Grandson loves his instrument!

I feel like this instrument needs a really in-depth review; I kept trying to find as many reviews as I could before purchasing and never really found enough unbiased information about it to help me make a decision about the purchase. For that reason, I'm going to be as detailed as I can be with this review, and I hope that it'll help others like me when making the decision on whether or not to purchase this baritone.

ABOUT ME:
I'll start with a little background - I'm not an expert by a long shot! But I know most people looking to buy this horn are either buying it for their kids who are in band, or for themselves because they're looking to get back into it. I played 1 year of trombone and 6 years of baritone and euphonium in school. I've played a lot of different brands of baritones and euphoniums because I never owned my own instrument; my middle school and high school had instruments that were assigned to us. The "better" horns were typically assigned to upperclassmen and/or first and second chair, so as a beginner I played a rusty dented Selmer, then I played a Jupiter briefly, and then my junior and senior year in high school I played a new-ish Yamaha 4-valve which was definitely my favorite. I was in both marching band and symphonic band, and my horn for marching band was almost always an older, dented King marching euphonium. So again, I'm not a professional or anything, but I have a fair amount of experience with baritones and euphoniums, and this review is based on just my (limited) knowledge and experience.

I've been out of high school for almost 15 years now, and I just kinda got the urge to pick music back up again. I barely remember how to read music and can only remember the finger positions for 5 or 6 of the most basic notes, but I can play the Bb scale just from muscle memory (haha) so I wanted to pick up an inexpensive baritone or euphonium for me to play around with and see how much I remember and how quickly I can pick it back up. I was going to try to find a used Yamaha or even a Selmer, or Jupiter, etc. but honestly even a used Yamaha is still expensive, and the other used horns are retired from local schools with tons of dents and scratches, so when I found this Mendini company and saw the prices, I was pretty excited! I opted for a baritone instead of a euphonium because, although I prefer the sound of a euphonium, the baritone is smaller and the tone difference is so minimal, having a smaller horn outweighs it for me right now.

HORN APPEARANCE:
The horn arrived on time and in good condition. It's really an attractive instrument; I was worried because it's "Made in China" (gasp!) but these days it seems like there is a range of quality coming from China, some vastly better than others, so I'm glad I chose to be optimistic with this purchase. Everything seems pretty well made and is put together fine; the cork on the spit valve lines up with the hole properly, all 3 valves operate fine, and all tuning slides function fine as well. No dents, dings, scratches, or scuffs were noticeable. Someone who doesn't know/recognize the well-known brands of instruments would never know this is an inexpensive horn! The included mouthpiece also looks nice. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the pretty rose-gold color of the part that comes to the mouthpiece isn't quite as vivid as it is in the pictures. At first, I had to really look at it to tell that it wasn't the same gold color as the rest of the horn. VERY minor thing, only aesthetic.

THE HORN CASE:
The case is nice; it seems like it will protect the horn well. Although it's a "soft case", the inside of it is hard to protect the horn. I know some people seem concerned that a soft case isn't good enough for their kiddo to carry their horn on the school bus, etc but trust me, this will be fine. It's pretty tough. The straps that came with the case are a bit confusing at first, but I figured out how to make it into a backpack style case easily. I was hoping there was an easy way to have a long shoulder strap, and while you technically CAN do it that way, the hook placement on the case isn't really optimal for it. I'm going to do it anyway, though, so it's definitely an option, just not ideal. The quality of the case and straps seems great. I can't speak to durability since I've only had it for a few days so far.

In addition to it not having a "perfect" shoulder strap solution, there are a few other minor drawbacks to the case:

- Firstly, the square zippered compartment on the outside of the case seems perfect for holding a few music books, but the size of the compartment is just a TAD too short to hold more than 1 or 2 thin books (like the Standard of Excellence books that most beginner band students will be required to use). I fit mine in there, but if I was to try to put them in there in a rush and not take my time to make it fit properly, it would be easy to bend or rip pages, get the pages stuck in the zipper, etc. I can see a student jamming their books in there and zipping in a hurry because the bell rang, only to find out later that they wrecked a few pages of their book, or the zipper, or both. It's a minor annoyance but it's worth mentioning because Mendini could fix this issue by making this compartment literally a quarter-of-an-inch taller. To be clear, this has nothing to do with the capacity (thickness) of the compartment, it's the actual height; from the bottom of the pocket to the zipper top.

- Next, the inside compartment where the player will typically keep valve oil, tuning slide lubricant, a cleaning cloth, etc. doesn't have a lid or anything. That's somewhat common for less expensive cases, but it's a bit of a pain especially for kids in school! What happens (in a school band setting) is you'll get your instrument out or put it away very quickly (because of class changes or whatever) so these lose items coming out of that open-top bucket compartment will definitely happen, and they might fall to the floor or wherever. It's not the end of the world, but when it's the third time in 6 weeks that you're buying valve oil because it keeps getting lost, it'll be a bit frustrating. My suggestion is to put ALL these loose items together in a zip lock back or something, making it more noticeable if it falls out. Of course, if you're like me and determined that the zipper compartment on the outside of the case is a bit too small for your music books, you could just keep all your extras in there!

THE TUNER/METRONOME UNIT: CAUTION
I thought it was neat that this horn came with a tuner and metronome. Most beginner bands probably don't require it, but a player of any age/skill level will need it if they want to practice and improve. The one included seemed like a good one, but mine didn't work. It came with batteries (2 AAA), so I tried those first and nothing happened. So I went to the store to get some new batteries, thinking it might be just bad batteries. When I came back from the store (15 minutes probably), the unit was very warm to the touch, and the batteries that were in it were so hot I could barely touch them! This scared me a bit; glad I wasn't gone from home long, it could have started a fire! Regardless, the unit didn't work with the new batteries either, but I took ALL batteries out of it since it's clearly got some kind of odd electrical issue. I sent a note to the seller about it, and I'll try to remember to update this review when they respond. However, this is not a deal breaker by any means. I was able to find and download good FREE tuner and metronome apps for my iPhone. For a student, don't rely on their cell phone to be their tuner or metronome; too many distractions from practice time, plus it will reduce their phone's battery which they might need later in the day. A good tuner/metronome combo unit can typically be bought for less than $35; choose a brand like Korg or Boss, or whatever your local music store recommends and/or has in stock.

OTHER EXTRAS:
The horn also came with some gloves, valve oil, and a cleaning cloth. The gloves are nice I suppose, but the only time I ever played with gloves was in marching band, and this isn't a marching horn. But even if it were, my high school provided us with sized gloves, so this extra is just kinda meh. I know it protects the finish of the horn, but I'm hesitant to even recommend using them because to me it just makes the horn slippery to hold onto, so I'd worry about dropping it with the gloves on. The cleaning cloth is standard, hang onto it, keep it in your case, there's always stuff you'll need them for! The valve oil I can't really speak to the quality of it just yet. I'm sure most valve oil is the same but I've always used Al Cass or the Yamaha stuff so I'm sticking with that!

PLAYING THE BARITONE:
If and when you buy this horn, you need to grease it down good when you first receive it, before you do anything else. Not sure if this is standard (probably), but mine was shipped to me bone dry; the tuning slides need to be greased and the valves need to be oiled. And keep in mind that it's brand new, so it's going to soak it up! Be generous with it the first time; you can always wipe off the excess.

When I first played it, I was pleasantly surprised! I was VERY worried and ready for it to sound like a plastic, raspy, out-of-tune, Made in China nightmare. Or a kazoo lol. BUT IT SOUNDS GOOD! Keep in mind that I haven't played in almost 15 years, but I know what it should sound like, and for someone who isn't a professional, the sound this horn makes is more than adequate. As most brass players know, the tone the instrument makes has more to do with the player than the horn, and after a couple of hours of practice, then a break, and then a 15-minute warm up, I'm able to produce a tone I'm quite satisfied with. My biggest problem is that notes in the bottom half of the Bb scale sound horrible flat. Now, this could be a result of lips that haven't formed these notes in years, but the notes in the top half of the scale sound great, and I'm able to nail the pitch accurately (according to my tuner). But some notes, (most notably Bb, C, and D) sound pretty bad. These notes sound bad in terms of pitch AND tone. I've tried tuning, and while it helped a LITTLE, there is still something notably wrong about the sound of the Bb, C, and D. I can correct the pitches (eventually) using my lips, but it's tough, and my muscle memory is telling me that it's just not right. It's just perplexing to me because all the other notes above D on the scale sound great! So I'm really trying to figure out if it's ME, or if it's the horn, causing it. What I've got it boiled down to is...

THE MOUTHPIECE: IMPORTANT
The mouthpiece that came with this horn is a bit odd to me. If you're familiar with trombone/baritone/euphonium mouthpieces, you know that there's a lot of things that make a mouthpiece what it is. If you're not a musician and you're buying this for your kiddo in band, let me just give you a super brief-but-hopefully-useful overview. The mouthpiece is probably the thing that matters most. There's like a million to choose from. That's a slight exaggeration but when buying a mouthpiece, a musician has to consider: rim width, cup depth, cup diameter, cup shape, and a few other things. All of these things provide a different function, so changing any of them can change a lot about the tone and range of the instrument, or even provide certain advantages to players depending on their teeth, lips, etc. So a professional baritone player may have a LOT of different mouthpieces, which he/she will select from depending on the piece of music they're playing. But for a beginner, it's important that they learn on a mouthpiece that doesn't give them any crutches, that isn't "too much X" or "too much Y". By starting with kind of a "blank slate" mouthpiece, they'll develop their own tone, style, quirks, preferences, etc while having a wide, normal range of notes for the instrument. Most beginners on trombone, baritone, or euphonium start out with a Bach 12C mouthpiece (or a similar equivalent in other brands) for some reason. Most players eventually branch out to find mouthpieces that they like better or that complement their particular style better, but I always just stuck with the 12C, switching only to a 6.5AL on a few occasions. The mouthpiece that came with this horn is NOTHING like any mouthpiece I've ever used...

If you're familiar with mouthpieces, here's my rundown of this one: It's got a V-shaped cup, which I feel like is odd - I'm used to a U-shaped cup. I have no way to measure how deep the cup is, or its diameter, but the rim is rounded and medium-wide. I feel like I can play in the higher register more easily, and it's VERY easy on lip fatigue (not sure if that's because of the really rounded rim or if it has more to do with the backbore size or cup dimensions). Not only do I have issues with the pitch and tone of notes Bb, C, and D, but I also have problems on the attack of these notes as well. Again, I know it could be that I've lost my chops over the last 15 years, but given that I'm just not having the same issues with higher notes, that's what's led me to believe that it's the mouthpiece. I know I haven't played in 15 years, but I've played this horn, with this mouthpiece, for a total of about 5 hours so far and I can honestly say that I think this mouthpiece is the majority of my problem. I ordered a Bach 12C (lol, old trusty) and I'll update this review when I play with it and see if it fixes the issues I'm having.

UPDATE:
My new mouthpiece (Bach 12C) came in today and the offending notes sound MUCH better! I'm updating this review to say that anyone who purchases this horn should definitely spend the extra $50 (or $30 used on eBay) for a more generally accepted mouthpiece.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
- Is this a good instrument for a beginner band student? Yes, but I HIGHLY recommend you get them a "real" mouthpiece.
- Is this a good instrument for someone who has been playing for years non-professionally? Sure, but a non-professional musician with years of experience may detect a difference in tone that they don't prefer.
- Is this a good instrument for someone who wants to play professionally (i.e. adult orchestras, solos, small ensembles, college)? It will work for them, but it would not be my first recommendation.

Overall, this horn is perfect for someone to play and learn on while deciding if they want to continue to play. At this price, I would recommend buying this horn for a student in 5th/6th/7th grade, and if they are serious about it into 8th grade and high school, I'd recommend selling this one on craigslist for $150 and buying them a new or used Jupiter, King, Yamaha, or Besson.

Hope this review helped someone, and if you have any questions, just ask - I'll do my best to answer!

It was a good deal! Im glad we bought it from here. Our son is just starting out on the bartone in band and it sounds the same as the bigger baratones.

I gave to my grandson to use it in Jr. High band. I personally have not seen it, but am told it has a nice tone.

I bought this a year ago and it didn't work. I just figured out that when they put the valves in they put them in the wrong order. I had to unscrew and put them in correctly. It works okay now. Not great but good enough for my son to practice.