Thomann FH 600 GS Bb-Flugelhorn

I play trumpet and needed a flugle for playing in bigband for ballads etc.(Before, I used to borrow a Yamaha Bobby Shew flugle so I was a little spoiled).

This instrument is very nice for what it costs. First, it is beautiful to look at and only upon closer inspection you will notice some manufacturing impurities (darker markings on the valve stems for example). The sound was surprising to me, it's a big and fairly resonant flugle sound. I mainly use a Denis Wick 4FL and with that, it is a rounder sound than what the Yamaha Bobby Shew produces, I like it. The trigger works well after applying a little slide grease, the valves need some breaking in. I am still hoping they get a little smoother but it is certainly not bad and not a dealbreaker for me. The intonation is where I experience difficulty. Again, at this pricepoint I feel bad even complaining but it's hard work if you want to play nicely in tune with your section.

Overall, great instrument if you don't yet want to spend the big bucks for a professional model.

The valves are much better than expected. They work flawlessly when using a better oil (Hetman nr2) than the one provided with the instrument.

The silver finish is excellent - shiny and nice, no dents or so.

My trumpet teacher tried the instrument and was very happy with the sound - nothing to complain about. He offered to buy my Flugelhorn but I'll keep it myself :) However, the G tone just above the system is a bit low when I play the instrument - most likely since I don't practice enough. The G tone is however OK when my teacher plays. He suggested me to buy a different mouthpiece (more shallow and smaller, trumpet like) or simply do more practicing :)