Jean Paul TR-430 Intermediate Bb Trumpet - Brass Lacquered with Rose Brass Leadpipe

I just received my trumpet. I had not played trumpet in decades but my son and granddaughter play. I was spurred on to re-learn so that we could record a 3 generation set of music as a legacy. First, the trumpet was well packaged and arrived as advertised and in short order. The fit and finish were excellent in my opinion but the most important item was a nice bright sound. For me playing this trumpet was similar to riding a bike, you don’t forget. So very pleased with the sound, the case it came in , the overall quality finish, and the price. Well worth the money!

This a great trumpet for the mid-level musician. I'm a self-teaching student (music books and free internet). What's great about this is I started with a $100 trumpet. Which is a great starting trumpet. After you've been self-teaching for long enough to hear the problems it's time to get a better horn anyway. Next step up is this $400 trumpet. You can now make music that actually sounds like the songs you're trying to play without breaking the bank. When I've played on this trumpet and loved it another year (maybe) I can use that time to save $1000 - $1500 for the next one.

My son was struggling with a rental from Ted Brown Music. I did a ton of research and read a thousand reviews. You will need to spend at least $1500 to get anything as well reviewed as this horn. All the valves worked smoothly after oiling. Plays great. Beautiful and a great value from a company that stands behind their product.

I purchased this item because I saw many great 5 star reviews. I am still looking for a horn in this price range to suit my needs as I grow into a pro upper brass player and teacher (coming from woodwinds). The valves are good and come fully lubricated. The mouthpiece it comes with isn't the best 7c, but it plays. The finish had some blemishes around the bell (oxidation around the edge?) that I was not a fan of. The rest of the horn was spotless and pristine. I gave it a try for 2 days and decided to return the instrument. My (vintage) King 600 USA student trumpet sounds and plays better than this horn no matter what I mouthpiece I use. I need a horn that resonates and has a bigger bore. I can put more air through that horn, and less through this one. This horn is easy to play. It's good for what it's advertised for, (quality student horn on a budget), but don't expect this to be a substitute for a made-in-USA pro brass instrument. It earns a Solid 4 stars as a student/pre-college instrument.

I bought this for my daughter because she wanted to teach herself the trumpet. We were happy to see that it came in a very nice case. I'm not even sure what to look for in a trumpet, but this one is attractive compared to one I've seen in her music class (she plays sax in a small group setting). In only one month, she's belting recognizable tunes. It was all self-taught, so she's very happy with it. The only problem she's had is one of the valves (I think that's what it's called) was stuck. She couldn't open it. I have no idea if she's ever gotten it open, but she wouldn't let me take pliers to it. Not sure if this is a common problem.__________UPDATE 2/15/17: Wow. I initially gave this trumpet four stars, a positive rating. After all, my daughter liked her trumpet. This wasn't good enough for Jean Paul USA. No way. They contacted me immediately after reading my review about the screw that wouldn't turn. Would you believe they sent me a replacement right away *before* ever asking for a return? And they were nice enough to include a shipping label so I could send back the defective one at no cost. Not only that, I learned that they would fix or replace the instrument for any problems during the 1 year warranty period--which, by the way, includes *damage by children*. Double wow.If they had never sent a replacement, I would have been obliviously happy. Now that I realize their level of service and customer care, I am over the moon. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company to any of my friends. What an incredible experience.

I had originally purchased this child a different trumpet from here on Amazon. That one cost $100 but they were not sure that they would even want to play. After the first year of band class they were hooked but the cheaper trumpet was not performing very well.So a trip to a local music store made it clear that we would not be buying locally. I can't see buying a beginner band student a horn for over $1000. Wow. They wanted better than they had but not a super expensive horn to be super worried about.Enter the Jean Paul trumpet. After an exhaustive search on the web it seemed like a truly great option. So I purchased it. It came quickly as promised and is a vastly better trumpet than the first one (a Mendini).The valves are smooth and well made. The slides slide easily in and out. The sound was so much better than the first one.The first trumpet was on sale at $100. This one was more than 3x that price. But it has been used for the last several months it is worth it.I wish I had bought one of these in the first place and not wasted the first money... If you are in a similar boat with a child wanting to play I recommend this one highly. I would have loved a Bach or Yamaha Trumpet but not at 3x the price of this Jean Paul. Is it a Bach Stradivarius Silver Trumpet? No. But then it isn't $4k either so be aware of what it is and how nice it is for a very reasonable price.