Tromba Pro Professional Plastic Bb Cornet, Golden

Surprisingly good horn. A mellow cornet tone that surprises whoever hears it. I bought it primarily for marching because of the very light weight. Total weight with plastic mouthpiece is 19 ounces...a feather! Perfect for leaving on a stand for those impromptu practice sessions. Comes with brushes, snake and stand. I got the brass finish to blend in to the group, but many more cooler finishes are available, including a nice black nickel. There's no fitting for a marching lyre, and the bell has no lip, so fitting a lyre will be a challenge.Pay attention to the recommended oil and slide grease, from Ultra Pure. The third slide needs to be freer, which I'm hoping the Ultra Pure Light slide grease will do. The tuning slide and third valve slide needs to be pushed in whenever returning the cornet to its case. Tunes up ok...sharp high D, but this price does not get you the capacity of a Strad, folks. All kinds of fun to play.The valve fittings need care when opening, as they are plastic studs, and too much torque might break one off. This is plastic, after all, but it's been used for decades in musical instruments. The valves seem fine in the first few hours of use. They have a stainless steel skin on a plastic core. A spare set of valve springs is also included.The supplied mouthpiece is a little restrictive, but easier to play than a more open one, which I prefer...I've found good tone and response from several metal and plastic mouthpieces, and am currently using 3 Kelly plastic ones...4c cornet and 6v flugel, and 3c flugel. Not only is plastic not cold, but it is also not hot, as I suspect metal tends to do with extended playing, which may lead to more lip fatigue. This horn needs little warm up. Tone production occurs instantly, and is good both above and below the staff. Vibrational feedback is as good or better than brass.I'd use caution when using this horn for legit ensemble playing, as the normal brass overtones are a bit different, but for solo or louder and less serious venues, it might be just fine. If I were still with the [all cornet] British Brass Band, I'd give it a go, though. Tromba is producing a flugelhorn in October, and I plan to try one with my German Brass Band.7/21 update: Replaced lubes with the recommended Ultra Pure...the Light slide lube did free up the third slide. am fitting a plastic lyre with zip ties for this weekend's parade...continues to get positive feedback from fellow musicians. CAUTION: The valves are not numbered.....I scratched a number into the plastic valve bottom, which will not affect anything.Just played through a Bach partita, BWV 1013...intermediate partials, which I sometimes have trouble finding, are right where they should be. I'm having trouble keeping my chops off this horn, to rest them for gigs.7/25 update: Used a Gear Tie 12" to wrap a Selmer plastic lyre onto the bend lust past the finger loop. holds securely and easy on-off...the Gear Tie can stay on, as it's not in the way.7/28 - Marching worked as expected...much better! Still having trouble putting this horn down...heh.I'm given to understand that the spare set of springs are lighter, to be used when the valves break in...changing took a couple of minutes...valves are fast. Third slide still needs to be a bit freer, but may work in.8/29 works well for marching! still playing every day....great horn to practice on. Read some Tromba lit., and discovered that the valves are interchangeable! WOW...There's good engineering!!

Intonation starts going sharp at the top of the staff progressing to being a half step off by high C. Tried several mouthieces but nothing helped. Tone is okay but the intonation makes it basically unplayable. Valves seem to work okay but are pretty noisy.

Looks great. It is exactly what we were looking for.