Bach trumpets, a brand named after the famous Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer from the Baroque period.
Bach trumpets are the most sought after brand of trumpets for sale for a number of reasons: their quality sound, their quality look, and because of one particular model of Bach trumpet that seems to have, over the last couple of decades, become the choice trumpet for any serious trumpet player, the Bach Stradivarius.
The Bach trumpets hold a special place in my heart, primarily because I grew up playing the Stradivarius trumpet from 6th grade all throughout college, and even now, but we’ll talk more about the Strad later in this post.
For now, let’s talk more about Bach trumpets in general.
Bach trumpets represent quality and durability. I once knew of a drum corps that ordered all silver Bach trumpets because they knew not only that it would make the corps as a whole look better, but sound better too.
Prices range, as with do most brands, however Bach’s tend to be in the upper range, although they still have a few starter or student models available.
The Bach TR500 or TR600 are good beginner models, gold trumpets that range from $600.00 to $700.00, including the case. It’s once you get into the more professional, silver trumpets like the Bach Stradivarius that you get into the thousands of dollars, for example, the Bach 180S37 Stradivarius Bb Trumpet, which is about $2500.00 for a brand new one – and significantly less for a used one.
About the Stradivarius, if there’s any one trumpet I could recommend, it would be this one. There are different models, but the above mentioned model is the one I used since the 6th grade and it has lasted me ever since.
It helped me sound better, and it kept up with me during those tough times in marching band – although I did have to get it repaired a couple of times – once because I dropped it while marching and it landed directly on the mouthpiece, making it almost impossible to take out. The second time was a dent to the bell, which is the worst kind of damage because it’s very noticeable. This one wasn’t my fault though – it happened when I left my trumpet with everyone else’s instrument under a bus, and unfortunately I had a “gig bag” at the time, which is a softer case that is easier to carry around, but I was too lazy to bring it up with me on the bus – big mistake.
Anyways, you live and you learn, and I’ve learned that I wouldn’t trade my Bach stradivarius for anything because it was really good to me throughout the years. Once you pass the beginnier level, I highly recommend at least picking one up at your local store or finding one for sale local before trying something else. You won’t be disappointed!
Photo by Ikhlasulamal