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Totally. =D $3200 worth of trumpets and mouthpieces, but only one case. crying It explains why I drive a car made in 1992, ne? =D

i use to be in the trumpet section in middle school

Silver trumpets sound so amazing!! I really want one now!

Uhhh, some boy had one and it sounded amazing. I don't know.

I know the Bach trumpets that are usually silver tend to sound better than brass trumpets. It's just because of the physics of the sound resonance and Bach's are made of a certain metal that vibrates better to provide a more professional sound. I have a King and a Bach and I always play on my Bach, only using my King when my Bach is in the shop. The Bach may make anyone sound better, but if you aren't too impressive on an average trumpet than you won't sound too amazing on a Bach, but you will notice it doesn't take as much air to play. All in all, to get a better sound you just need to practice and record yourself if possible (find audacity, it's freeware, not illegal, records stuff for ya) and make your embechoure (sp) set to make the best sound you can. Also, a 3C mouthpiece is what many professionals and all my teachers have recommended.

I had played on an old Strad for my first few years, and I simply played better on the Xeno than a new Strad, so I switched. As for even tuning on every note, I don't think the Xeno nor the Strad have that quality. I've learned to lip some notes up, and some down; I would actually find it a little difficult to change from that. Travel to bigger cities, find music stores, try them out; we're all born with slightly different lips and embouchures, after all.

As for brightness, I think that depends on the horn's weight and the mouthpiece's design that's used. If you're looking for semi-bright, I'd stick with a regular cup-style mouthpiece of your choice (not Kelly plastic, Bach megatone, or other extreme, new-age designs); check out specs on the trumpets like bore and whatnot to determine the horn's weight. Play around with combinations varying in weight at a big music store if you can.

As for the Xeno C, I love it to death, despite the fact that I don't use it nearly as much as my B-flat. It's reliable, very clean in terms of sound, and although it's not quite as bright as its B-flat cousin, I can still somewhat emulate that sort of brightness with a lighter mouthpiece.

I've honestly never heard of a trumpet that plays so much as relatively even high and low, except for a few custom models that I tried out at the International Trumpet Guild conference two years ago; and they were more expensive than a decently new car.

There is one thing you need to keep in mind with tuning Cs: finger the high-staff E and E-flat as you would the low ones (finger them 1/2 and 2/3 respectively, instead of open and 2 as you would normally). It's tricky to get into the hang of it, but try your best to keep that in mind when you play it.

Another thing: try to play it with the mouthpiece it comes with if you can. My trumpet instructor recommends the Yamaha 16C4. For example: I have a really nice Monette B-series mouthpiece, but I can't use it on my C because it's, like most mouthpieces, designed specifically for B-flat trumpets.

i have a silver bach! it sounds amazing!!! last year, before i got it, i always used my crappy beginner brass trumpet, but when i first played my solo for solo and ensemble my band director noted already how much better my tone quality was.
i love it! heart heart heart it's my baby lol