Review: Taylor Modified Phat Boy Fluegel

Shawnino · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Jun 2020 Posts: 255

Photoshoot of my horn here, feat. the modification:
https://www.facebook.com/TaylorTrumpets/posts/10158137482979702?__tn__=-R

Product page from website, but the site is nearly as old as Andy, not ideal: http://www.taylortrumpets.com/phatboy_flugelhorn.html

Everyone's going to sound different on every horn. If you want to hear this one at its best, look for Bryan Corbett videos on Taylor fluegels.

Use case: one more piece of jop and pazz ambience, as a wine bar encourages people to re-emerge from our cocoons responsibly and get on with living as safely as possible.

I've had the horn for two weeks and I'm pleased with it: the tone I get is warm and dark without being trombone-squishy. Intonation is alarmingly good (keep reading). The slots are big all the way to the G atop the staff. Valves are amazing (Bauerfeind heavy I think) and the overall construction is tank-solid.

Andy declined to provide tech specs so unscientifically I can tell you it's massively thirsty and Heavy As Hell(tm). I have never held a fluegel this heavy. For my needs this is a feature, not a bug, but YMMV. And yeah, it takes a ton of air. You can push and push and push the snot out of it and it still sounds like a fluegel. This copper beast will hold its shape. The downside is that playing at low volumes, where I want to be, really forces you to up your game--I'm not close to where I want to be yet, especially with the mated mouthpiece. Practice, then. Nobody's said I'm too loud yet.

That's this horn's blessing and curse: it promises immense rewards if you want to focus on it and treat it as the unique animal it is. As a doubling instrument, it has to be an inefficient choice both literally and practically for all but the best players. As a day-job working mathematician I'd like to spend even more time on it but I'm giving what I can.

Andy is great to deal with and the whole process took ten weeks, including a shop first: modifying the trigger to be fired by the right thumb. Yes, I can justify the high cost of stepping up from a very good red brass Carol just to get this feature, but I'm a little surprised how little I need to use it. I wonder, as I practice, how much I'll eventually need it at all. Right now I'm already using it for shaky jumps into the bass clef only. The overall intonation is really good, and my electronic tuner affirms that the horn is well in tune with itself.

In the wild, the trigger repositioning has gone un-noticed. Twice I've been told I was lucky to get something modelled just for me, and twice I agreed--but both times they went on to refer to the rounded shaping where my left hand rests. AFAIK that's just the typical Phat Boy dimension. So the trigger must look like it fits in.

HaveTrumpetWillTravel · Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:33 am Post subject:

Looks really cool--how hard is to do the slide exclusively with right hand? May lead to some creative future designs...

TKSop · Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 3:53 am Post subject:

delano · Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 4:07 am Post subject:

Same with the Olds Mendez trigger.
Beautiful flügel BTW that Fat Boy. Great design. If it plays like it looks you've got something very special.

Shawnino · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Jun 2020 Posts: 255

Trollet

ECLtmpt2 · Veteran Member Joined: 21 Feb 2021 Posts: 147

That is one heck of a horn, absolutely beautiful. The trigger wouldn't have caught my eye if you hadn't mentioned it.

My 1990's Bach Strad 37 has a rare factory 1st valve trigger also on the right hand side. As little as it's needed I find I'll use either thumb.

It's great you won't let a physical issue stop you from just getting along with things, some day I'll maybe post about my challenges. I suppose, unless you're lucky, any one with a few years on them will have some obstacles to overcome. I've got a couple of great Docs that are working with me when others have said it's time to give it up.

Back to that great horn, impressive! You got me to check my IRA to see if a call is in order...

cgaiii · Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:16 pm Post subject:

Cool horn. I have a Taylor Standard. I do not know how the weight compares to the Phatboy, but it is also pretty heavy. Carrying the weight is also rewarded with a wonderful sound.
Enjoy your horn.
_________________
Bb: Schilke X3L AS SP, Yamaha YTR-6335S
C: Schilke CXL, Kanstul 1510-2
Picc: Kanstul 920
Bb Bugle: Kanstul
Bb Pocket: Manchester Brass
Flugel: Taylor Standard
Bass Trumpet: BAC Custom
Natural Tr: Custom Haas replica by Nikolai Mänttäri Morales

Shawnino · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Jun 2020 Posts: 255

@trollet: the word 'unresponsive' has a negative connotation to it on its own, but kind of, yeah. It is less responsive than other fluegels I have played. It is just so heavy. I like the sound palette so much that it's a trade-off I'm more than willing to make.

That said, I don't know how much of that comes down to the horn and how much to my skill level. I can play it soft. Bryan Corbett can play it soft and really fast. Corbett is a good player. Me, not so much.

Bill Colletti has some videos on it too, including A/Bs and A/B/Cs with v. Laars and Carols. Colletti posts here occasionally. He is also a good player. Me, I repeat, not so much.

I also haven't found the all-around mouthpiece for it yet, and ave come to the conclusion that I never might. Most of the time the mp I ordered with the horn is on it (Taylor ML...second-cousin twice-removed to a 1.5). It's been six months and I'm still enjoying playing it every day.

Shawnino · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Jun 2020 Posts: 255

@ECLtmpt2: As the population ages and we find more older people with more disposable income, there's going to be a growing market for Accessible Everything. This will extend to musical instruments with modified instruments and playing aids. It's well underway with https://www.ergobrass.com/

I am naturally impatient, so I want my own solutions now. But we are lucky in that some are coming now, and some will come soon.

cgaiii · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:07 am Post subject:

Shawnino · Veteran Member Joined: 27 Jun 2020 Posts: 255

Couldn't agree more cgaiii, and that's what I'm practicing... backing off, backing off, backing off.

Your observation about mass in the mouthpiece is spot-on now that I think about it.

The best of the best can do anything but like you say, I find myself working my way into this horn and it's something of a winding road. If I played fluegel 2-5% of the time, it wouldn't be this one.

Like you I truly don't understand the difference between Standard and Phat Boy beyond the wrap. There is also a phat 'puppy' in the mix, which I've never seen in the wild. Andy keeps a lot of technical stuff close to his vest and the website leaves much to be desired.