Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 7:14 pm Post subject: Cheap Chinese Flugels?
My band director mentioned that a lot of professional players quite liked the Chinese flugels; he even said that you could get them for around $100. If this is the case I’m very interested in getting one, and if anyone has any advice or could point me in the direction of a flugel that cheap that’d be great!
Joined: 24 Nov 2001 Posts: 1739 Location: Western Massachusetts
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 3:12 am Post subject:
$100 for a new horn? If you buy one for that price, you are wasting your money. Check the Dillon Music website and Austin Custom Brass website. They have their own flugelhorn models made in China that are tweaked to play well. But they are more than $100.
Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Posts: 8914 Location: Orange County, CA
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:58 pm Post subject:
Aside from the Dillon and ABC offerings, there is another option for an inexpensive flugel. The Yamaha student model, the one with the horizontal slides, plays surprisingly well. I've seen them second hand for very little $. This is a great first flugel. Not quite a rich a sound as the pro models but great construction and very easy to play. _________________ "I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart
Odds are, you have very poor odds of returning it on the basis that it doesn't play how you'd like - at which point you're left with sending it to someone expert in tweaking them (and ending up paying probably more than the ACB or Dillon were to begin with) or cutting your losses.
Joined: 22 Oct 2008 Posts: 2416 Location: Maryland
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 6:03 pm Post subject: Re: Cheap Chinese Flugels?
CJceltics33 wrote:
My band director mentioned that a lot of professional players quite liked the Chinese flugels; he even said that you could get them for around $100. If this is the case I’m very interested in getting one, and if anyone has any advice or could point me in the direction of a flugel that cheap that’d be great!
Good advice already given. There are $100 flugelhorns out there. They are likely junk.
The Dillons and ACB flugelhorns are reasonable options at $500-$600, if you're looking for an inexpensive horn. However, saving up for a higher-quality flugelhorn (new or used) is another reasonable option.
You live in Maryland. Are you close to Catonsville? There's a used ACB flugelhorn for sale right now at Baltimore Brass for $300.
Mike _________________ Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: Cheap Chinese Flugels?
CJceltics33 wrote:
My band director mentioned that a lot of professional players quite liked the Chinese flugels; he even said that you could get them for around $100. If this is the case I’m very interested in getting one, and if anyone has any advice or could point me in the direction of a flugel that cheap that’d be great!
Good advice has already been given. No sense repeating that.
It would seem to me that your band director would be the best source for the names of those professional players that play these inexpensive Flugelhorns.
You could possible contact these professional players and ask them for the specific Chinese brand names.
Most of the ones you're seeing for $100 (before shipping!) are from India. Based on the ones I've played, they are NOT desirable horns (yet. not sure if they ever will be).
The ones coming from China can sometimes be had for 200 before shipping (so roughly 275-300 after shipping) and are based on the Yamaha 631. The one's I've owned and played were actually ok. None of them were fantastic out of the box but are quite tweakable into pretty solid B to B+ horns.
I have a Wisemann flugel, that is Chinese made, which I keep as a backup. It's based off the 631. I got it for around $350 brand new and it actually plays ok
as a stock model. I made a couple of tweaks such as putting in a yamaha leadpipe and yamaha springs, which made a difference. Definitely not $100 but not a bad little horn. I've used it on gigs with no problems, but I still prefer my 1525. _________________ Jim New S5 M and MS with C Backbore
Del Quadro Grizzly
Stomvi USA Bb
Getzen Severinsen
Kanstul 1525 Flugelhorn
I have no personal experience with Indian brass instruments, my understanding is they're crap. The Chinese cheapies can be had for under $300 new and can be better than decent. I think they're all pretty much variations on a theme.
Here's one I paid $150 for used. It was missing a valve button inlay and the pivot for the tuning trigger had been soldered back on. I found the missing valve inlay hiding in the crease of the case lining. Played fine, valves were buttery smooth and fast. Ended up selling it for about double what I paid for it - only because I had another Chinese cheapie flugel and I don't need two.
This was with the nondescript mouthpiece that came with it. Use something like a Denis Wick 4FL and it gets even mellower. Unless someone knows different, I believe the Wisemann horns are the same basic instrument with a fancier pricetag. Pretty sure the same with Allora horns and probably others.
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