• Determine Which Brass Instrument You Need

• Understand the Anatomy of Brass Instruments

• Find Brass Instruments on eBay Australia

• Buy with Confidence

• Need More Help?

• Legal Disclaimer

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. If you’re instrument doesn’t come with a case, then remember to include the price of a good instrument case in your budget.

Mouthpieces for your instrument are also essential. You'll also need brass instrument cleaning products to upkeep your brass instrument and make it last.

Select a brass instrument

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

• Trumpets: Trumpets have a sharp, brilliant sound. This type of horn has three valves on top that produce different notes when pressed in different combinations. To play the trumpet, vibrate your lips over the mouthpiece.

• 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 expensive French horn produces mellow sounds at a lower pitch than the trumpet 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.

• Trombones: Trombones produce mellower sounds than trumpets and make a great choice for beginning or young musicians. The fairly easy-to-learn brass instrument is made of a narrow tube of brass folded over itself. 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. Typically, students start with a straight tenor trombone, and later, graduate to a trombone with an F-rotor.

• 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 that wraps around itself.

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

• Saxophones: Although saxophones are played with a single reed and therefore technically part of the woodwind family of musical instruments, saxophones are also typically made of brass. Saxophones produce powerful tones and can be classified into three types: alto saxophones, tenor saxophones and baritone saxophones.

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

Look for quality brass instrument construction

You'll find a wide variety of new and used brass instruments on eBay Australia. 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 like Yamaha, Jupiter, and Besson. 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, it helps to understand its anatomy.

• Lead pipes: The lead pipe, also called a mouthpipe, runs from the mouthpiece to the main tuning slide. It’s made of yellow brass, red brass, or sterling silver. Red brass is the choice for student horns because it’s less susceptible to corrosion. Yellow brass requires more frequent cleaning. A silver lead pipe, on the other hand, is found mostly on intermediate and professional trumpets.

• Bores: The bore refers to the inside diameter of the horn's tubing, which is measured at the second valve slide. Most players use a bore from around 1.145cm to 1.15cm. Larger-bore instruments require good lung capacity, produce rich tones, and can be played with more power than small-bore instruments. They're best for advanced and professional musicians. Small-bore instruments work well for new and especially young players. They are easier to play, but can sound thin or shallow. The basic difference between a trumpet and cornet is the bore. The trumpet has one-third conical bore and two-thirds cylindrical bore, which allows it to produce a more brilliant tone than the cornet. The cornet has two-thirds conical bore and one-third cylindrical bore, which allow it to produce a more mellow sound than the trumpet.

• Valves: Valves, or valve pistons, come in a variety of metals, including nickel and stainless steel. Nickel-plated pistons are used widely in student horns because they’re hard, durable, and tolerate infrequent cleaning. Monel pistons, on the other hand, are made of a softer metal alloy that requires frequent cleaning. Valves should play quickly and smoothly.

• Bells: Bells, usually made of yellow brass, rose brass, or silver brass, vary in size and taper, both of which can affect the sound of the instrument in subtle ways. The "flare" of bell construction varies widely with brands such as Bach brass instruments, and Yamaha brass instruments.

• Finishes: Finishes range from clear lacquer to silver plate. Silver plate tends have less impact on the horn’s sound quality.

Find Brass Instruments on eBay Australia

Find Brass Instruments on eBay Australia

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 Australia.

• 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 brass Accessories and Instruments.

• Keyword Search: Search eBay Australia 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 Australia'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 Australia Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay Australia will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy with Confidence

Buy with Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay Australia 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 Australia (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay Australia are not covered by eBay Australia protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay Australia 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 Australia 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 Australia 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 unauthorised payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,500.   

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

Need More Help?

Need More Help?

Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Australia veteran with just the information you're looking for!

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.