TromboneChat

Hello, I have played the trombone for 8 years and am going to college to study music soon. I want to pick up the alto trombone and was wondering if there are any good go to horns that are really cheap(100-200$). Would a pbone be a good investment for learning the horn, or would one of those cheaply made horns be better?

You'll never get something playable on your price point.  Reports on the pBone Mini are that it is abominable.

Best cheap alto to date is the Jin Bao with a special leadpipe.  The leadpipe costs as much as the trombone.  Combined you are talking around $350.

Most schools will offer altos for loan if you are a music major.  Save your money and wait until you can afford something better to buy.

Back in the Bad Old Days when altos were something you bought when you had the Symphony gig, you could simulate an alto by removing the tuning slide of a tenor and playing it that way.

Try the JP Rath ....

If you are going to study music then start by investing in your future and buying something like the JPRath if you feel you need an alto at this point!

Save up, get a job, invest in your future... Get the right tool for the job!

There are lots of positive reviews about the JP Rath.

I have a Wessex Alto, one of the older single bore ones. The newer ones are dual bore I think. It's a very good instrument. Pure, clean sound, decent slide, no weird intonation or dead notes. Some aesthetic fittings and ferrules are a bit cheap-looking but it seems that the compromise is there rather than in the playing quality of the horn. It cost me $500 second hand.

To get something better (just a bit better, not even a lot better) than a Wessex or a JP Rath, you'd probably have to spend about $2000 more.

Tried the pBone mini... didn't like it personally. The sound is *okay*, has a slight plasticiness to its tone (to be expected), but even moreso when you're behind the horn I noticed. Plus I don't really like the lightweightness of the horn, and the slide on the one I played hadn't been sanded or anything so it was awful. It would be okay for just learning the fingerings and stuff on alto, but I wouldn't ever take it out of the practice room.

If you do buy a used Chinese alto, look for the kind with the diagonal main tuning slide brace.   Those are the best of the bunch.   I bought one for $150 and then upgraded the leadpipe later for $80.   A couple of the partials have intonation quirks that need to be paid attention to, but it sounds good and the slide moves fine

I think Jim labbs sells this particular one for a decent price, but I don't usually recommend buying from them because of their terrible return policy

Since I bought my JP Rath alto my Conn 36H lives in my closet...

https://www.atelierpfeiffer.nl/alt/98-jp-musical-instruments-jp236-rath-eb-alto-trombone-trombone.html

The China made altos can be a miserable experience.  I have tried to make the transition to alto twice now and can say that playing a quality horn will make the process less painful.  IF your school has altos available, get a feel for the instrument there and when you are ready to take the leap you will be better prepared to know if an instrument is compatible with your sound concept and goals.  Alto is not just a higher pitched trombone - it is an entirely new instrument to learn and master.  Give yourself a break and concentrate on your primary instrument and let your studio teacher guide you into alto playing when you are ready. 

I've played the JPRath, it's very good, came close to buying one, but in the end it's a ot more than the OP's stated budget

I have borrowed some of those Chinese altos regularly after I sold my Courtois and found them very satisfactory. Somewhat harder to play then a good professional horn, some intonation quirks  that are not much of a problem once you know the instrument (some actually help, a very sharp 5th partial, for instance), and a slide that could be better, but totally possible to make them sound great with not that much effort. You get a lot of horn for the money.

I know someone who used his Schiller (Jim Laabs) for a gig with a major symphony when they were between two horns. That's a pretty big vote of confidence...

That being said, I'm not sure I would be saying the same thing if I hadn't learned on a very good instrument first. It's definitely easier to downgrade once you know your way around the instrument, especially on alto. Best is to save and try to find a used Yam or Courtois or something similar.

Some experience w. cheap altos, but my experience up to and including a JP/Rath, convinced me the effort to learn alto was better spent elsewhere. Cat videos maybe.

Only after trying a decent horn - a Yam - did the effort seem worthwhile.

YMMV.

If you go with JinBao I'd definitely recommend form a place that does QC on it like HornGuys.  Their leadpipes are also a vast improvement over the original, as others have said. 

That said, it may behoove you to save your pennies and get the JP Rath or a "pro" horn.  Alto is finnicky enough to learn when you're used to tenor that getting something that is higher quality is less frustrating. At least that was my experience. I did something similar with my alto playing and if I had to do it again I'd go straight for a used pro horn or one of the higher quality imports.

If you go with JinBao I'd definitely recommend form a place that does QC on it like HornGuys.  Their leadpipes are also a vast improvement over the original, as others have said. 

That said, it may behoove you to save your pennies and get the JP Rath or a "pro" horn.  Alto is finnicky enough to learn when you're used to tenor that getting something that is higher quality is less frustrating. At least that was my experience. I did something similar with my alto playing and if I had to do it again I'd go straight for a used pro horn or one of the higher quality imports.