Reddit mentions: The best standard trumpets

Reputable brands don't come with white gloves. Cheap pieces of junk tend to include them as a selling point.

Here is a trumpet that is a total piece of junk:
https://www.amazon.com/Mendini-Cecilio-MTT-L-Trumpet-Gold/dp/B00I8QJT78

And another:

https://www.ebay.com/p/BB-Beginner-Trumpet-in-Gold-Silver-Black-Blue-Purple-or-Red-Care-Kit/6004878180?iid=181383639744&chn=ps

and another:

https://www.ebay.com/p/Beginner-Gold-Lacquer-Brass-Bb-Trumpet-w-Care-Kit-Case-for-Student-School-Band/1154647816?iid=202404526935&chn=ps

These are all pieces of junk, yet they come with white gloves to keep the trumpet shiny!!! Oooohhh! It is a selling point for people who are looking to buy a nice instrument but don't know any better.

Olds is a great student brand, unless there is a problem with the instrument that isn't repairable, I'd try and talk him into keeping the current instrument. I have an Olds student model trombone that I use and I really like it.

Since he already has a decent instrument (assuming it is decent shape), you could try contacting a local independent music shop or instrument repair shop and see if they will be willing to take it on trade credit.

Not used and not local, but my sister helps with a local marching band and picked up one of these to help when she's working 1:1 with the kids.

She says it's not the greatest, but for the price it does better than expected. She's recommended it to a few new-to-band kids as a solid introductory-to-intermediate instrument.

There's a fretless instrument similar to a theremin called an Otamatone that you'd probably enjoy.

The same company that makes the pBone also makes a [pTrumpet](pBone PTRUMPET1W Jiggs pTrumpet Plastic Trumpet with Gig Bag & 3C & 5C Mouthpieces, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPRVQPY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zxAzybTC8A9ZB) and an instrument called the [pBuzz](http://www.pBuzz.com/ Kid'sMusical Instrument https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H3E0YM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VwAzybA4K6FAF), which is like a slide vuvuzela. The pBone and pTrumpet sound surprisingly good when played with regular (metal) mouhtpieces!

All else considered: a high-end harmonica set... like seven different Crossovers... or five different Seydel Session Steels... will cost you far less than an equivalent professional clarinet, professional violin, professional piano, professional guitar, or professional Trumpet.

Basically, you're gonna have to leave professional-grade and get a "student trumpet" if you want to compare costs to a set of high-end Session Steel harmonicas.

Special 20 is highly recommended around these forums. I haven't tried that one yet, as I've only really tried the Marine Band 1896. Frankly, the Marine Band is almost perfect for me, I just need screw-based construction to make it perfect (I open it up to tweak those reeds relatively often. I know this harmonica won't hold in the long run with the nails). Marine Band Deluxe might work out, but with only two harmonicas, its hard for me to form a solid opinion still.

IMO, ~$40 Lee Oskars and ~$40 Special 20 is the definition of "midrange" for me. High-end Diatonic Harmonicas are ~$60+. One day I'll try each of them, but it'd be a while. I'm not sure if I'm able to jam with a band yet with my skill level anyway.

I'll have to see if I can hunt down a teacher. One model in particular I'm looking at is Jean Paul intermediate

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CYA7L6E/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I21DVQK371IKS2&colid=1Z8TGKYI4YWUE

Does that look good?