Perfect for travel! The Cute small bell ACB Doubler's Pocket Trumpet

4 stars for the sound and ease of playing you get for the money -- great buy. That said, unless you already have a picc practice mute and a picc stand, or unless you truly need something this compact, consider spending the extra $35 on the large bell for the better sound quality (based on the videos, anyway) and ability to use a standard size practice mute. Like another reviewer mentioned, though, the Silent Brass pickup mute fits in the small bell (just barely without falling out), so I'm happy with it as-is. There are some intonation problems as other reviews note, but you can minimize them by fidgeting with the various slides -- I have my first valve slide permanently out a bit, for example, which gets most things on the staff reasonably in tune. Above and below the staff is still hard to get in tune, but the playability makes up for it in my opinion for a horn that is clearly not intended for performing. I don't like to leave nicer horns just lying around, but I have no problem setting this on the corner of my desk, so it's easy to pick up when I have a few minutes between work calls (this horn has increased my playing time, in other words). It's almost as easy and rewarding to play as trumpets 2-3x the cost, and I'll take slightly out-of-tune over the other issues that tend to plague cheap horns, like dodgy slots, poor machining with parts that don't fit together like they should, or being completely unplayable in certain ranges. This horn has none of those problems, and the valve action alone is worth every penny. (not so) pro tip - the tuning slide seam is so flush when the slide is pushed all the way in that I didn't realize it was there, leaving me wondering why in the world pocket trumpets are pitched in B and/or have no tuning slide. I contacted ACB customer support asking if I missed a tuning slide somewhere, and as it turned out, yes, yes I did. ;) It's on the right side and you pull it toward you.

I have been playing this small bell ACB pocket trumpet for about a month now and am very happy with my purchase! I am getting ready for an overseas deployment and wanted an inexpensive pocket trumpet to take with me to keep my chops up while I am away. I did not want to spend a whole lot of money since this horn will most likely take a bit of abuse. I knew I did not want to go with one of those online horns I've seen on Amazon. The main things I wanted was a horn with a good valve block and which was free blowing (for a small bell pocket!) This horn fit the bill perfectly; especially since the ACB technicians take the time to "set up" the horn before they sell it. This horn actually exceeded my expectations for a horn at this price point. I had the opportunity to stop by the ACB shop in KC (which in itself was AWESOME) to try out this horn as well as a few of their other higher-tiered pocket trumpets. The more expensive pocket trumpets blew me away with their sound and intonation, but the small bell ACB was at the price point I was looking at. It does have some intonation issues at the 1st line Eb and below where it plays flat, but that is really the only issue I have, and honestly I do not have a problem with since the horn was so inexpensive and I can just lip it up to get in tune! The valves work flawlessly and with my Giddings and Webster 1.25 mouthpiece, the horn gets a pretty decent sound. The band directors I work with stated that they were very surprised at the sound it projected! My students think it's the "cutest instrument they've ever seen! This is a great little horn! :-)

I received my pocket trumpet today. I love it! It sounds good and your TLC especially to the valves is quite noticeable. My trumpet Silent Brass fits it like a glove. Thank you so much. Now when I get my FX mouthpiece I can make it sound even fuller.

This 'cute' little horn surpassed all of my expectations and you cannot beat the price anywhere else. Aside from it being a practice/gimmick pocket trumpet, there are three things that stand out the most about this horn. 1. This horn has great intonation and has a big sound in the low to middle registers. 2. The build quality is solid. It has a rock like feel in the hands which I like. Not too heavy though but definitely compact. 3. Anything above a high C breaks up a bit. Not too noticeable, but definitely indicative of a pocket trumpet. My only knock on this horn is the lacquer finish. My horn came with a few noticeable imperfections in the finish. Awesome little horn!

Recently purchased Austin Custom Brass pocket trumpet. Honestly my expectations where fairly low given the form factor and the price. I was quite surprised with the quality and sound I ended up with. It’s no Martin Committee or anything, but it competes fairly well with my 1980’s back strad 43. At least in terms of sound projection and tone within a more modest range. Doesn’t slot nearly as well or screech quite as nice above the staff, but hell, it was less than $300 and that was with a very nice case. Feels good in the hand, and definitely seems quality. Highly recommended.