My Yamaha Xeno Trumpet

I’m learning to play the trumpet. I rented one for a while to see how I liked it, and I love it! Now I own a Yamaha Professional Bb Xeno, YTR-8335RGS. This is used by many artists in top-level concert and jazz bands.

This might sound like a contradiction to be a beginner and own a professional standard trumpet. But I wanted to have my own trumpet, and since I only expect to buy one, I wanted to have one that would be good quality and be suited to the type of music I enjoy, which is most especially Jazz.

I settled on the Xeno because Yamaha is known to manufacture trumpets that are reliably consistent in their sound and quality from one trumpet to the next. There are other manufacturers that make trumpets for a similar price that perhaps surpass the Yamaha in their sound quality, but often this quality can vary from one trumpet to another. This means that such an instrument may have the potential for greater individuality and quality of sound, but it requires that you play well enough to be able judge and discriminate between the nuances of the specific instruments you try in the shop before buying.

Another advantage to the Yamaha consistency in manufacture is that if you need to replace your instrument for some reason, it is possible to buy a new trumpet and find very little variation, compared to what you are used to, in the sound and response of the instrument.

I haven’t been at all disappointed by my choice. The Yamaha Xeno is so easy to play, the notes flow from it effortlessly compared to the student rental trumpet I used before. The whole instrument vibrates and resonates even with a very soft blow into it. It is heavyweight, giving it tremendous power and rich sound. And yet it is also possible to play quietly. The mouthpiece that comes with it is weighted to match the instrument very nicely and the pistons move amazingly fluidly and never stick.

And perhaps not so importantly, but very satisfyingly, with it's silver-plated finish and gold mouthpiece it’s beautiful to look at!