Allora ATR-1301M Aere Metallic Series Plastic Bb Trumpet Metallic Black - Silver Trim

Bought in August. It has now broke in December. I watched as my son played and it literally just split apart for no good reason.

I gave this a try not expecting much. I played brass trumpet throughout my school years so I can compare the two. It is very lightweight and actually sounds pretty much like a trumpet should sound. However, I find that the tone is pretty "airy" in the lower registers. Also, there were some flaws on the one that i received right out of the box. There were minor scratches here and there and one of the valve tops is slanted slightly off axis. Also, you will definitely want to pick up some valve oil and slide grease. I was worried the slides were not even functional because they seemed stuck in place at first. After pulling on them with some force they popped off. I applied a coating of slide grease and they are now functioning as smoothly as my old brass trumpet. The valves were also pretty sticky after the first play session. Standard valve oil did the trick as the valves are actually made of metal. The case and stand it comes with is surprisingly nice, though. The plastic mouthpiece is a 7c and is decent, but more experienced players will want to definitely pick up a standard metal mouthpiece. That may help the tone problems I've been having. I haven't tried one with it yet. Once I got back into the hang of playing i was surprised with how nice it can sound. At this price point, this is a great pick-up for someone who may have played in the past and wants to see if they still "got it"...or a young beginner who may not invest the time in picking it up full time. The fact that it comes in different colors is a nice plus as well. I was VERY skeptical as there aren't many reviews out there on these plastic instruments...but considering what I paid and the low expectations I had (I feared it would be a total piece of trash), I'd consider myself satisfied.EDIT 4/22/15. I upgraded to a Blessing (brand name) mouthpiece and the sound is better now. I get a less airy tone. I'd recommend using a standard metallic mouthpiece over the plastic one.

OK first to come clean ....it's the Tromba Trompet in white I've got but the Allora and Tromba are the same.Anyway, I'm writing this as some previous comments have pointed to this instrument being crap and nothing could be farther from the truth. Having owned a Taylor London and Yamaha Xeno for many, many years and still playing gigs for good money I consider myself fairly well qualified to write this review.First, quality. From a distance no one will tell it's made from composites as all they care about is the sound that comes out. Upon closer inspection though you will see small seams and lugs where the parts have come out the moulds. I'm afraid you are going to have to accept this as to me playing the thing and the sound that comes out is more important than looks.Weight. It weights next to nothing and for a child, or marching and professionals holding the thing all night this is important. And because it's so light it's incredibly comfy to hold.Valves. They do need a little bedding in like any other trumpet and on the whole are smooth. Not the best but, neither are they bad. They're metal like conventional ones. I must admit I'd prefer a thumb slide as well but I don't play down low too much anyway.Sound. Wow. Some people complain that this doesn't resonate in the way that a conventional trumpet plays and I'd agree that's true but for me I prefer the precise but warm tones of this instrument. It sounds very much like my Taylor London in many ways. And as it's not metal I'm not having to constantly keep it in tune and keep it warm all the time thus I'm never afraid to pick it up after 20 bars without playing and get a perfectly in tune note.Mouthpiece. I'm all in favour of plastic mouthpieces. Not cold and sticky against the lips, lightweight, comfy and so on. In my opinion metal mouthpieces have had their day. But choose one wisely eg the ones supplied with the instrument are rubbish and you should replace straight away with maybe a Kelly or similar.In summary. I play this trumpet quite happily at gigs despite a few minor quality issues as to me and my audience it's the sound that matters. Think again before you dismiss this. Composite instruments may well be the future and for many a good reason.

I like the Allora trumpet. I love the weight! I have a decent sound on it. Like any trumpet and maybe moreso with this one, your chops determine the sound you will have, In regards to how useful it is to me, I would play it on a gig however only as a novality I have the Matalic blue finish and it was exactly how it appeared on the site. I'm not sure how this how would hold up if given to a child of 13 - 15 in age unsupervised. It seems easly damaged if dropped. I don't want to drop mine to find out lol......If you're a serious trumpet player and ever wanted to have a toy plastic trumpet then this is great for you. Also good for beginer students i would think.Under 200 bucks! I love it It will surely make a statement on stage!

This is a very fun novelty horn. I use it to keep out at all times for spontaneous practice. You get a lot for your money, with the gig bag and oil and cleaning supplies and trumpet stand. The plastic "7C" mouthpiece is probably the most worthless thing in the world. You'll need a decent mouthpiece, preferably metal.Tone quality should be close to what you already get, if you already play a brass horn. Valves do take some break-in, more so than on any brass trumpet I've owned. Quality of my horn is so-so. I have a black/silver one. The silver is uneven and some spots on the valve caps aren't fully coated in silver. The plastic flashing could have been cleaned up better. My finger hook just recently broke in the middle. The trumpet fell over off the too lightly weighted trumpet stand and landed on the finger hook which snapped. I think I can glue it back on, though.I'm not sure this would be a suitable instrument for a beginner. To get the most out of it, I think you need to have some skill. If you have the skill, I definitely think you could have loads of fun with this.For the same money you can get a decent brass, student or better used trumpet, which I would recommend for a beginner.

Junk. Your kid deserves better.