Jean Baptiste Slide Trumpet

[Matt K]

I just got a used one of these off of Dillon for a really good price. I didn't expect much from it; I've played a few trumepts from them that others I know had purchased because of their price and they were all pretty subpar. The slide trumpet is actually surprisingly good. The only real issue I have with it is that it plays a touch sharp, but that's because there is no tuning slide. The bell attaches to the slide with a little clamp like Raths, but unlike them, it also determines how flat or sharp it is. I play a little off of first with my tuning slide shoved all the way in anyways. I also play trumpet with a pretty large mouthpiece (Monette 2 Silver series rim with a Kanstul B15M underpart). It has an absurd throat size... 18... but the Monettes are supposed to play better with the tuning slide all the way in or something like that so it might be worse on mouthpieces that are more commonly used.

Otherwise, the slide is really quite smooth. I think someone put some elbow grease into it though. The water key was replaced by an Amado for one thing. There is also slight evidence of repair around the bell brace, which may have itself been reattached at some point.

Overall, a fun instrument for $150. So if you see one and wonder if it's worth it, you might end up with a dud like many of the other lower price imports, but it's certainly possible to end up with one that's actually pretty good too.