ok, if i were you, id boost the money range ur going on right now because basically ur flirting with the beginner intermediate line. if u pay 50-100 dollars more, u can get into some a lot better horns. Also, dont be afraid to go into used horns. you can probably get a very nice used horn also, dont rule that out. I might consider going into the bach tr300 i started out on one of the no brand ebays and went to that and so and imdeate difference. Right now, im planning on making the shift to Jupiter Tribune Series XO but anyway, u can get a nice, even silver one, for a very good price

like this for instance
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41400&item=7324862756&rd=1

Hope this helps,
Omar

Be careful about buying an upgrade horn that you can`t hold in your hands and play first. One of the other posts suggests a Blessing ML-1. Where silver trumpets are concerned, when someone asked "why silver?" I heard professional say "silver just looks better". A silver plated horn will usually be priced a little higher than the same model avaialble in lacquered brass. I think you said up to $450 price range, which you can easily spend on an advanced student model horn, but for $650 you can have a Blessing ML-1S (silver, pro quality, monel valves and Amado water keys and a very nice case) for which suggested retail is $1395. I took delivery of my ML-1S in December `04, and love it. Incidentally, a trumpet professor at our local university told me that a Blessing ML-1S is basically a Bach with a couple of minor modifications, such as Amado water keys which to my knowledge Bach doesn`t offer.

My advice is to try eBay if you are limited to that price. On eBay I bought a nearly new Yamaha ytr for $132. Just look around and you can find some nice trumpets for a really good price. Some intermediate trumpets that you could probably find on eBay for that price are intermediate yamahas,conns,blessings,bachs, kings,and getzens.