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Last updated: 3 Feb 2022

The Crown Prince of Brass Instruments: Reviewing The Best Trombones for Beginners

Best Overall
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Mendini by Cecilio Trombone Kit for Kids
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Runner-Up
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Eastar ETB-330 Bb Tenor Trombone
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Honorable Mention
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Kaizer TBNE-1000LQ Bb Trombone
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Also Consider
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Eastrock Bb Tenor Slide Trombone for Students
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By Camilla Haywood
Published 8:16 pm

A very simple brass instrument originated around 500 years ago, sort of a mixture of tuba and trumpet - the trombone is very easy to learn if you’re comfortable with the embouchure required to play it. The instrument is very famous because its sound and tone are suitable for multiple music genres, particularly jazz - the whole brass family is known for their contributions to jazz music. The best part about trombones? Learning to play it is super fun but only if you’ve got a decent, reliable piece at hand. In this guide, we’re bringing you the top trombones for high school students for 2022 - well, not particularly just high school students but basically anybody who is looking to get their hands dirty and get the hang of trombone. 

Let’s get started with the list of trombones first and then we’ll back our findings with a detailed buyer’s guide that’ll also ultimately help you choose a suitable trombone for yourself.

Detailing Our Favorite Trombones for 2022

1

Mendini by Cecilio Trombone Kit for Kids

– Best Overall
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THE SCOOP

This beautiful brass trombone doesn’t fall flat – a great fit for beginners of all ages and an excellent go-to instrument for music instructors. Crafted with a 0.500” medium bore and an 8” bell to create a complete-texture sound. Moreover, it comes with a silver-plated mouthpiece and smooth action slides – everything you need in a trombone.

Pros
  • The whole kit includes a hard carry case, chromatic tuner, white gloves, a pocketbook, and cleaning accessories 
  • Available in a beautiful gold color and you can buy the trombone with or without the care kit
Cons
  • The trombone comes with a year’s warranty but it doesn’t cover the carry case – which particularly isn’t of ideal quality
2

Eastar ETB-330 Bb Tenor Trombone

– Runner-Up
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THE SCOOP

The ETB-330 Trombone has a bright, penetrating sound, with an accurate tone for students and beginners. It’s a beautiful trombone, produced by a thickened lacquering process, making it a uniform and well-polished instrument. It’s more wear-resistant and harder than your average nickel-plated trombones, so the durability is a plus point here. 

The complete package includes; a cleaning rod, telescopic oil, white gloves, long hairbrush, short brush, shoulder pad, 7 C mouth, hard box, and 12 months shell life.

Pros
  • Comes with an excellent cleaning kit that helps prevent rust in the inner tube
  • The tone is bright, thanks to the well-made body giving a stable reflection to the sound vibrations
Cons
  • The tuning slide does not properly line up with the horn body on some units
3

Kaizer TBNE-1000LQ Bb Trombone

– Honorable Mention
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THE SCOOP

It falls under $150, sounds like a beginner’s dream, and comes in two colors; gold and chrome. The TBNE-1000LQ comes with a molded hard case, slide oils, and gloves. Also, the trombone is side-coated with a specially formulated compound that helps obtain excellent intonation control and smooth response. 

Pros
  • Comes with a 45-day free trial – you can return it if you’re not happy with the trombone (backed by a lifetime warranty against manufacturing faults)
  • Has perfect weight distribution, making this trombone perfectly balanced (helps you build the right embouchure and reduce fatigue)
Cons
  • The water key may be a bit off-center
  • Doesn’t have any warning stops at 7th position
4

Eastrock Bb Tenor Slide Trombone for Students

– Also Consider
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THE SCOOP

Made up of high-quality brass, featuring excellent tonal quality, this trombone from Eastrock is an ideal trombone for students, beginners, and even kids! The bell mouth is of just the right size – bringing you stable vibration and stronger sound penetration. Moreover, it’s available in four beautiful colors; red, white, gold, and black. The overall structure looks flawless and the paint can last for a long time if the trombone is maintained properly.

Pros
  • Comes with a very care-free warranty against manufacturing faults
  • The high-quality case is suitable for storing the trombone and keeps it safe from collisions
  • Available in four colors – making it great for kids
Cons
  • A bit bulkier than average trombone
5

Jean Paul (TB-400) USA Tenor Trombone

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THE SCOOP

The TB-400 is a stunning yellow brass Bb trombone with a lacquer finish. It comes with a robust contoured carrying case, gloves, mouthpiece, valve oil, and a cleaning cloth. Plus, it has a fluid, quick response slide action and balanced weight distribution, making learning easier for beginner trombonists. Besides this, the trombone comes with a 1-year warranty that helps you get any manufacturing faults out of your way.

Pros
  • Has well-rounded intonation, giving it a very nice and warm tone
  • The carrying case has multiple pockets for storage and padded shoulder straps make carrying it a breeze
Cons
  • The slide may not be aligned correctly
6

pInstrument Plastic pBone Bb Trombone for Students

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THE SCOOP

A lightweight and versatile trombone with a comfortable, ergonomic grip. This trombone has a durable ABS construction – the bell and outer slide are plastic, the inner slide is fiberglass, and the stocking end is brass. It’s very important to note that it’s a plastic instrument and not a good choice for professional performances and rehearsals. However, ideal for kids and beginners to get their embouchure ready and hands dirty with a trombone.

Pros
  • It’s lightweight, sounds good, and is available in attractive colors
  • It’s damage and wear-resistant 
  • It’s a very unique, full-featured plastic trombone – excellent for learning
Cons
  • You’ll have to learn to maintain the slide since it is scratchy and a bit slow
7

Ashthorpe Bb Tenor Slide Trombone

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THE SCOOP

Comes in two variations; gold lacquer and nickel-plated finish – this trombone is crafted of highly durable brass, offers a range of features that foster excellent playing, the unparalleled choice for beginners or students. Sound-wise, since it features an 8-inch bell, 0.500-inch bore, and a nice hand slide, it has a bright, penetrating, accurate, and very clear sound. 

Pros
  • Comes in a beautifully-appointed package – includes a premium case for safe storage, white gloves, slide grease, polishing cloth, and pistol oil
  • Superb sound transmission – thanks to its great build
  • Boasting a brass finish, it comes with two finish options; gold lacquer or nickel-coated
Cons
  • The counterweight should be bigger – or the trombone may seem unbalanced to some
8

Costzon B Flat Tenor Slide Brass Trombone

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THE SCOOP

Good slide action and good sound, this is a close-to-professional brass trombone and is excellent for beginners who are looking for something with a decent room for growth. It comes with a mouthpiece, wipe cloth, a pair of white gloves, and a nice carrying case. Moreover, it provides excellent intonation, comfort, and mechanical reliability. While it’s mainly made up of gold brass, the tuning slide is made from chrome-finished cupronickel. Something to be mindful of though; the tuning section has to be collapsed to fit the trombone in the case.

Pros
  • The carrying case can be worn like a backpack which comes in very handy
  • The trombone has a balanced weight with helps with easy playing and reduces fatigue
Cons
  • Made up of thin metal and looks a bit dull in some areas
9

Selmer Prelude TB711 Student Trombone

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THE SCOOP

The TB711 Trombone by Selmer features a genuine Vincent Bach 12C mouthpiece, an 8-inch two-piece yellow brass bell, and a removable balance weight – all the features teaming up to make it an excellent-sounding, lightweight, and fatigue-reducing trombone. Its bore is around 0.5″ and is designed for easy tone production and particularly aids in embouchure development – making it a very interesting choice for newbies.

Pros
  • Comes with an excellent starter kit that includes a tuner as well
  • The trombone comes in a backpack case that is soft and durable
  • It sounds excellent and features a truly great slide
Cons
  • Not available in other colors
10

Nasir Ali Nickel Plated Bb Trombone

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THE SCOOP

Made up of high-quality brass, under the guidance of maestros – the Nasir Ali Trombone aces at its functionality as it does with its name. It comes with 3 smooth functioning valves with comfortable, pearl inlaid buttons. It’s not only great for beginners and intermediate-level players but we think it’s also good enough for professionals! It’s sturdy and it has a good sound! The complete package includes a mouthpiece, nylon padded case, and the trombone – keep in mind that it doesn’t come with a spit valve. 

Pros
  • It looks, sounds, and feels awesome to play with
  • Excellent tonal quality at this price point
Cons
  • The valve action is a bit stiff
  • The horn may be slightly sharp for some

Buying Guide: Trombones for Beginners

Trombones aren't very common - they aren't like guitars or violins, so only the experienced folks have an idea about them. So, you can't just go to the music store and test one out. If you don't know what an embouchure is or if you've never played the trombone before, it'll be almost impossible for you to choose one. 

Luckily, we've got this section for you - at American Songwriter, we make sure that our audience is pampered and taken care of from all ends. So we've put together a couple of tricks and tips to help you choose a trombone, followed by a plethora of information to get you up to pace with the latest trombones available in the market.

First Things First: What to Consider When Buying a Trombone

When buying any musical instrument, you can save a lot of time and money by asking these questions yourself:

Know who you're buying the trombone for

There usually are three types of instruments; toy instruments for kids, beginner/student instruments, and professional instruments. If you're a complete newbie and you want to start with an entry-level instrument, you need to go for a beginner/student trombone. On the other hand, if you believe that you're a very determined individual and you're going to grow out the beginner trombone right after a few months, you can always add in a few bucks and get your hands on an intermediate level instrument that'll help you bring your skill up a notch.

Know why you're buying It

If you're planning to buy a trombone as a hobby, you need a basic instrument and it doesn't really matter if it is full-featured or not. On the contrary, if you're buying it as a professional or somebody looking to bring their skill up a notch, you'll need it with all the nitty-gritty it comes with. 

Make sure you're also getting the maintenance kit

So, if you didn't know it already - the trombone is played with a very interesting embouchure that requires you to blow vibrations into it in a way that fills up its pipe with the player's spit. This is particularly why it requires regular care and proper maintenance tools. When you buy a trombone, it almost always comes with a nice cleaning kit. Even if yours didn't come with one, you can easily buy a cleaning kit separately that mostly includes a cleaning cloth, polish, and gloves.

What are the Different Types of Trombones?

While going through the trombones above, you may have gotten a bit confused about terms like valve and tenor. Well, they're the terms defining different types of trombones. Following are some primary types of trombones (although they're about a dozen types of trombones out there):

Trigger-type tenor

The trigger-type tenor trombone, also known as F-rotor or F-attachment trombone, has a couple of advantages and provides an easy progression for a well-experienced trombonist. However, for beginners, it only adds a whole extra process right off the surface, which isn't really ideal or anything we'd suggest. 

Straight tenor

This is one of the most commonly available and simplest trombones out there. The straight tenor trombone contains no tubing on the inside.  

Bass trombone

Mostly used by skilled players, the bass trombones have a very large bore and hence, require more air to be played properly. 

Sopranino, piccolo, and others

The sopranino and piccolo trombones are extremely rare and they're generally smaller and higher-pitched than regular trombones. Other than these, there are alto, cimbasso, soprano, marching, and valve trombones - and even more! We've given you an overview of the most basic ones and ideally the ones you should be going for as a beginner.

Features to Look for in a Good Quality Trombone

If you haven't bought a trombone before, here are a few things you may want to consider as a beginner:

Accessories

An average beginner trombone should come with a mouthpiece, a soft/hard case, mutes, a cleaning kit that may include a pair of gloves, polish, and cleaning cloth, and perhaps a water key stopper. These are some of the most basic accessories that beginners need at one point or another.

Finish

If you're buying a trombone for a kid, you may as well go for cool color options. If the product you're interested in doesn't come in multiple colors, try looking for another trombone with the same features but something that's a little more vibrant - only if a cool finish is one of your preferences.

Bore

The normal tenor trombone bore is around 0.5 inches - however, a rule of thumb is that thicker a trombone's bore is, the more bassy sound it will produce.

Sound and slide action

Before buying a trombone, make sure to do your due homework around the product. Check out its reviews on YouTube and under customer reviews on online retailers such as Amazon. We're particularly talking about zeroing in on a trombone with a decent sound. More often than not, the customer reviews under the product will tell you all that you need to know about the instrument.

Similarly, the slide action of the trombone must be easy - you can easily find feedback about this in the customer reviews section when buying online.

People Also Asked

Q: Do trombones come with a warranty?

A: Trombones do come with a warranty - it's mostly against the manufacturing faults. The warranty is usually very hassle-free and lets you replace the faulty parts of your trombone right away.

Q: Which type of trombone is best for beginners?

A: The straight tenor trombone is a great starting point and is usually opted by trombonists of all skill levels. These trombones are usually Bb (B flat) tenor trombones and we've listed a few of them above.

Q: How much should you expect to pay for a good trombone?

A: If you're concerned about the overall prices - you can go as high as you want to with the professional ones. If you're looking for an entry-level trombone, you can expect to find a decent one in the $150 - $300 range. The mid-level ones will cost around $500-$700 and shall give you more than enough room for growth.

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By Camilla Haywood
Within the city limits of NOLA, you may find Camilla hammering away on her 88, playing anything from old jazz to modern country music. Camilla's goal is to one day open a piano studio in New Orleans where she can teach the black and whites and other common jazz instruments to enthusiastic students. Ms. Haywood hopes to bring instruments to old and new musicians alike, reviewing pianos, orchestral instruments, and other products that make her tap her fingers to the beats.
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