Getzen 300 Series Review

Overall Rating

Made by Getzen, a family owned and run USA business, committed to making the finest instruments available. Shares some features of their much more expensive horns. Getzen's student horns are as good as or better than some other companies' intermediate or even pro level horns. Getzen valves are world famous for quality, feel, durability, and action. Built to last. Corrosion resistant lead/mouth pipe and tubing is particularly helpful as kids aren't always careful about oral hygiene before playing their horns. Along with Kanstul (http://www.kanstulmusic.com), Getzen's "student" horns are among the finest in the world.

The 390 and 490 advertised on Getzen's website (http://www.getzen.com) show that they come with a first valve slide saddle, which usually comes stock with intermediate and pro horns. However, many (most?) of the 300s, 390s, and 490s available used, that I've seen, do NOT come with this. BUT, I would bet that if you wanted to upgrade your first valve slide to one that has a saddle, you could buy one from Getzen; or, have your local music store install one for you.

This is an excellent quality horn, built to last, has excellent intonation, sound, projection, tone color/quality is rich and warm, and is easy to blow. Again, although it is marketed as a student horn, it is far more than comparable companies' student horn line. Other companies that give the Getzen a run for its money are 1) Kanstul (700), 2) Bach (TR-300), and 3) Yamaha's 2xxx trumpet. You also find used Olds Ambassadors, many of which were made by the company with Zigmant Kanstul himself worked there -- when you see/hear "KANSTUL," you're going to get an outstanding instrument, fyi. These can be found on eBay used and have a very long life if they've been taken care of. Jupiter's student horn line may be improving a great deal, but am not sure that their student horns can compete with the aforementioned trumpets. However, they're coming on fast and hard, and you may be able to find a comparably priced model in their line with the added features such as the 1st valve slide saddle/hook, or even trigger. You can usually find some good deals on all of these horns at eBay, or your local craigslist.org (http://www.craigslist.org). But, always inspect used horns' leadpipe and main tuning slide for possible red rot -- little red dots/discoloration -- which if not kept in check can result in holes in your horn's tubing (can be fixed, however).

Please note that my ratings are based on a comparison with other "student" level trumpets. Again, however, this little horn can be seen played by many advanced trumpet players because of their sound and quality of build.