BandNow Student Trombone Lacquer

 AWFUL! SAVE YOUR MONEY!
As a band director, I thought I'd seen every piece of junk on the market. I can't endorse this product at all-just about as bad as the instruments being sold by 2 well-known discount/wholesale stores, and by a popular national-chain bookstore. These instruments are made cheaply, and do not play well at all. Few repairmen will touch them, and replacement parts are hard to come by. The instrument does not play in tune, and the workmanship isn't good enough to stand up to the abuse that the average band student will put it through in a year.

If you're out to buy a trombone, get a reputable student model, such as Jupiter, King, Bach (the best by far), or Yamaha. They're more expensive, but they're quality and will assure your student a positive band experience. After all, he/she will not enjoy learning an instrument if the instrument itself is more of a hinderance than a help.

If I were a parent, I'd want someone who knows to warn me. That's all.

 PLEASE don't do it!
As a music educator, I just had to get on here and warn everyone about these instruments. You get what you pay for. The materials used in making these instruments are horrible - the metal bends easily, corrodes, and the plastic breaks and cracks.

When a student is learning an instrument, it is important that it works properly. I had a student bring in a brand new BandNow clarinet to her first lesson. It would not play. She couldn't make a sound, I couldn't make a sound. It was horrible. Another child's trumpet valves were corroded in three months time.

Repair shops will refuse to work on these, as the parts are not available, and you cannot fix what is there. The metal is pot metal, and the plastic is cheap. The BandNow clarinet weighs half as much as other student models, because the plastic is so horrible.

Save yourself, your child, and your music teacher guaranteed headaches. Do not buy a BandNow instrument. If you cannot afford a better instrument outright, please rent one. If your child quits playing, you aren't out as much money, and the instrument will be quality. If you look around, you can find good used instruments for the same price - most music teachers or shops will look them over for you.