debbie

Hi, I'm reasonably new to the brass band scene as I am a defected flautist. I had been playing flute for 25+ years when I had the urge to play a brass instrument 2 years ago. I've been playing Eb horn but now I'd like to buy a flugelhorn so that I can play in the same key as my daughter on her cornet at times. However, I'm having trouble deciding what to buy. I wanted a Kanstul, but then was told it wasn't suited to the British brass band.... ..sorry that was lengthy!

trumpetnick

Debby,

Don't worry about the length of your post. We've seen them much longer . Now serious about the flugel. There is nothing wrong with Kanstul flugels and brass banding. Kanstul makes excelent flugels and though some models may have a darker sound than most of the mass production flugels on the market, they are absolutely appropriate for brass band use. Make sure that you get an appropriate mouthpiece that fits you well and the horn as well. My personal preference goes to deep V-shaped mouthpieces for flugel.

Jeffstellation

Debbie - flugels come in a range of bore sizes. The smallest might seem fickle, but use less pressure. This will allow you more artistry/inflection with a lighter touch. The largest may seem a bit cumbersome or perhaps 'straight ahead'. That is, they have a feel that is most like trumpet.

I own a LeBlanc/Holton Sandoval model with a fairly small (0.42) bore, designed after the Kanstul. From what I've read, it's hard to go wrong with either of these.*

I think it's Yamaha that produces a mid-sized 0.433 bore flugel. A teacher friend of mine prefers this and performs with it all the time.

*He also recommends laquer or silver, but cautioned me to be wary of copper bell instruments, as they dent easily. I got the rose brass F-357 anyway. Looks & plays sooooo nice.

As mentioned above, the more F-horn-like the mouthpiece, the mellower the sound. Put another way, the more c-cup/ round the mouthpiece, the less flexibility of timbre and tone with the flugel.

Best of luck, and consider eBay or Craigslist. I met with a local CL-er, tried his horn, and that worked for both of us.

nordlandstrompet

Hello Debbie, and welcome.

I have played flugel in a Norwegian "British style brass band" for 25+ years. During these years, I have used B&H Sovereign (medallion), Getzen Eterna 4-valve, Besson Sovereign 947, and currently I use the Conn Vintage1. All these horns have been usable in my band, but this has something to do with your own style of playing to blend with the other instrument groups, Eb-horns/trombones and cornets, not always the brand of the horn. My mouthpieces has always been Denis Wick, 4F, 4FRW and currently I use 4BFL, which suits me and my horn superb. In BBB, there has been som "legal" flugel brands, as Bach, Cortouis, Yamaha. When I first brought the CV1 to rehearsal, a lot of high eyebrowes and downwards smiles met me, but the horn blended in without any problems. A flugel is a flugel and not a Eb-horn, trombone or cornet, and should sound like - a flugelhorn. Nothing else! The CV1 is built like a "french" vintage horn, which means small bore. This give me the opportunity to play softer with the Eb- horns and trombones, and brighter with the cornets. This is the reason that these groups always sounds better when the flugel joins the party. So, try different brands and mouthpieces before you decide which horn you are going to buy. Don't hang up into old conservative British Brass Band ideas, but do your own choice. I did so, and I am glad I did!

ROGERIO

Debbie,

One major issue that will effect your trial of flugels is the diff mouthpiece TAPPERS. There are 3 types. To get a true representation of the quality of that flugel you would need to have a mouthpiece that matches the horn (tapper that is). Do a little more research on the flugel you will be trying to be sure that whatever mouthpiece you'll be using matches the horn.

If you pull out the leader pipe (leadpipe) with mouthpiece in and look from the non-mouthpiece end... you should not see a ring within a ring (space between mouthpiece and leadpipe (receiver ... although there is no receiver on flugels like your Bb).

Look in the Kanstul or Mouthpiece Express sites for a explanation of the diff tappers.

Good luck.

rowuk

Debbie,
I don't know about the flute world, but anyone giving that type of advice I would label IDIOT. I have played just about the whole Kanstul lineup and none of the flugelhorns could be labeled as "radical" in sound and thus unsuitable for brass banding. The problem is, you asked the question, got the stupid response and if you show up with a Kanstul, he will ask why. If he thinks the Kanstul is not suitable, all of the other "standard" horns like Yamaha, Bach, Conn..... would be equally bad. That means that only a proper "english" flugel would be suitable: Besson, Boosey+Hawkes, Smith-Watkins, Eclipse, Taylor come immediately to mind.
In any case, try to play before you pay - but don't take the brand blind clown with you.

Sorry about the flame. I just have a problem with people misleading people asking for help.

debbie

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, that's given me loads of really useful information. I think I'll go and find a shop and blow some horns if I can now before I make a final decision. Ta ta for now!