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Taylor Phat Boy flugelhorn review



 
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Trollet
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Joined: 10 May 2020
Posts: 61
Location: Söderhamn, Sweden

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:34 am    Post subject: Taylor Phat Boy flugelhorn review Reply with quote

So i recently had the pleasure of finding a used Phat boy for sale at Facebook and i just had to buy it, sold my Adams F5 (whitch i wasnt satisfied with, a great horn regardless). It's made in 2017 and has the hoxon valves (carolbrass valveblock).
Here's my review after 2 weeks and give or take 20 hours of playtime.

Fit and finish:
Fit and finish i would describe as decent, the soldering isn't completely perfect, but as stated on their website this indictates it's a handmade product. For me the not machine-like perfection doesn't bother me, but if u like your horn to be flawless keep that in mind. The finish is raw brass. I actually did i custom patina on mine. Boiled 5 eggs, put them mashed up in a bowl and let the horn (holes taped to not patina the inside) sit in a trashbag overnight with the eggfumes. Then i Polished the inner bell and valve caps. I think it looks wonderful!

Valves:
I've seen quite some discussion that the hoxon valve block doesn't belong on a top teir instrument since it's much cheaper to produce. I actually hesitaded to buy this horn from this fact. Well on this horn the valves are almost perfect for me. Some sticking before i cleaned them up (probably some lint + close tolerances). Hoxon might be a cheap block, but it's one of the best!

Intonation:
For me this is the best intonation on any flugel i've every played. Every note is in tune, even more than my Yamaha trumpet. Maybe the low B is a bit off.

Sound:
This is the main reason i call my flugel safari over. This instrument has the sound i have in my head. With a deep mouthpiece i can get the breathy Hargrove sound i'm after (dropping the jaw helps a ton with that to!). One thing that is unique with the Phatboy from what i've played is the sound you get when you transition from note to note. That blublu sound you get. It's more on this horn than anything other i've tried. Witch for me is a plus!


Playability (ease of play)
Every horn is a compromise, this horn is not the easiest to play! I personally think flugel is easier to play than trumpet. My old carolbrass flugel i had was the easiest flugel i've ever owned. Intonation was not that good though in my experience.

Verdict:
I have found my perfect flugel! Has my sound, has impeccable intonation and looks and feels great! Not the easiest to play, looks kinda funky, and doesn't have a normal sound profile that blends well. For the price i paid, i'm extremely happy!
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Horns:
Yamaha ytr-6335H
Looking for a flugelhorn!
Mpcs:
GR 64SZ* - and a bunch more
Bach 7FL
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Shawnino
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Joined: 27 Jun 2020
Posts: 255

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad you are happy with yours. Six months on, I'm happy with mine.

Agree with you point that, for a mere mortal like me, it's just not the easiest horn to play for slots above the staff. If a well-heeled soul is looking for a doubling instrument, this is almost certainly not it. I think I'm getting better by practicing softer and softer, but it's a practice-every-day instrument.

Also agree that the intonation is great. I posted my review over in the fluegel board awhile back and the non-standard part of my fluegel is that the trigger works by the right thumb. I very rarely need to use it.

Glad you've got the sound you want--try a Taylor MP if you get the chance. I used to play fluegels with a Wiick-3FL; my Taylor ML rarely comes of the Phat Boy.
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walldaja
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Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 71

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your finish sounds interesting. How about a picture or two?

Thanks!
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Dave

Sonare TRC-800, Dennis Wick 1.5C
Blessing Standard, Denis Wick 1.5C
Accent TR959 CDB C tpt Stork XM2 Studio Mstr
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jairo_saade
Regular Member


Joined: 18 Jun 2020
Posts: 55
Location: Panamá

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

What are the issues you encounter that make the horn not easy to play?

is it responsiveness (too much energy required to produce sound)
is it slotting (hard to find the center of the notes, difficult to aim at certain notes)
other ?

I have not played Taylor flughel but the Chicago trumpets are very easy to play with certain restrictions (to me: volume is kind of limited, the weight of the trumpet kills my back and reduces my playing time by half, the mouthpiece selection is critical and some more traditional blanks do not seem to work).
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Trollet
Regular Member


Joined: 10 May 2020
Posts: 61
Location: Söderhamn, Sweden

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jairo_saade wrote:
Hi,

What are the issues you encounter that make the horn not easy to play?

is it responsiveness (too much energy required to produce sound)
is it slotting (hard to find the center of the notes, difficult to aim at certain notes)
other ?

I have not played Taylor flughel but the Chicago trumpets are very easy to play with certain restrictions (to me: volume is kind of limited, the weight of the trumpet kills my back and reduces my playing time by half, the mouthpiece selection is critical and some more traditional blanks do not seem to work).


Well for me it's not super hard to play, i'm just comparing it to the carol i played before, witch pulled the notes out of you. I can play fast bebop lines with this no problem. It's just more effortless on the carol i owned before. I did play thay carol for 3 years though so maybe i will learn how this one acts further down the line.
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Horns:
Yamaha ytr-6335H
Looking for a flugelhorn!
Mpcs:
GR 64SZ* - and a bunch more
Bach 7FL
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wiemelen
Veteran Member


Joined: 08 Aug 2007
Posts: 451
Location: Belgium

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Taylor Phat Boy flugelhorn review Reply with quote

Trollet wrote:

Fit and finish:
The finish is raw brass. I actually did i custom patina on mine. Boiled 5 eggs, put them mashed up in a bowl and let the horn (holes taped to not patina the inside) sit in a trashbag overnight with the eggfumes. Then i Polished the inner bell and valve caps. I think it looks wonderful!

That's quit an interesting method. Never heard of that one before.
Would love to see the actual result.
Curious to know if the patina result is darker than the one on my trumpet.
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Trumpet : Yamaha YTR-9335CHS + Yamaha YTR-6335H
Trumpet mouthpieces : Lotus 2L2 (main) + Lotus 2L
Flugelhorn : Kanstul 1525 with Curry 1,5FL
Cornet : Conn 80a (1919) with Curry 1,5 BBC + Curry 1,5 VC + GR L66,9 #6
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Trollet
Regular Member


Joined: 10 May 2020
Posts: 61
Location: Söderhamn, Sweden

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Taylor Phat Boy flugelhorn review Reply with quote

wiemelen wrote:
Trollet wrote:

Fit and finish:
The finish is raw brass. I actually did i custom patina on mine. Boiled 5 eggs, put them mashed up in a bowl and let the horn (holes taped to not patina the inside) sit in a trashbag overnight with the eggfumes. Then i Polished the inner bell and valve caps. I think it looks wonderful!

That's quit an interesting method. Never heard of that one before.
Would love to see the actual result.
Curious to know if the patina result is darker than the one on my trumpet.


It's just one way of oxidizing the copper and brass (it simulates maybe 40 years of patina in 8 hours . i'll send photos when i have time!
_________________
Horns:
Yamaha ytr-6335H
Looking for a flugelhorn!
Mpcs:
GR 64SZ* - and a bunch more
Bach 7FL
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