudi Customs took the horn from me I would only be out $300 (actually got it for $275 on Musician's Friend).

As it turned out, customs did take it from me 3 times and each time I was able to convince a supervisor that it was for practice in my hotel only and showed them my Yamaha silence mute to demonstrate. Got it back each time.

Maybe it also helped that I showed them a picture of my two daughters and bartered if they gave me my horn back, the could have both daughters as their wives.

Dr GO

Oh by the way, here is a picture of my daughters: Dia Wedding Picture.jpg

L.A.Horn

@ROWUK Generally, when people consider off-brand trumpets, it's to save some money and/or stay within budget. Therefore, off-brand would be one that's not considered mainstream and requires significant investment. My hope is that your post isn't to dispirit an otherwise healthy conversation.

@Dr-GO They can have your daughters, but not your instruments. Spoken like a true musician.

administrator

I have heard that Jin-Bao are acceptable.

ROWUK

@L-A-Horn said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

@ROWUK Generally, when people consider off-brand trumpets, it's to save some money and/or stay within budget. Therefore, off-brand would be one that's not considered mainstream and requires significant investment. My hope is that your post isn't to dispirit an otherwise healthy conversation.

@Dr-GO They can have your daughters, but not your instruments. Spoken like a true musician.

My intent is not to dispirit the thread. If we define the "intent", there is actually a lot to talk about. Let us take "best" out and replace it with high value/low price. In most cases I would not even consider most mainstream instruments as "best".

GeorgeB

@Dr-GO
Your daughters are gorgeous, Doc. I'm sure they get their beauty from their mom.

Kehaulani

Having worked and lived in most of the northern hemisphere, I've seen tons of "off-brand" horns. Amazing what can be done on many of them. Especially if you can't even get others (i.e. Yamahas. Bachs, Olds, etc.). Sometimes, what you don't know, won't hurt you.

djeffers78

@ROWUK

The Brasspire is definitely not a name brand.....yet! I think for what I paid for it-less than $800 brand new it may not be the best but for a brass bander on a budget it might be a “best” choice brand new. I’ve had a chance to compare it to many others and I feel that it is head and shoulders above the other “off brands”

The Cecilio is the off-est brand there is but.....
I have the top of the line Cecilio. They go for $500 new but I got mine used.
It’s definitely more than a student instrument and is probably worth more if it had a different name. In fact a brand called JZ sells the same trumpet. It’s a Jinbao model. It is versatile in the community band setting and reliable.

I think you could do a lot worse than the above two. I have

Vulgano Brother

@Dr-GO said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Oh by the way, here is a picture of my daughters:

Are they married yet, Dad?

Dr GO

@Vulgano-Brother said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

@Dr-GO said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Oh by the way, here is a picture of my daughters:

Are they married yet, Dad?

You interested? Both are available. I am their agent. Will make a trade for a good horn. Off brand of course as they are both a bit left of center.

L.A.Horn

@ROWUK said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Let us take "best" out and replace it with high value/low price.

Alright, what do you consider the highest value trumpet with the lowest price?

Shifty

@L-A-Horn said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Alright, what do you consider the highest value trumpet with the lowest price?

You've posed a question in a way that it can't be answered. The highest value trumpet will certainly not have the lowest price.

If you could quantify what you mean by "value" (fit/finish, reliability, durability, intonation, response, etc) you could divide by price and find the best bang for the buck.

You'd need to define each parameter associated with value, find a way to evaluate it quantitatively, and give it a weight relative to the other parameters. You can't optimize without defining your criterion for optimality.

L.A.Horn

@Shifty Tell that to @ROWUK, because it's been posed the way that he prefers. I believe the question is being made more complicated than necessary. It's not a house or a car, it's a trumpet.
In simple 'Murican, which trumpet has the most bang for the least buck?

Tobylou8

@Vulgano-Brother said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

@Dr-GO said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Oh by the way, here is a picture of my daughters:

Are they married yet, Dad?