Be the judge – is pocket trumpet worth it?
Yes, it matters a lot. The keyword here is ‘pocket.’ You simply do not need any trumpet. You need a trumpet that is lightweight, which translates to great portability without compromising the quality of sound. This is important whether you are a beginner, a professional horn player or you want to play it from home, or you are using it to perform concerts.
Does the brand matter?
Oh, yes! The brand is important. Some names have come and gone while others remain afloat. Brands that are the talk of the town do not come easy. Trumpet manufacturers whose names continue to reign the minds of many trumpet enthusiasts do not come cheap. For a company to dominate the market, experts of the company have worked hard behind the curtains. Usually, it takes time to build a brand and nobody is going to praise a brand if he/she is not getting the value. The important thing is top brands ensure their products have state of the art features, look great, and give the customers the real value for their money. Besides, the company offers excellent customer service. Bach is one of the top brans that offers a variety of pocket trumpets. It focuses on building quality products that offer excellent value. Carol Brass and Mendini logo are other noteworthy brands that also offer pocket trumpets with great sounds.
Choose the perfect pocket trumpet by the following features
Before you finally decide to buy a pocket trumpet, make sure you know the trumpet’s features. It is sad that many people, especially those that are starting to play a trumpet, look at one or two things mostly the cost and appearance of the instrument. The truth is many important factors lie underneath. Here are a few important features you need to look at before you spend your hard-earned dollar:
Materials lead to durability
A material used to design a trumpet is the foremost thing to look for. One of the biggest reasons why material is important is durability. If you are concerned about the durability-how long your pocket trumpet will last, then you start by analyzing the type of material used to make the trumpet. Granted, we rely on the information given by the manufacturer. Nonetheless, most manufacturers are honest when it comes to the material used to design an item. Black nickel for instance, used to make CAROL BRASS CPT-3000-GLS-Bb-BG is one of the high-quality materials. Other good materials include stainless steel and phosphorous copper. The latter is found on cutting-edge professional trumpets.
Musician’s level
When you started playing a trumpet is also important. For professionals, they already know what they are looking for. They may be replacing or upgrading their current trumpets. For beginners, you need start low. We do not mean to intimidate you but things such as weight, the complexity of playing the instrument are factors to look at before you decide. Sky Band Approved is our recommendation for beginners. The trumpet is light, comes with robust bodywork, and has no seams, which means even if it slides and falls from your hands, it won’t break easily.
Mouthpiece
The bigger the mouthpiece, the best the low sound you will achieve. However, how many players will be comfortable with a 10-inch mouthpiece? The bottom line is, you need to find a pocket trumpet that has a sizable mouthpiece. In our view, if possible, measure your lips to see if you will be comfortable with a 3C, 7C, or 9C mouthpiece. Where measuring your lips is not possible, you can still start low as you go up with the number of inches a mouthpiece has.
Bore and bell sizes
The size of the bell and the accompanying stock are crucial. In essence, the type of sound and the expected projection are based on the size of the bell. Bigger and heavy bells tend to give a low vibrating sound whereas thin and light bells give a high-pitched sound. Based on what you want and where you want to play your trumpet, you can consider the correct bell measurement. It is also important to know that the material used to make the bell is key. For instance, a bell of the same size but made from different materials can produce different sounds. Bach Prelude PT711 has a 5” bell size thus you can expect a nice vibrating sound.
Valves
What would a trumpet look like if it had no valves? We doubt if it would be called a trumpet. The valves create the distinction between a trumpet and a traditional flute. What is more, the material used and valve placement are key. CAROL BRASS CPT-3000-GLS-Bb-BG is our editor’s choice for many reasons. The pocket trumpet comes with stainless steel valves that slide with ease.
Sound
A trumpet without the right sound is a waste of money. To know the kind of sound you expect, you need to look at various things such as mouthpiece size, the length and size of a bell, the material used to make the bell, number of slides, as well as the placement of valves. While the type and quality of sound is personal or group preference, we found out that Allora MXPT-5801-BK is the choice of many accomplished trumpeters. The item has a 3.66” bell size, stainless steel pistons, and two water keys among other exceptional features.
Accessories
Everybody needs a bonus. It feels good when you spend your money to buy an item and when you receive it, you find out it has other accessories accompanying it. That is happening to most items on our list. What many horn lovers want is a pocket trumpet. However, it doesn’t hurt when you receive a hard casing, bottle of oil for the valves, a pair of gloves, and a cleaning suit. Eastar ETR-330N, our choice for beginners has these and additional stuff.
Weight
You are not going to be comfortable if you are forced to carry a large trumpet for several hours. Mendini MPT-N is among the lightest pocket trumpets you can buy.
Warranty
A warranty is a great way to attract and reassure clients. You will be at peace when you know a company will repair or handle any factory defects, if any. The unfortunate part is many companies give limited warranties. However, the Bach Prelude PT711 excels in this with a 5-year warranty.
Money sound
How much do you have for the pocket trumpet? Looking at each trumpet, all you need is to compare their features and your budget. As you continue to figure this, we suggest the Mendini MPT-N. This instrument is affordable and has cool features that are not available in some high-end pocket trumpets.
