Weimar Trumpet-Anyone heard of it?

From Indiana,

I recently purchased one of these instruments on Ebay and received it yesterday. It's not a fancy instrument and the tone quality is a little harsh - but that could be me. I don't see anything about it that would make it unsuitable for a beginner.



Also, be careful of band directors pushing local shops for rental and purchase, as they often are connected either personally or financially to these businesses. With that said, renting is not a bad idea for the initial stages until you're sure your child is going to be playing the instrument for a while.



McCloud0595

I have a Weimar trumpet. Here is the problem. This trumpet's tuning valves have plastic parts that break. The trumpet is the same as the First Act beginner trumpet and is very hard to get replacement parts for. The tone is good. The look is good. The durability is not good.



Musicmaster is probably the person selling the trumpet and is trying to drive up the sales by giving them a good review. I have played FE Olds trumpets for over thirty years and would suggest getting a better quality trumpet unless you are looking for a second, keep-at-home trumet for your child to practice on.

From Dallas,

I was an all-state trumpet player and taught band for ten years.

Band directors don't get any kind of kickback or have any type of monetary interest with suppliers. That's absurd to make that kind of statement.
Totally unethical and would probably result in some type of charges.

As far as the "plastic parts", I'm assuming what is being talked about is
either the third valve slide stop or valve inserts that control the port alignments.
This is nothing that important.

As far as "parts" go, there's really not that much to worry about. If a kid bangs up a trumpet and breaks off a brace or hook, a repair shop can just solder it back on. Dents are removed. You don't replace a part because of a dent.

With brass instruments, the biggest concern for a good band director is matching timbre and intonation. This is much more crucial with say, clarinets and other woodwinds, not brass. A director may not want to mix cornets and trumpets within a section but the brand does not carry that much weight.

The person saying the instrument has a "harsh tone" needs to find someone other than a beginning student or one of that caliber to play the horn. An instrument's tone is no better than the performer unless the horn is leaking air around the valves or in the case of woodwinds, at the pads.

I've owned a Benge, Olds Opera and Bach Strad trumpets amongst others. Played Schilkes, Calicchios, Yamahas, etc. The Olds Opera was the worst of the three.

For the money, I would buy the Weimer in a heartbeat. You're not paying for much more than shipping it seems. Personally, I have no interest in promoting Weimar or anything else along those lines.

From Iowa,

QUOTE:

"Also, be careful of band directors pushing local shops for rental and purchase, as they often are connected either personally or financially to these businesses."

Boy I wish! I've taught for eleven years in the public schools and I can honestly say that I have never heard of a teacher getting a "kickback" from the local music store. Some stores give an "educator discount," but freebies or cash in the pocket no. In fact, accepting such an incentive in most school districts might get you fired or at least reprimanded. The reason most band directors tell you to buy local is because of convenience and service. If it breaks you can be certain that they will be able to get the repair parts if you bought it from them.

In the case of the trumpets discussed in this thread, it would be my guess that if the company went out of business then there will likely be no replacement parts available. Hence, when it breaks, you are out of luck!

You might want to take a look at these articles that I have written for various sites on this general topic:

http://www.musicedmagic.com/music-education-daily-news-and-comment/buying-and-selling-used-instruments-on-ebay.html

And one very well suited to this particular thread:

http://musicappreciation.suite101.com/article.cfm/buying_a_trombone

It says trombone, but the stuff in it applies to buying any instrument online. It talks about the pros and cons of buying online vs. brick and mortar.

Good luck,
MaestroC

http://www.musicedmagic.com

I just bought a Weimar trumpet on e-bay, and it's a very nice horn with a beautiful sound. It has no plastic valves or other parts as indicated by another reviewer on this website (probably a music store owner who is sore about the competition). I was a little disappointed in the case - but that can be remedied easily enough with a new one.

This is going to make a fantastic starter horn for my son. For $124 including shipping, if it breaks, I can afford to buy another one!!! (The big music stores may not work on them because they're an off brand - but you can find an independent repair person who will work with you.)

As my son gets older, I'll get him a more professional horn - but why spend $300 - $1000 on a starter horn that is just going to get dented up??? Don't give me that bunk about training on an instrument that is poor quality. I'm telling you, this is a fantastic deal on a nice trumpet. Save your money and get a Weimar for your 5th grader!!!!

I'm a little leary about the whole bankruptcy thing advertised on e-bay. I'll bet they're made in China or Korea. Who cares? It's a phenominal deal!!

Signed, a very happy mom (a musician) who just saved a BUNDLE of money!!

I did some more research with respect to the "plastic parts" commented on above as I noticed our Weimar trumpet does have a plastic valve guide - this is the very small part at the bottom of the spring (in the middle of the valve). Note - the rest of the valve is brass. There are no other plastic parts. My understanding is that plastic valve guides are very common today - even among the better brands.

Several players have posted information on the web saying there is little difference in the sound achieved with plastic or metal valve guides. They say the metal has a greater chance of damaging the valve casing if the valve is not inserted properly. At this point, I'm not the least bit concerned about the plastic valve guide. It seems this has become almost standard in many trumpets today.

My son and I have been playing this instrument several times over the last few days and love it. Again, I would not hesitate to recommend the Weimar trumpet. Save your money and try it out for your beginner!!!

Greetings to potential band parents,

Let me start out by giving a little personal back ground. I ,like many people, played band in school. I started out with a king cornet in elementary and middle school. I switched to the euphonium in high school. When my youngest son decided to play in the band I encouraged him to play the trumpet. After looking at "rent to own" instruments I decided to purchase one straight out. Like some others that have posted comments,I purchased a weimar off ebay for around $100. After several weeks of school it is holding up fine. I broke out my old king cornet ($400-back in the 70's) and practice with him. I am amazed at the sound quality of the weimar trumpet! I don't think it can be beat for a beginner instrument.My recommendation, buy a weimar for a starter instrument... then if they turn out to be the next 'chris botti' then you can sell it on ebay and get your money back. Hope this helps.

I would just add one more comment --- make sure you use a quality valve oil - each and every time you play the Weimar trumpet -- a brand like Al Cass or other high quality valve oil. DON'T use the the cheap stuff that comes in those "care kits" - and don't waste your money on those care kits. You don't need all of that stuff. Just buy quality valve oil, slide grease and a cloth to wipe finger prints.

We used the valve oil that came in a music store's care kit for a couple of weeks, and the valves started freezing up. We bought the Al Cass valve oil, and it's working fine again. Don't be cheap on valve oil!!!!