pBone Jiggs pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet w/Gig Bag and 3C and 5C Mouthpieces, Black, (PTRUMPET1BLK)

1.0 out of 5 stars

By GERMAN - Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2017

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?

Your browser does not support HTML5 video. Looks great, sounds amazing, really easy to play but my 3rd valve constantly gets stuck. I had it for a week now and still can't get it to work. I'm a advance player. Been playing my trumpet for 25 years and professionally for 7 years. This horn has a lot of potential but that valves are a major set back.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Jeremy G - Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017

Valve sticking is a no go. *FIXED*

Wow! What a cool horn! I was really loving playing until the 3rd valve started to stick! I tried cleaning it, oiling it, cleaning it off again... nothing has worked. I might have to send it back if the pTrumpet people don't respond. Edit: I contacted customer support and within 12 hours they had replied with some helpful advice. All of the valves are interchangeable so I switched out the 2nd and 3rd valve and I haven't had any problems! Great horn!

4.0 out of 5 stars

By Dan H - Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2017

Good, for the reason you'd buy this

As an adult, I played trumpet through college. Years removed from that, I was interested in getting a horn again to play along with my kids. Price point was my primary consideration, so I was looking at this, taking a leap on a cheap used, or one of the sketchy new brass horns. Seemed like this might be low risk to simply get something functional. After using for quite some time, obvious pros and cons, but overall happy with this purchase. Pros: Unique, and fun to play - friends love to try it Crazy-light weight Decent sound Cons: Not a big deal, but skip the included mouthpieces - noticeable difference with the real thing Not as forgiving, some intonation issues Valves not incredibly responsive Overall tone isn't as rich/complex Still, amazed that something that looks like a toy sounds as good as it does. I don't want to overemphasize my 'cons'... Realizing what I bought, I'm not at all disappointed... would recommend.

1.0 out of 5 stars

By AVB - Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2018

INNOVATIVE DESIGN - BUT DO NOT BUY THIS TRUMPET FOR YOUR CHILD!!!!!!!!

First the obligatory credentials: I’m a lifetime professional trumpet player, professional musician and teacher. Started trumpet in 1957 at age 10 after 2 years of piano, and have played and practiced trumpet virtually every day of my life since. Am retired from performing now after a 45 year professional career on trumpet, and 39 years as a music educator and band director. In my teaching career I’ve taught 9000+ students from grade 4 through 12 and adults on most of the wind & percussion instruments and bass guitar. Throughout my playing career I’ve played all genres: Jazz, Classical, Pop, Rock, Baroque, even Polkas! Played mostly on the East coast and mostly in NJ and NY. I play lead and am a featured soloist. I play Trumpets in Bb, C, D, Eb and flugelhorn…Schilke, Bach, Yamaha, Selmer, & a vintage 1970 Couenon I bought new in 1970. Have a BA in Music Ed and a MA in Conducting and Composition. That’s enough, just say I’m an experienced trumpet player and musician. Have heard about plastic TRs for a while. After watching a few YouTube play-test/reviews I decided to check a couple out for myself. I like new innovative stuff and they’re cheap! Always thought it would be fun, and a bit of stage-craft, to have a Blue Trumpet for playing some Blues...already have a Blue Plunger! The GOOD: The pTrumpet is a very interesting, innovative design. Its engineering is unique. It actually blows nicely, somewhat similar to my main horn, a Schilke X3, up to high C but is a little stuffy up to G above. That's expected. It’s extremely light but feels quite chunky in the hands. Right hand position on the valves feels awkward. Intonation was OK. Think one could learn to play it in tune with sufficient careful practice time. The BAD: The 3rd valve on the horn I received stuck continually making the horn totally unplayable at any speed, thus totally useless. I followed the enclosed instructions and tried it dry at first. No good, stuck every 2nd or 3rd press. I cleaned the valve carefully and oiled it lightly (as per the instructions) with Blue Juice Valve Oil and it was exactly the same, constantly sticking. Part of the unique design is that all 3 valves are exactly the same and interchangeable, which is actually a great idea. So, I switched the valves around several times, but nothing helped stop the 3rd valve sticking problem. Tried several different finger positions and playing very slowly to be sure I wasn’t pressing at an angle, but that didn't help either. Thus, this particular pTrumpet is not good for anything but maybe making a cool looking lamp. I returned it for a refund after trying it on and off during my regular daily practice routine for 3 days. IF the manufacturer could improve the valve situation it could be a fun novelty horn, preferably for an experienced player who knows how to compensate for its intonation issues. GIVING THIS INSTRUMENT TO A BEGINNING STUDENT, OF ANY AGE, WOULD BE HORRIBLE!!! Trying to learn to play trumpet with this horn would be devastating to a new student and for their parents. Spend a little more $ and get something better. Sometime you get what you pay for…that’s especially true with musical instruments.

2.0 out of 5 stars

By Joseph J. Shatrowsky III - Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019

Awful valves ruin an otherwise fantastic product.

I must say that the criticisms people have of the tone and intonation are overblown. This thing initially amazed me considering what it’s made of and how light it is. An untrained ear almost wouldn’t know the difference. The real problem are the valves. They completely ruin everything else this does right. I’m conatantly fighting this instrument to keep the valves from getting stuck. Wiping them, switching them up, wiping them with a light coating of valve oil... I tried everything they suggested, and it doesn’t work. It’s sad because everything else about the pTrumpet is amazing. I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone until they fix this.

2.0 out of 5 stars

By Craig - Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2019

DO NOT BE TEMPTED Major Disappointment! Especially valves.

I was hoping to love this and am so disappointed. The sound is very inconsistent, but the real problem is the valves. So I will start there. The valves are TERRIBLE. I don't mean not real smooth or a little sluggish. I mean basically unplayable. When you are blowing, one or the other of the valves will either stay down or stick about half way up, or both, making it virtually unplayable. I tried swapping valves, using different valve oils, using water. Nothing helps. In most open positions and some valve combinations it sounds pretty good like an average student horn. But with some valve combinations the tone changes so much it goes from pretty good to horrible. Especially bad in mid to lower register. I could live with the tonal and intonation inconsistencies, if it was mechanically playable but it is not. Not sure if I can return it, but I will try.