Having not played a trumpet for over 10 years I thought I'd give this a go. I will add some horn parts in a Motown band.
I went for the gold coloured option (a bit more expensive) rather than the more obviously plastic colours. So far so good, it produces a decent tone, all notes sound, intonation seems fine. I was wondering whether there was some pitch instability in the highest register but I suspect this has to do with my own lack of practice. Valves spring back pretty fast, if not absolutely lightening fast and feel a touch heavy. Note that the valves are the only part of this instrument that is made of metal.
The included mouthpiece is made of plastic (white, not black as in the picture) - some people have complained of a moulding seam in the mouthpiece that needed filed down, but on my own example it is perfectly smooth. Some people will replace this with a proper mouthpiece and this should make a good difference to the playing experience.
It is very light and comes in a snug case so is perfect for travelling. Time will tell whether the zips and straps hold out.
A small bottle of valve oil is included (essential with a trumpet) and this and the mouthpiece will fit in the front pocket of the case.
There is no slide trigger on the third value - this would be used to fix the intonation on a low C sharp (and maybe some other notes, I can't remember right now), but this is no big issue for a beginner or casual player. You can always 'lip' the note down a bit.
Main tuning slide works fine. I had to pull mine out a bit to get it into concert pitch, but this is as it should be. An advantage of the plastic instrument is that it will not change in tuning as it warms up. It will also not build up water as quickly as a cold metal trumpet.
You can get a metal trumpet for just a little more but it's open to argument whether this would be any better.
Recommended for fun and portability.
