Mendini By Cecilio Bb Standard Trumpet Set for Beginners - Brass Trumpet Instrument with Hard Case, 7C Mouthpiece, Valve Oil, Cleaning Cloth, Gloves (Gold)

TL;DR - It isn't too good to be true. Super cheap price for a basic, but very well built, starter trumpet! Just got mine in today and decided to go with black because it looked sleek. Pulled it out, got it oiled and such, and started playing. I had previously played for several years but then life pulled me away for quite a while ago, so I wanted to find something "beginner"-like so I could jump back in without huge investment. Figured this trumpet could at least serve as my bridge to get back to where I was, and it seems it will be that, and maybe more. Got it tuned and played just a little today to make sure everything sounded right. It feels solid to play, and at this price point I was a little concerned about it "feeling" cheap, but I was worried for nothing as it turns out. Overall sound quality is WAY better than I could have imagined from an instrument at this price. I started on an old Yamaha beginner long ago, and I honestly think this could fool all but the most critical of listeners in a blind test. Obviously this isn't going to reach the quality of the Bach I had in my younger years, but I'm positive it'll sound good enough that I won't really notice for a bit until I rebuild my chops to my former levels. I heard a lot of reviews about valve problems. Most of them seemed to be out of the box issues, and I luckily did not encounter any. I can't speak for the longevity issue with the valves since this is day 0, but they don't feel overly cheap and appear to be crafted with at least some amount of precision and care. They are a bit lighter than I remember valves being, so I guess we'll see. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with picking this trumpet to get back into it. I'd even be willing to get one for my 5th grade daughter if her interests end up coming this direction. Just all around a great starter-trumpet with more than acceptable sound quality at an alarmingly low price. In fact, I bought this in conjunction with the Yamaha "Silent Brass" system, and it's more expensive then this trumpet itself... that's literally insane to me. (Different product, but I also recommend that Yamaha Silent Brass system for newer players, or anyone that lives with other people really. Let's them really play their heart out, and other people in the room hear only talking-level volumes, and that's only if they're really playing hard. Can't recommend that enough. Only saying it on this review because they pair together so well. It also further shows the value of this product, because for about $320 you can get both a great starter trumpet AND a super nice electronic mute, where paying $500 for one of the usual starter trumpets gets you only that... a trumpet... no mute included.)

This is an amazing trumpet! It's very pretty, and feels like a good quality. I should preface I don't play trumpet, I'm a complete beginner here, so I don't know if it's high quality compared to more expensive trumpets, but it works great, it comes with valve oil, gloves and a cleaning cloth thing. It comes with a 7C mouthpiece, it looks amazing, and most importantly, I think it sounds really good. Even if it's not as high quality as other trumpets out there (which I wouldn't know), it's a very good trumpet to start learning on, and I 100% would buy here again P.S. my horrible cam quality doesn't do justice of how amazing it looks lol

This is a bit hard to rate. If you consider bang for the buck, it's easily a five star. If you consider only the bang (e.g. quality in the realm of all trumpets), it's probably a two or maybe a three. But that's not bad all things considered. I'm an amateur that plays in a community band, and I bought this as a camping trumpet (I like to practice in while camping in remote areas). Intonation is decent -- typically predictable and controllable across the partials, tone is good, and it blows fairly easily with comfortable acoustic back pressure. The first and third valve tuning slides work, although are a little stiff. I was able to loosen them up a bit by working them for a while. The valves work well with no hint of sticking, and there is not much valve leakage. It's well worth the money for my use, and honestly, I would not hesitate to use it in a concert if my other horn were for some reason not available. I have no illusions that it will ever hold up for many years with heavy use, but unequivocally, it's a good starter horn for a young student. In some of the reviews, I saw complaints that instruments came out of the shipping package with valves not working, bent parts, etc. But it seems that the company was responsive to the problems, so I figured they would make it good if it arrived in poor shape. So in this context, maybe I'll backpedal and equivocate on my endorsement: It's suitable as a student trumpet ONLY if you get a properly working horn as I did. There is nothing more damaging to a beginner's enthusiasm than an instrument that doesn't work right. One thing I recently noticed is that this trumpet is about one inch shorter than what I believe to be a standard Bb trumpet. The instrument seems to be scaled down across its length with the valves offset by about 1/2" and the bell short by about an inch. I noticed this when I tried to put my other trumpet in the Mendini case and it wouldn't fit! I don't understand the acoustics of the smaller horn and how it can play in tune, but it does.

UPDATE!!! Originally I gave this a 2 star review. The product seemed okay at first but then I realized it wasn't just me, as stated in the original review below. I couldn't get in touch with the seller as it bounced back email wise saying they'd only get it in their Amazon email -- psh, like I believed they'd see that. Well they saw it (or my review). Either way they got in touch with me -- gave me pointers on adjusting the valves and while it fixed one; the other just seemed wrong still. I think it was honstly just off -- makes horrible noises when it should just be smooth. So they offered to ship a new one with return label for the other (no cost)! It got here already and it's whole different horn! Feels great. I played for an hour because it just felt so right. I'm very pleased and I feel like the seller is there for me if something were to come up yet again. They were very responsive and quick to get the problem resolved, AND I learned a few things about adjusting valves! :) I look forward to playing and have the confidence I have support behind the horn should something else come up at all. LOVE IT. ORIGINAL REVIEW (2 stars): I bought this as a cheap alternative beginner horn like several others. I was quite surprised when it arrived as it comes in a nice carry case with gloves/cleaning cloth and oil (just as advertised). The trumpet itself actually looks very nice and has a feel to it that isn't as cheap as I was expecting. It feels about as any other trumpet might in weight and durability. Unfortunately I have had trouble with sticky valves. Valve 3 was the most noticeable at first but it seems 1 and 3 are consistantly not making it all the way back up before I'm on to the next note. Unfortunately for my dog, neighbors, and poor husband this sound horrendous beyond beginner trumpet as a suddenly drop G to C or can't make the drop either. I have tried oiling the valves and even a full clean and oil. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to help. I'm contacting the seller -- I'm hoping there is some trick/fix but knowing how instruments come with very touchy tolerances -- I'm not thinking there will be an easy answer. While it is affordable and looks pretty great -- it's almost unplayable. :(

This is a wonderfully made and affordable instrument. In fact, this cost less then what it would have cost us to rent a Trumpet for a year so I took a chance and bought it. We wanted to rent first because kids say they want to play or do something but end up changing their mind so we thought renting would be better for the first year. Sadly, in our area there are less and less places to buy/rent band equipment for kids. Paying over 150.00 for 8 months of renting an instrument isn't too bad BUT when you can buy a quality instrument for pennies more if not less than rental charges and not have to deal with renting contracts, returning the rental, and all for getting a very used, banged up instrument...it's a no brainer! Even my son's band instructor was impressed with the sound and all around quality of this Trumpet! He really was against us buying a Trumpet and he was even more against it when we told him the price of this one. Once he saw it and heard the sound he was quite pleased with our purchase! He said the sound was good, it not better then the more expensive well-known brand instruments! The case for this is soft but nicely padded for protection on the inside and very lightweight for easy transport! My son loves that he can use the case in a backpack style because he always has so much to carry. The trumpet itself looks (to me) like an extremely well made expensive one but at a fraction of the cost. I know nothing about instruments so my son's band instructor was our best bet for advisement as far as what kind of Trumpet would be best for a student. Again, he did not recommend purchasing an instrument so we did take a chance buying this. The reviews for this were all very good and they were all right in my opinion! This comes with absolutely everything my son needs to start playing and I think (or at least hope) he will get quite a few years of use out of this. This instrument is a WIN-win!!!

Has been working well since last 2 years for my child's band practice at school

I've been playing a brass colored King Super 20 trumpet since 1972. After using the same colored trumpet for all those years, I decided I'd like to try a different color. The Mendini had good reviews so I took a chance. The case is very good and the attached back straps are a nice touch. The enclosed accessories (oil, cleaning cloth and gloves) were okay. The 7c mouthpiece is alright, but like all 7c mouthpieces, it doesn't fit me. I can't hold this against the the package. On the other hand, it would be nice if mouthpieces other than 7c were available w/ the package. The trumpet was bought in large part for its looks and did not disappoint-it's very attractive. So far (15 mos) the finish is holding up well, although admittedly I normally play only once or twice a week and am very careful. The sound is good. I can't tell any difference between the Mendini and the King. The valves are not quite as smooth as the King, but are definitely smooth enough and are not a problem. I'm not sure it's fair to compare the smoothness of a 50 year old mid-range trumpet to an inexpensive entry level trumpet. All in all, from my perspective the Mendini gets a 5 star review. It's not like my old King or a brand new big name trumpet, but it does what it's supposed to and at a VERY reasonable price. What more could I ask for?

Extremely excited to learn a new instrument! Been playing piano for many years as well as guitar and cello. It’s time to add yet another instrument to the list of instruments I play. Looking forward to what’s to come!!