Flugelhorn that excels in playing softly?

[ruling]

I like to play the flugel very softly to preserve the dark fluffiness. Are there any flugels that excel at being played piano/pianissimo throughout the range?
_________________
Conn Vintage One Flugelhorn
CarolBrass CTR5000L YST SLB Trumpet

Yamaha TRBX304 4-String Bass (candy apple red)
Squier 4-string Jazz Bass (fretless)
Cordoba Concert Ukulele
3-string Cigar Box Guitar

[trickg]

[TKSop]

Some flugels will just be dogs to play quiet (any brass instrument with poor intonation traits will be more difficult to play quietly), but if the instrument is a good one then it can simply be down to mouthpiece choice.

The common preference for using the deepest flugel mouthpiece with the biggest throat one can find... well, it certainly won't help...

Learning to produce the desired tone on a more moderate mouthpiece may well be the best (and cheapest) path to what you're asking for.

[dstdenis]

I find it difficult to play flugel extremely soft. I've played a number of flugel parts that called for very soft playing and, past a certain point, it's difficult for me to keep the sound going. That huge bell and wide-open conical bell taper want to produce a big sound that fills the room, even when backing off. I think a lot of it's up to the player—one has to put in some quality time practicing whisper-soft playing to get a consistent, reliable response with a well-centered sound.

If you haven't heard it already, check out the video demo on Tony Scodwell's flugelhorn page with Rocky Lombardo playing the Scodwell flugel. As you can hear, Mr. Lombardo gets a beautiful sound on this instrument, even when bringing the volume down really soft. He's a fine flugel player, which probably accounts for some of this, and the instrument seems to be pretty good too.
_________________
Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[shofarguy]

I regularly do this exercise with my Wild Thing Flugelhorn: I warm up gently first and I use Flip's Extreme Flugelhorn mouthpiece, with which I'm familiar. I place the mouthpiece lightly on my lips as if I am going to play, but with the lips slightly apart enough that no buzzing begins as I blow gently into the horn. Then, I slowly bring my lips together until tone begins to form. I increase the amount of resonance until a clear tone is sounding and then back away from it until there is nothing but air flowing into the horn again.

This does at least two things. It teaches me how to play softly and it tells me if the instrument/mouthpiece wants to resonate or not. If it is a resonant horn, I will be able to fade in and out of the tone progressively. If the horn isn't as resonant, it will snap in and out of tone production with a pop, meaning that the threshold of resonance is high and requires a fairly high amount of energy to start the tone.

I had a Benge 5X trumpet that had this problem pretty badly. It was almost impossible to play pianissimo well.

p.s. If you, like the poster above, are equating flugelhorn with inherently bad intonation, you should consider trying a Kanstul or Adams flugelhorn. In my experience, neither company makes an out of tune flugelhorn. Some players might say otherwise, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it is probably their technique or a mismatch of mouthpiece.
_________________
Brian A. Douglas

Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb Trumpet in copper
Flip Oakes Wild Thing Flugelhorn in copper


There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.

[GuidoCorona]

Hi Ruling, I am thinking that for your requirements the Adams F5 that my friend Butch is offering here on TH my be an incredibly attractive option...


https://www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=99800&s=ADAMS-F5-FLUGEL---GB-BELL

It happens that a few months ago Trent Austin has posted a very fine video of the very same F5 model with gold brass bell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13sarTriFzA

Regards, Guido
_________________
Cornet: Carolbrass CCR7772R-GSS
Euphoniums: Miraphone M5050. Wessex Festivo

[Don Herman rev2]

There is no particular reason any horn should play differently at soft volume. It isn't changing. Potentially the metal could start vibrating more at loud volumes and change the sound, but I think 99.999% of the "Why does my sound change with volume?" answer is the player and how he (or she) interacts with the horn. A horn with more resistance may make it easier to play softer, or a mouthpiece change, or more simply a mental shift to play the music in your mind at softer and softer volume. I think the best answer is to practice soft playing as mentioned above.

FWIWFM - Don
_________________
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Turkle]

I personally have always found lightweight instruments to play much easier at softer volumes than heavier ones.

My 8310z responds at a whisper volume.

My Connstellations, which are tanks, require quite a bit more gas to start speaking.

So perhaps you should look into a lightweight instrument.

Your mileage may vary, I hope this helps!
_________________
Yamaha 8310Z trumpet
Yamaha 8310Z flugel
Curry 3.

[Andy Del]

there is something to the isa of a lightweight instrument. I have a n Alexander rotary foul which is quite delicate and it can play almost inaudibly, in all registers as well, as far as I can personally go.

As a plus it plays pretty well in tune and has an easy upper register... but you need to play it for it to work.

cheers

Andy
_________________
so many horns, so few good notes...

[Dieter Z]

I am not an expert on Flugel but during certain parts of the year I don't have my regular practice room, so I have to practices in our apartment.

To keep the volume way down I prefer to use my ACB Doubler Flugel with a No Letter Wick mouthpiece.
_________________
B & H Sovereign 928
Conn 80A
F. Besson Brevette Kanstul made
B&S Challenger II 3137 rl
Buescher 400 - 225 (WWII)
Benge 90C
Eastman 540 D/Eb
ACB Fluegelhorn
Selmer Picc
ACB mouthpieces for most of my playing

[razeontherock]

[iiipopes]

An old Couesnon does what the OP desires in spades.
_________________
King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

[tptptp]

I have an old Couesnon that is loaded with dark, soft, fluffy magic.
_________________
Craig Mitchell

[jojocat]

Not just a question of equipment. Practise your embouchure to play this way. You have to keep a very ''soft'' contact with the mouthpiece.
_________________
The least we can do is wave to each other

Martin Committee trumpet
Yamaha 6335H
Yamaha 6320
Accent 781

[trickg]

[Denny Schreffler]

The multiple equipment factors that go into playing very softly up and down the horn might make looking for one particular model (which might vary from one to another, anyway) futile.

Mouthpieces certainly affect the ability to sustain a soft tone and that might be a legitimate place to experiment.

And – this is for real – stick a small paper clip up the backbore of your current mpc. The change in resistance might help your desire to play more softly. Also try straightening out the first bend of the paper clip, letting the long piece extend into the leadpipe. Plastic-coated (thicker) is different from uncoated.

-- Love to hear the robin go, "Tweak, tweak, tweak"

Denny

[trumanjazzguy]

Smaller bore flugels will aid in playing very quietly. I have a Couesnon "Star" flugelhorn which is .410 bore, and it is incredibly easy to play with a small, focused whisper. I use a Yamaha Bobby Shew Flugel piece, it has a rather manageable deep v cup, and a large throat, and wide backbore.

Another aspect of playing the flugel correctly, not just quietly, involves using flugel mouthpieces with larger throats. Bach flugel pieces and others with anything around 24-25 throat or smaller are not good. The throats are too small, even their no letter FL cups aren't ideal, throats are too small. The Bach flugel pieces oftentimes generate a tubby dark trumpety sound...far from ideal. They may be easier to play than other pieces, but every aspect of performance suffers. Larger throats will allow more air through them, while also playing darker. Tighter throats, and oftentimes the tighter backbores along with them, will get brighter if too much air is put through them.

Less mouthpiece pressure and less air pressure/volume, and "warmer" air will lead to a softer, more intimate sound. This is fundamentally true with every brass instrument.
_________________
TPT: Nova LA
CRN: Getzen 1950’s W/5.5in bell
FL: Jupiter 1100R
‘Pieces:
TPT: 34-throat shallow double-cup, Chet Baker’s Custom Schilke, Bach Corp 3, Bach Mt. Vernon 6C, Ken Titmus BF Custom(s).
CRN: NY Giardinelli 7SV.
FL: Yamaha Bobby Shew