Tristar Standard Trumpet Reviews
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“I bought a Tristar standard quality trumpet on Ebay...”
★★★★☆
written by Wrightfamily30 on 05/02/2006
I bought a Tristar standard quality trumpet on Ebay for less than £45 sterling in Autumn 2005. It's a good little instrument in every respect, except for a slight lack of workmanship in the finish - one valve slide, once removed, was difficult to get back in because the tubing was slightly misaligned, and there were also odd places where the silver plate was missing (very small areas).
It played in tune throughout the register.
It came complete with a reasonably serviceable case and a good mouthpiece.
I would strongly recommend this for a beginner: a much better option than laying out 4 times as much for a Yamaha or Besson and finding the child gives up after a few weeks!
I have posted a review for a 4 valve Tristar euphonium under the heading "Tuba".
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Pro Trumpet's Response to Wrightfamily30's Review
Written on: 16/10/2006
I'm a professional trumpet player of 35 years and there is a mistaken belief that its ok for a Beginner to learn on a cheap 3rd world trumpet. The reasoning is the child may give it up or its cheaper than renting..etc. This is a very common belief because of lack of knowledge and money.
<br/>These trumpets are very poorly made and usually cannot be repaired, some are made out of pot metal: a mixture of lead & copper! A student needs a well made instrument to learn on they don't need to learn on piece of junk. I am so glad that I had a moderately priced well made trumpet to learn on or I may not have continued. Trust me there's a good reason these trumpets are so cheap and you can not buy a good trumpet at that price, its not going to happen. Read reviews and do research and buy a Brand name trumpet if you can afford it or rent. It can be repaired and if your child gives it up it will have resale value.
Justknowz's Response to Wrightfamily30's Review
Written on: 15/05/2010
Well... I myself am an intermediate bass player who's always been fascinated with the trumpet (I'm a big Lee Morgan fan, Miles Davis is the man, but Lee made me want to play trumpet!) I'm about 35 years of age and I didnt want to invest too much money. I just wanted to see if there was some kind of chemistry between a trumpet and myself or if it was just a "fever" that would soon pass. Well, as for the Tristar 7C Trumpet-- I paid cheap, and I guess I got cheap... but I was expecting that. I bought it on eBay. I have sound coming out of the trumpet, but the valves are somewhat "weird"- not easy to manipulate sound and hit the notes... but I'm learning on my own so I guess thats part of the process. I believe I got my money's worth which is why I gave it 4 stars for value for my money. But I do agree that beginners should not be denied the opportunity to play this wonderful instrument due to lack of funds. Of course, I do agree that with time, a much better trumpet must be acquired. I'm still enthusiastic about playing so I guess it's not a fever! Let's look at the bright side: once you can get sound and play out of this crappy trumpet, you'll knock the socks out of anybody when you upgrade! :)
Pro Trumpet's Response to Wrightfamily30's Review
Written on: 18/10/2006
I understand your thoughts on buying Tristar Instruments. I live here in California, and evidently there are higher quality band Instruments available for rent. The problem with many of these cheap Instruments is the valve actions are intolerable.
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<br>If that's all the parents can afford and there's no other quality instruments around to rent, I guess it's better than nothing.
Wrightfamily30's Response to Wrightfamily30's Review
Written on: 17/10/2006
May I respond?
<br/>I'm a euphonium player with 36 years experience of playing that instrument. I wholeheartedly agree that it is important to provide a usable instrument for children to learn on. Ideally, everyone would be handed a B & H Sovereign (or equivalent, high quality, fully compensating instrument) at the outset, but with a new cost of well in excess of £2000 (and second hand values, even for elderly and well worn instruments, rarely dropping below £800 for a Sovereign and £500 for an Imperial) it is extremely unlikely that many LEA's in the UK would be prepared to provide such instruments through their schools music departments, or that many parents would be able (or willing) to lay out such money, when there is always the chance that the association with the instrument may prove to be a short lived affair.
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<br/>As an 11 year old, I myself was handed an old, 3 valve Boosey and Hawkes instrument, with a standard B & H mouthpiece. It had no case so I had to carry it around in a canvas rucksack. Only 5 years down the line did a B & H Imperial with a Denis Wick mouthpiece come my way. I would far rather have started on the Imperial, but we have to be realistic.
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<br/>As I said in my original review, the Tristar euphonium (and trumpet - see other review), while far from perfect, does perform well enough, and I am currently using it at school in two different music ensembles, with perfectly satisfactory results. It is NOT a Sovereign, but it plays well enough, with a fruity tone, and it has suffered no breakages, plate wear, sticky valves or anything else - yet.
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<br/>If it came to the choice between providing a 'junk' instrument such as the Tristar, or denying a child the opportunity to try out an instrument through lack of funds, I know what I (as an enthusiastic champion of brass instruments in particular, and music making in general) would do.
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<br/>I understand that a 'professional' musician, with a far keener ear for exact intonation, a far greater awareness of tonal quality and a much keener eye for perfection in manufacturing might baulk at accepting that other musicians would recommend what they would regard as 'junk', but my role is to get children started in music making, and these instruments are adequate for this task.
Keytar25's reply to Wrightfamily30's Comment
Written on: 25/06/2013
This is an old thread, so many of the original participants to this discussion won't see this; however, any new viewers, please pay close attention.
If the Tristar instrument was my only option when I started at age 9, 40 years ago, I would not have made it past the 2nd lesson. Get your kid a Conn or Yamaha as a beginner trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, or any other brass instrument. You can rent them weekly, monthly...very affordable if you are unable to buy. Providing them with a Tristar or any substandard brass instrument for this special time will ruin the experience...trust me. It will also limit the instructor's ability to assess the student's quality of tone and technique due to the the instruments inability to hold a pitch and poor valve action.
Tristar needs to raise their standards and the quality of their product... or simply stop selling them. At this point, with all of the bad reviews and bad experiences brought to their attention by their customers, Tristar is certainly aware, but continues to take advantage of parents' desire to introduce music to their kids in way they feel they can afford it.
Unfortunately, a poor quality brass instrument makes learning to play appear to be more challenging than it is...which would frustrate any kid eager to learn and eager to make music. And keep in mind, no amount of practice will improve the quality of the instrument.