• Determine Which Brass Instrument You Need

• Understand the Anatomy of Brass Instruments

• Find Brass Instruments on eBay

• Buy Brass Instruments With Confidence

Determine Which Brass Instrument You Need

Determine Which Brass Instrument You Need

For beginning and young musicians, choosing the right brass instrument depends on a combination of factors—price, musical tone, and quality of construction.

Set your brass instrument budget

Decide how much you want to spend on a brass instrument before you shop. Expect to pay less for beginning brass instruments you intend to upgrade than those brass instruments you buy as a long-term investment. Include the price of a good leather instrument case from SKB, Yamaha, or Pro Tec in your budget.

You'll also need brass instrument cleaning products and brass instrument lubricants to upkeep your brass instrument and make it last. Mouthpieces from Denis Wick, Bach, or Giardinelli are also essential. A mouthpiece pouch will also help to protect your mouthpiece.

Select a brass instrument

Choose a brass instrument that produces sounds you like to hear.

• Trumpets: Trumpets have a bright, crisp sound. This type of horn has three valves on top that produce different notes when pressed in different combinations.

• Cornets: Similar in construction to the trumpet, the cornet’s tube grows much wider toward the end. Cornets produce a richer, thicker sound than trumpets, but are tuned to the same pitch.

• French horns: The French horn produces mellow sounds an octave lower than the trumpet and cornet and can challenge beginners. French horns are made up of a tube of coiled brass with a flared bell at one end and a mouthpiece at the other. It has three valves. Double horns are also available that have four valves. 

• Trombones: Trombones produce mellower sounds than trumpets and make a great choice for beginning or young musicians. The straight trombone is the simplest to master, with no tubing inside the main section. The F-rotor trombone, by contrast, has extra tubing within the main loop. Students usually learn on a straight tenor trombone and later challenge themselves with an F-rotor trombone.

• Tubas: Tubas, the largest member of the brass instruments family, produce bass sounds and can be fairly expensive. Each tuba has three valves and a long tube of brass that widens as it gets to the flared bell end.

• Flugelhorns: The flugelhorn, also spelled "fluegelhorn," resembles a cornet, but has a wider bore. It sounds similar to the trumpet and cornet.

Common marching band brass instruments include the cornet, mellophone, euphonium, trombone, and sousaphone.

Look for quality brass instrument construction

You'll find a wide variety of new and used brass instruments on eBay. New brass instruments allow you to break in your instrument as you grow as a musician. Second-hand or used brass instruments often offer great quality and great value.

As a general rule of thumb, used brass instruments will cost between one-half and two-thirds of the new retail price, depending on its age and condition. Stick to a well-known brand when buying used brass instruments. They'll likely have a higher level of quality and higher resale price. Additionally, brand-name brass instruments tend to produce a better tone and are less prone to mechanical failures.

Look for brass instruments in good condition that you can resell later for close to the original purchase price. If a used brass instrument is in poor condition, you may save money in the short run, but pay more for repairs in the long run.

Understand the Anatomy of Brass Instruments

Understand the Anatomy of Brass Instruments

When evaluating a brass instrument, understand its anatomy.

• Leadpipes: A leadpipe, also known as a mouthpipe, is tapered tubing that runs between the mouthpiece and bore tubing. You can find leadpipes made of red brass, yellow brass, and sterling silver. Although all metals require regular cleaning, red brass has a high copper content, which makes it more corrosion resistant than yellow brass. Silver leadpipes are most often found in intermediate and professional-level instruments.

• Bores: Bore size, the inside diameter of tubing, determines the characteristics of the sound produced by a brass instrument. Instruments with larger bores require more effort to play. Therefore, younger players may find it easier to sustain notes and achieve a good tone on small-bore instruments. One of the big differences between a trumpet and cornet is the bore. The trumpet has 1/3 conical bore and 2/3 cylindrical bore, which allows it to produce a more brilliant tone than the cornet. The cornet has 2/3 conical bore and 1/3 cylindrical bore, which allow it to produce a more mellow sound than the trumpet.

• Valves: Valves, fixed lengths of tubing, allow players to adjust the length of a brass instrument's sound column in order to modify pitch or tone and play a wider variety of notes. Two common valves used for brass instruments are piston valves and rotary valves. Press piston valves, like those used on the American trumpet, vertically to open and close the airway. Pistons should play smoothly and quickly. Durable nickel-plated pistons are often found on student instruments, stainless steel pistons may be found on intermediate instruments, and Monel pistons are often found on professional instruments. Press rotary valves, like those used on the French horn, to rotate your valve into place.

• Tuning slides: Certain brass instruments use slides for tuning, allowing you to adjust the length of an air column in small increments. These instruments typically have one slide in the main tube and a slide on each major valve loop. 

• Bells: Bells are the flared openings on a brass instrument. Bells can vary in size and taper, both of which can affect the sound of the instrument in subtle ways. Most bells are welded, but some are one-piece and hand-hammered. Because bell construction helps determine tone and response, look at welded bells carefully. You'll want a smooth, even seam that looks seamless. The bell is usually made of yellow brass, but can also be made of rose brass or (rarely) silver brass. The "flare" of bell construction varies widely between brands.

• Finishes: Finishes range from clear lacquer to silver plate. Silver plate, a lighter finish, tends to have less impact on the volume of an instrument.

Find Brass Instruments on eBay

Find Brass Instruments on eBay

Once you know what type of brass instrument you want, go to the Musical Instruments portal, click Brass, and start searching for item listings on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Baritone, Tuba, Cornet, Trumpet, French Horn, Flugelhorn, Trombone, and Other Brass.

• Keyword Search: Search eBay title listings for specific words. For example, if you want to find a French horn, type “French horn” (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Brass Instruments With Confidence

Buy Brass Instruments With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.