shooter

I've only tried one flugel in my life; a bottom of the line Jean Baptiste. It had so much back pressure, the air just seemed to stop somewhere between the mpc and the bell. Anyways, I'm making a trip to D.C. and try Chuck Levins' assortment out. I know that the mouthpiece makes all the difference, so I was wondering: Should I try several different mpc's for each horn that I try? Should the name on the mpc match the name on the horn? What i'm going for is a horn with a super velvety, mellow, tone for playing at church. Any advice is greatly appreciated since I know nothing about "horn trying" etiquette.

gtromble

I've played one flugelhorn -- an Olds. I've used two mouthpieces -- the olds 7A that came with it, and a Reeves 42. Both work great, and I love that little horn.

OK, that's all irrelevant info. Unless you're just approaching the flugel all wrong, you should find that all the good ones play very smooth -- with some resistance, but no stuffiness. I'd just try them all with the same, standard mouthpiece. The guys at Levins will know if there's anything oddball about any of them.

Have fun, and let us know what you play and what you think. Last horn I bought there was a Kanstul CC920 picc.

Galen

alanbach

I recall the advice I was given when I changed to playing a flugel in a brass band nearly 20 years ago......."Buy the deepest mpc you can obtain for flugel and stick with it" ...previously I had been playing soprano cornet for 20 years. I bought a Denis Wick 2F for my Bach and it's been with me ever since.

Magnusverdixon

shooter

Thanks for the info. Yes...I have read rave reviews on the Signature Kanstul in other threads and have also heard nothing but good things about the Jupiter 946RL with the rose brass (especially the price). So, it sounds like I need to get a very deep mouthpiece and use the same one on all the horns I try. I've also been thinking about getting a deeper mpc for my strad 37. It seems that the older I get, the more mellow I like my tone. I currently play on a Bach 3C. However, if I get a flugel, that will provide a good balance and I may want to keep the brighter tone on my trumpet. Who knows.

nieuwguyski

Unfortunately, the different flugelhorns you try may very well have any of three different shanks, making it impossible to use the same mouthpiece on all.

samdaman

Hey Shooter,
My 2 cents on the subject... try out everthing and find out what's right for you. I play on a Yamaha Bobby Shew Flugel (Like butter... mmm) and a Gr 67FL. I have been playing Flugel for a couple of years now and I was always playing on a Bach 1 1/2 C (My trumpet mouthpiece is a 1 1/4 C). Switching between trumpet and flugel were always a pain in the butt because of this. I tried out a GR (Same rim size as my trumpet piece) at West Chester University's Trumpet Fest and I loved it. I got one and played on it for a couple of days here... I still love it. So... all that to say this: Stick with your trumpet mouthpiece rim for your flugel mouthpiece, but I wouldn't get the largest cup possible. The 1 1/2 C had a huge cup to it (Kitchen sink big...) and when I switched to the GR (it still had a semi big cup... but not as big as the Bach) I still had the flugel sound that I loved in the Bach. I also gained some endurance by having a more managble cup depth. Find a mouthpiece that works for you with the same rim as your trumpet mouthpiece and then go and check out the horns. Try out as many horns as you can!!!! Let me say this again... TRY OUT AS MANY HORNS AS YOU CAN!!!! Flugels are a very interesting breed of horn. Go into the store with a tone and and expectation of what you want the horn to sound like and blow like. Then find the flugel that comes the closest to your expectations. Well there you have it.

Ok... so it was a little bit more then 2 cents... let's call it 10 cents :).

Magnusverdixon

shooter

Hey, thanks samdaman and magnusverdixon. I plan on playing every flugel they have. I plan on heading up there next weekend. I'll let you know how it went.

dcbrown1

I purchased a Kanstul 1525 from Levins a few years ago...it's a great instrument and Levins had a super price. Regarding mouthpieces...there's no need to change rim size. Had Monette make a prana B4 flugel that works perfect in conjunction my other B4 trumpet mouthpieces. Good luck! Dave Brown