Mendini E Flat Alto Horn with Stainless Steel Pistons, Lacquered

Extremely good value, The horn is what you should expect to get for 160 bucks. Its sound is good, not great, but above par for the price(the springs in the valves vibrate very slightly when played with a resonant tone quality). The valves are not as nice as I would like out of the box (scratchy and slow, this will not persist though). The case is more than I expected, a bit on the large side, but excellent excellent quality for the price. I would suggest spending an extra 50 bucks on a new mouth piece, the one provided isn't bad, I just never like the crap mouth pieces that factory horns tend to come with.It may sound like I've given a bad review for this item, but that is not true at all. In all honesty this is an excellent buy if you are on a budget or just want a new toy for a few bucks. If you are an experienced player of the Alto Horn or Euphonium/Trumpet and dont mind spending more, you probably should.

This horn is beautiful! I wanted to buy a euphonium from the same brand but this was much cheaper so I bought it to see how the brand was before putting so much money on the line. For about $200 I am quite pleased. Other reviews mentioned tuning problems, but I have not experienced this and they were vague on details. The problems I have had with this are very minor and not enough for me to wish I'd dropped >$1000 on another instrument. First, when it arrived it was a bit dirty from what I believe was adhesive from the case--no problem, just wipe it clean. Second, the tuning slide is very short, coming out only about 3/4 inch before getting iffy. Third, it would be nice to have a water key on the bend under the valves. I've gotten some gurgles from there and had to twirl the horn to get the water to flow out the bell. 4, the mouthpiece is exceedingly cheap. It works for my purposes, but you will likely want to get a better one. Aren't mouthpieces a personal-preference thing anyway though? Once again, for a horn this price, these gripes are petty.

This is not a great horn, but it's a pretty good value considering the very low price. I would recommend it as a first instrument for an absolute beginner, or for an experienced brass player who simply wants to experiment with another instrument. I would not recommend it at all for a serious player, or even an intermediate player.The main things I don't like about it are the poor intonation and a slight yet unpleasant vibrating sound that should not be there. It's possible these problems will go away as I get more experienced with the horn -- I've only been playing it for a few hours now -- but then again I am a long-time (F) horn and trumpet player and have seldom had intonation problems like this, and have never faced this vibration issue. Maybe it's possible the vibration is an issue with my embouchure on the unfamiliar mouthpiece. We'll see.But one thing I will say for the alto horn in general (and this is what inspired me to write this review) is that it is an amazingly fun instrument to play, and I wish I had picked it up years ago. It's got the (exact) same fingerings as the trumpet, but the notes (the overtones) are closer together (like a French horn), so you effectively have a higher range, which is great fun. I've been playing through some of my trumpet music just to get a feel for this horn, and it's very satisfying to hit those high notes without straining. I'm not quite used to the extra force (or different angle of the fingers) needed to push down the valves (compared to a trumpet), but once that comes I feel like this horn will have all the agility I need. My guess is that within a year I'll be better on the alto horn than on the trumpet, just because it seems intrinsically easier and because it's more fun to practice.

This horn was for my granddaughter. I know nothing about musical instruments other than it made her extremely happy. She is making beautiful music!

Comes in a nice case and included a tuner. Easy to oil the valves to be ready to use. Just played in a brass concert with it. Recommended for a brass player who wants to have fun with something different.

My horn values stick or respond slowly when playing. This is the first time playing an Alto Horn and it sounds good even though I keep missing notes. I'm satisfied with the purchase and I recommend this instrument to any novice or second hand horn.

This instrument is not the best, i have difficulty with tunning it or make a crisp sound come out of it. I feel like the air doesn't flow thoroughly through the instrument when playing it. And find great difficulty in putting on the strap it came with for the case. I am a music major, and my applied instrument is the baritone, and feel that when I have a chance in getting another brand, I will. The fourth valve is the one that I have most difficulty with. Will keep you all updated if I get other results in the baritone. It could also be that I haven't gotten used to it. But I will keep you all updated.

I've had fun playing this in a community orchestra (F-horn parts transposed for E-flat horn). This instrument worked just fine for that level of playing. There is a tuning slide for each valve, so tuning is no problem. I don't have the feeling that I'm playing a really high-end instrument, but as an amateur playing for fun, this is just fine, especially for a few hundred bucks. Another water key would be useful, but it is quite workable as-is, especially for the price. The valves were a bit sticky at first, but this resolved very well by thoroughly cleaning each valve and valve chamber with dishwashing liquid, and then using Hetman 3 valve oil.