Thomann TRF-23 Flugelhorn

Great horn for a bargain.

Is it Schagerl or a Gerd? No, but it is a nice reasonably priced horn that performs pretty well. Intonation seems solid, more me than the horn. Mouthpiece is ok and case is basic… the sound is pretty good and the have FAST service and an enjoyable horn. You can’t have mine back…

This horn could easily be played in a band/ensemble with other instruments..

I am, if it is not obvious, pleasantly surprised.

Lubed the valves and they are fast and quiet. Really for a horn I could find no reviews, did see some for the perinet valves horns and so I just took a chance… glad I did.

Intonation and sound improved with the JK 4D and Denis Wick 2BFD later ordered.. Provided 2 different sounds with similar feel and both are a serious improvement. After which I updating my review and improving the scores…. Nice horn! Still can have mine!

My first brass instrument

Ordered this from Canada and am very satisfied. İ think its gorgeous and can already make a few melodies. Thank you!

Good sound, good quality

I bought this for my former school band where I often teach as an amateur instructor. The horn has big fat sound, and definitely a flugelhorn sound. The fit and finish is very good, the valves and the trigger work perfectly out of the box. The mouthpiece coming with it is also good, but I think I will try other "real" flugelhorn mouthpiece later. The case is also good and protective, albeit quite bulky.

My only complaint is the ergonomics. I have big hands, my bandmate who also tried the horn also have big hands, but we struggled to hold it comfortably. The left hand is overstretched with the thumb on the trigger paddle and the little finger in the ring. And the ones who will mainly play it from now on would be middle- to high-school students, with definitely smaller hand than ours. I would suggest moving the finger hook a little bit closer to the player.

I've been using this instrument for two weeks now, playing it for 5-6 hours in total.

The sound is excellent in the A-G'' range. G and below seems to be a bit off, I think it's a tad too low. Beyond G'' it becomes quite thin, however, skill (or the lack thereof) could have a significant part in that.

The trigger cork fell off in transit, but that was trivial to fix with a drop of glue. Otherwise the build quality is solid (including the the other corks). The valves are excellent, quick and easy to press. The slides are very difficult to remove, but I expect that to get better over time.

Figuring out a good way to hold the instruments was quite a challenge. This is the first rotary I've ever played, so I don't know if this issue is particular to this model or universal to all rotaries, but it's quite difficult to find a hold on the horn that is both stable and doesn't put too much strain on your fingers. I eventually managed to fulfill both criteria to an acceptable level, but it's definitely not as comfortable as a piston instrument.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase. There is some room for improvement here and there, but I doubt you could get anything better in this price range.

Amazing instrument for the price!

Pros

- Fantastic price for quality of instrument

- Good sound quality, very mellow and consistent (providing you can keep the air flowing)

- Solid intonation, it's also easy to bend notes so no excuse for being out of tune!

- Sturdy build quality, feels very solid

- Excellent valves straight out of the case

Cons

- Third valve had a small "click" when the valve was released, Fixed this by moving the soft gel.

- Provided mouthpiece has no markings and is not amazing, would suggest buying another.

- The third valve slide is just out of reach for my hand size although another friend did not have this issue

Overall 8/10

For the price, this is an amazing purchase, the cons are minor and forgivable at this price point. If you are in need of a cheap flugelhorn and would like to experiment with rotary valves, this is a no brainer purchase