Are Vintage Flugelhorns Better? 6 Flugelhorns Compared!

Of course the one that sounds the best is the hardest to play in tune. Life as a brass player!

I've had a Couesnon flugelhorn since 1978 or so. It was manufactured in the mid to late 1950s. Great flugelhorn, highly sought after by jazz musicians in particular. I had it completely refurbished and refinished and it looks like brand new.

The Couesnon sounded immediately intriguing. It's like the most natural even sound, well focused too and pleasant to listen to although perhaps not really wide spreading.

When I hear all the flugels in sequence like this- the two Bach models stand out positively to my ears. I have always played Yamahas and Couesnons throughout my career. Mind is blown. Thanks for posting.

Bought a silver queen in the 70s with a 3rd valve slide trigger and a case for it and 1 trumpet. It was Immaculate then and after decades still is. I admit that some years it was hardly played but because of retirement is now a joy to play regularly. As I remember the price was 125.00 used from a friend of mine who had a mostly guitar,drum business and needed the 125.00 for monthly store rent. How times have changed! Have a happy Thanksgiving. Sincerely The old Northwoods RN

I listened with closed eyes. Could not tell the difference. would gave to listen in rsl life. Point is, they all sound great.

A very informative video. Thank you for taking the time to make it and share it.

I always prefer vintage horns (let's say pre mid '80's), however, with vintage horns you run the risk of red rot, not always tho, but usually older horns will require a new MPC receiver and if there's a leak in the horn (if the horn is over 40+ years you can almost bank on the fact there will be), that requires a valve-refit.

Very cool. Thx for posting the comparison. Personally, I preferred the Yamaha 8310Z first, followed by the Schilke 1040, simply because the intonation was superior to the rest (likely a player preference). The intonation issues of the flugel were evident on each in different places. My first flugel was the Cousnon 140 back in the '70's. As you noted, it didn't have a 3rd valve trigger, which was more evident on the low D's tuning than what you experience on a trumpet. My horn also had poor construction, with the 2nd valve being slightly higher (when you looked at the finger buttons in a line) than the 1 and 3, but it was a jamming horn and a joy to play overall. The Couesnon in this video was tuned a tad lower than the others, sounding overall flat, which was a sonic disadvantage compared to the flugel played before and after it. Another issue I've found when trying flugels is that many makes use totally different bore sizes, which change the playing experience drastically to me (while it often isn't an issue at all to me on trumpet). The Schilke (.406) and Bach (.401) are small bored compared to many other makes offering horns at .413, .433 or even .460. I've always found the .413 to be the sweet spot for me ... while I've got a friend playing a vintage Getzen 4 valve (.460) that just sounds magical ... yet I struggle to play that horn. I played ever flugel I could at the 2015 ITG and then made a purchase ... so by either getting to a trade show, conference, or well-stocked music store like VMI, it is best to try as many as you can side-by-side to see which is best for you. Thanks again for posting. I love comparison videos like this when you play the same riff = it really helps to hear the differences.

Yamaha 8310Z!!!!

just you playing alone i liked the schilke copper bell the most. Out there when freelancing it's always completely personal.

Thank you and very well done; your comments ring true to what I was hearing, even through my earbuds. Now... could you do another one of these with the Yamaha 631, the Kanstul, Adams, Schagerl, Hub van Laar, or others?

Bach 182‼

In 1976 I bought a 'Sharon' (2nd line Quesnon) with a soft leather gig bag for $150 (still have both). I'd pit it against ANY of the ones you've shown. It came with a 3rd valve trigger, but the thing plays in tune better than the famous Jerome Callet trumpets. I went to Joe Marcinkiewicz for the mouthpiece. Very beautiful sound, and I found out that only about a hundred of these were made, so VERY rare........am holding on to mine forever.

I love my old Courtois flugel... French taper, of course...

Great.

I play a Martin Commitee Flugelhorn

Hey can you or someone else make a video on how to take apart the horn and clean it? I’ve had a conn flugel for a few months and it’s time to give it a bath but I’m scared to take apart the trigger.

Great job, I enjoyed this immensely, but in the flugelhorn world there's Courtois then everything else.

I listened to the test without audio and without knowing what flugelhorn were being tested... It's no surprise, the Yamaha 8310Z that I love and play on, is the one that stands out as the best to me.