I played through college (big band). "Easy instrument to learn, hard to master" is the common wisdom. You don't need the firmest embouchure and, unlike, say, French horn, you can get a decent sound out of it relatively quickly.
The hard part is baked in: It's difficult to get that slide back and forth quickly and accurately. Next to valves or keys, the slide is a clumsy thing. It makes glissandos easy and fun, of course, but it also makes intonation trickier. I still dig the bone(r) though!
Hmm, I've been out of the brass world for a while, but back when, you could count on Yamaha to make a decent horn at various price points. There aren't a whole lot of manufacturers out there. Conn-Selmer is the other big one, I believe. Oh, and Bach.
I've never heard of Etude or Allora, but they could be great. I had a bell-brass Conn back in the day. Beautiful, heavy horn, but the slide was totally shot. Not even a re-plating could save it. The slide needs to be clean and divot-free. And requires good maintenance.
My search for an instrument is over before it even began! @ChaChaRealSmooth sold me his old beater silver plated King at a generous low price. Cheers to annoying the neighbors
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