After playing this horn for the last few days, I must say that I am very impressed.
Build quality:
The build quality is decent and the silver plating finish looks beautiful, however it could use some better polishing as there were parts of the horn with micro scratches (not a big deal). The valves function smoothly and the valve caps come with a cool patterned stone material. The third valve slide trigger mechanism works well and hasn't given me any hiccups when playing. The horn has some sloppy soldering in some sections but overall clean. The water key mechanism isn't the best, but it still works well enough to get the job done. The horn comes with a decent case, but you cant fit many things inside except for one mouthpiece. However, there is a large pocket sealed with a buckle on the outside, which you can put things such as sheet music, valve oil, extra mouthpieces etc. The build quality of the case is sturdy and it also came with a sling to attach to the case so you can carry it around. I received complementary cotton gloves and valve oil as well which was nice.
Sound quality:
What can I say, it is absolutely great for the price. It has a powerful, rich and full tone all at the same time. It doesn't have the overly mellow tone that some flugelhorns have (some may not prefer this). Everyone knows flugelhorns are notoriously out of tune so I wont touch on that too much as it is a horn in the $600+ range and many other factors can affect intonation such as using a mouthpiece with a throat and backbore that is not advised for flugelhorn. I tested it using my monette STC B4 and it was quite enjoyable playing jazz and classical. Upper and lower registers are both strong in this horn. It could definitely be used in some professional events.
I imported this horn to the US and it arrived in perfect condition. I paid $80 in duties and $90 for shipping, which was well worth it, as I ordered a saxophone at the same time as the flugelhorn.
The team at Thomann took care of any issues on their end that arose while in transit. They were quick at replying to my inquiries to mitigate any issues. The shipping was fast and the horn arrived on the 23rd after placing an order on the 16th of June. It would've arrived even faster if customs (as usual) didn't try to find every reason to put it back in the warehouse even after duties were prepaid.
Overall this horn is a great purchase for the price and I would definitely recommend.
