shooter

You better believe I'm going to try every flugel they have. That Scodwell will have to sound pretty doggone good for 2500 smacks. I would love to be able to play all of them without knowing namebrand, price, etc... and rate each one. Then....look at the price and make a decision from there.
Again, thank you all for the info. It has helped me alot.

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If you're not falling, you're not skiing.

shooter

Ok.. here's what happened. I drove up to the Washington music center yesterday morning. It's a four hour drive so I had emailed the sales department to make sure they had all of the flugelhorns that were advertised on the website. The guy emailed back and said that "yes we have a wide selection". So I called on the phone just to double check...."Do you have ALL of the flugelhorns that are advertised on your website because I want to come up there and try them all. They said "of course we do". The guy had this tone in his voice....like it irritated him that I would ask such a stupid question. I get up there about 11:00 and talk to one of the sales guys. We introduced ourselves and I say "I would like to buy a flugelhorn, do you have plenty that I can try?" He looks at me with this puzzled look and says "I think I have a few". I thought that was weird but I didn't pay much attention to it. I asked if he had a bach 3c mpc that I could use, and he says no in this "why the hell would I have that" kind of tone. He acted like I was a complete weirdo for wanting to try out flugelhorns. Anyways...he gets a yamaha (intermediate I believe) and I play it. I didn't like it at all. It was like pulling teeth to get another one but he brought out a courtois 154r. It had the most beautiful sound and it was easy to play. I fell in love instantly. I still wanted to try alot more to make my trip worthwhile, so I beg some more and he brings out a Conn. It had a good sound but nothing like the Courtois. I ask him if he has a Bobby Shew model Yamaha, and he gets that. I was'nt impressed with that one. I ask to play a bach strad and he brings one of those.....all the while I feel very uncomfortable with his demeanor. I ask what else he has and he's like "that's about it". I say "what about the Kanstul? I would really like to play the 1525". He says they don't have one. I told him that I had emailed and phoned them and they said they had everything that was on the website in stock. He says "HAD.....that's the key word. We must have sold the last one". Oh man...I was so peed off that I left and ate lunch. I decided to go ahead and get the courtois since I loved the sound so I went back and told him I wanted to buy it....cont........

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If you're not falling, you're not skiing.

shooter

I had really wanted to try the 1525 because I had heard such rave reviews about it. So he brings out my Courtois to buy and I open it up.......wrong horn. It's like a 156RL with 4 valves. I play it just in case I might like it better. Nope. He says oops and gets another one. Guess what. Wrong one again. It's a 154C I think (without the rose brass). I play it. Nope.....not as good. He says oops again and finally gets the right one. I buy it and get the heck out of Dodge. Man......what a terrible experience! At least I got a really good horn, but I really wanted to try the 1525 Kanstul. What a bummer. I hope I never have to go up there again to buy an instrument.
Antoine Courtois 154R is an awesome sounding flugel. It would make a french horn jealous.

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If you're not falling, you're not skiing.

Mikey

Who was the sales person you were dealing with?

adonis74

I'm waiting for the "rest of the story." This sounds something like my experience. I called Chuck Levin's about the Kanstul 1525 and they said "Yes, we have several." I'm in California, so I can't visit the store. I asked if they had a combination flugel/trumpet case and a Yamaha Silent Brass unit for the flugel, and they said yes.

It was getting late, so I said I'd call back the next day. When I called they told me this time that they had only one 1525. I asked a question about it and the guy had that same irritated, to heck with the customer attitude and said "Well, if you don't like it, we'll sell it to someone else." They had NO flugel mouthpieces, so I'd have to search for one somewhere else. They shifted me to the "accessory department" for the other two items and the guy said, "Yes, we have the case and Silent Brass untis in the store."

I received the horn in about two days, directly from the Kanstul factory in Anaheim, CA, which was a surprise. Chuck Levin didn't have it in stock, but apparently had it on order and saved a bit by drop shipping to me. SO, I got my horn (at the best price) and very quickly. But, the guy's attiude I won't forget.

Then I waited for the other items. They never came and I finally ordered from another store. In a month or so, someone called and asked if I still wanted them. Of course, I said NO. In the meantime I had been a bit afraid they'd ship them and I'd have two of everything.

Conclusion--good prices, bad service. Not sure whether I'd go through that again.

patdublc

I'm sorry to hear about the bad times that people have had at Chuck Levin's. That is not true for me. I've bought at least a dozen horns there - 6345HG, 6310Z, 8310Z, CHS, E3L, P5-4, LT6 (trombone), Bach flugel, Kanstul flugel, Ibanez guitar, Kidd upright electric bass, Yamaha S90 sythn, and I'm sure a few more that I can't even think of right now. I've always received great service and a great price.

I've dealt with many salesmen over the years including Chuck when he was still with us. I have had excellent experiences with the current team of Byron and Lee. I knew Lee when he was with Rayburn's in Boston. The guy knows his stuff.

Since buying a new horn is such a personal experience, we should expect that it is also an enjoyable experience. For those who had a bad experience there, I won't suggest going back to where you felt uncomfortable. There are other excellent places to shop for brass instrumets in the mid-Atlantic area. Call Larry Myers at Stu's Music in Westminster, MD or Dillon's in Woodbridge, NJ. Both offer a great combination of price and service.

pat

shooter

It seems like they could keep at least one of everything to use as a demo, or just stay on top of the inventory and place an order when an item gets down to two or three. Maybe they are understaffed. I was just disappointed by the lack of concern.

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If you're not falling, you're not skiing.