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Author
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 7/16/2005
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: $770.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Beatiful dark tone, above average intonation, best in price range
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Cons:
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Have not found MP other than Blessing that fits this horn properly. Wish double case were better designed
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I've been playing trumpet for 30 years. Recently I decided to pick up a flugelhorn. Not being a full time "pro" player I decided to limit myself to horns in the under $1,000 range. I play tested the Blessing 154 RT along side a Jupiter a Getzen Capri, a Yamaha 2310 and an Allora. I really felt the Blessing was head and shoulders above the rest. It has a wonderful rich tone and (for a flugelhorn) excellent intonation. I also found them to be very consistent. After deciding on the Blessing I tried four separate horns and found no difference. The valves move fast and the horn is a joy to play. It's also a beautiful looking horn and I get wonderful compliments both on the sound and the look of the horn every weekend.
There are better horns, but I have not been sorry at all that I didn't spend twice as much to buy one of them. The increase in quality does not justify the price difference. Unless you are supporting yourself with your playing, I would say this is all you'll ever need from a flugel.
Negatives...I wish the double case were better designed. The compartment for the mouthpieces is open and they tend to fall out and bang the horn if you don't wrap them in something. I wrap three MPs and my tuner in a cloth and they stay put. The space left for a trumpet is very tight. I spent two months lugging both cases around before I broke down and put my Strad in there. So far no problem, but it does tend to compress the trumpet valves in odd positions. Also wish the case had a storage compartment like the Strad case does.
Also, I have never been thrilled with Blessing's mouth pieces. I wanted to pick up a Bach Mega Tone for this horn, but it doesn't fit properly. In fact the Blessing mouth piece is the only one I have found that will fit this horn properly. I may break down at some point and have a custom mouth piece made up.
All in all this is an EXCELLENT horn! I strongly recommend it!
A couple of side notes. There is an article called the flugelhorn buying guide that shows up on the net pretty regularly. It really pans Blessing calling them third world horns (I'm in Elkhart and it's my understanding they build them right here) I don't know what this guy's issue with Blessing is, but it's not a fair review at all. (For the record I am not affiliated with Blessing at all.)
Also, I understand from some of the folks who work there that this is the same horn as the Olds NF13RT. Blessing builds them under contract. I also strongly suspect that this is the Zeus 800R flugelhorn. It looks identical, right down to the case.
OK, I've talked long enough. I hope this all helps. Happy playing!
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 2/13/2006
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: $795.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Price
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Cons:
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Workmanship
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I've got the Zeus version of this horn. It's not a bad horn at all. It has a nice, warm sound to it, and generally plays pretty easily. There are, however, some things to consider that will make this a much better horn.
First, the mouthpiece is going to be critical. A deep V mouthpiece makes a world of difference on this one. If you get this horn, I'd suggest going out of your way to get one of the following mouthpieces: Flip Oakes Wild Thing, Curry, or a Dennis Wick with a deep V. These will help add warmth to the tone. Playing the mouthpiece it came with gave it a tone that was too bright. Playing a deep V made my French Horn playing daughter a bit jealous of the sound.
The valves are a bit of a challenge to break in. The piston guides are plastic ("non-metal" as they say). They tend to hang at the top of the rail. Use vast quantities of valve oil on this horn while breaking it in! This is going to be critical to making it worthwhile. Also, take out the pistons after use, wipe them dry with a lint free cloth, then re-oil them - and really soak the things, including the top part where the spring is.
The only tone problem comes with the first space F. It seems to be flat no matter what you do with the slides. You'll have to lip-up on this one, and there really isn't much choice. It's not flat enough that it changes from F to E# on my tuner, but it does peg the bottom of the board on the F itself.
Lastly, the third valve trigger isn't constructed all that well. It's decent, but you'd do well to oil that too, and tighten the screw a wee bit. Otherwise, it can be a bit clanky.
I know this sounds like a laundry list of bad things, but in reality these are fairly minor problems. The toughest thing is breaking in the valves (at first, they're not just slow, they stick), but that's true of most instruments. If you know that going in, then you're better able to make an informed choice. For the money, this is a darn good horn.
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 9/24/2006
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: $775.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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best fluegelhorn for the money
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Cons:
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has nce rich sound valves are very good horn is well built an there is nothing
close to it in its price range for a pro horn .just try one an you will see i have
other fluegelhorn witch cost more an dont play any better .its you money
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 4/1/2007
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: $740.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Price/Nice warm tone
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Cons:
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Could not see spending the big bucks on the "pro models"
for what I needed (occasional jazz combo and church), has good
warm sound, valves are nice/fast, and surprised the mouthpiece
came with sounds pretty good, although did get a Dennis Wick 4FL
for darker sound.Intonation is pretty good.
Fun to play.
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lmf
Junior Member
Registered: March 2007
Location: Warsaw, IN
Posts: 16
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Review Date: 4/1/2007
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Good quality for the money!
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Cons:
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Depends upon the user's perspective
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I have to agree with "unregistered" as it relates to Blessing brass instruments. Some give them "bad raps" as if the whole line of instruments are poor. You can find a lemon in any brand if you are looking. Some people are never happy with what they buy? If you are looking for a brass instrument and you don't can't afford/or don't want to pay for a Ferrari-type instrument, Blessing suits the bill. I've played trumpet, cornet, and flugel horn over the years, and the Blessing brass I own is one of my better horns.
All I can say is like "unregistered" you owe yourself the opportunity to give Blessing Brass a try when you audition other instruments. If you want to pay more or don't like the way the Blessing instruments handle, then choose another brand.
I've owned Conn, Reynolds, and others and I still like Blessing instruments as I believe they are a good value for the price. Are they perfect...No! But, I have seen even the best instruments from the best companies face praise and criticism in BrassReview, too. Reviews are personal perception, that is all.
Accessories such as mouthpieces from the different manufacturers faces the same praise and criticism. For exampe, I have a Blessing mouthpiece for one of my instruments and it is prized along with my Bach, Wick and other mouthpieces. Each add/detract from the sounds I'm looking for, but I use them all from time to time. No sense "dissing" companies should my personal perception does not agree with that of another person. We all take our risk and make a educated decision to audition and purchase instruments from any maker.
Lloyd Michael Fletcher
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 5/12/2007
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Would you recommend the horn? Yes |
Price you paid?: $739.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Great sound, double case, price
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Cons:
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Flat first space F
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I was gald to come across this board and especially glad to see that some other folks struggle with the intonation on this horn. I bought the Blessing 154T about 3 years ago. Being an amateur I bought it from Giardinelli sight unseen and based on the price. At first I thought the mouthpiece was a little stuffy, and that the first space F was very flat and difficult to "lip up". Of course being new on flugel I figured I could adjust, and I have to a certian degree. You do have to be conscious of it though.
I did attempt a Bach 3C flug mouthpiece which of course didn't fit. Then I tried the Giardinelli 3c flug mouthpiece which was too big for me personally and flattened the notes above top staff G. I am back on the stock mouthpiec which does the job just fine for me.
I guess F is just one note on the flug but when it is flat you would be surprised how much time you spend thinking about it! For the money you cant beat it, but I do wonder if my neighborhood repair shop might be able to make an adjistment of some sort without affecting the rest of the notes. From waht I read overall, it sounds like flugs are in general quarky.
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Unregistered
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Review Date: 7/8/2007
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Would you recommend the horn? No |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 2
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Pros:
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Double Case
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Cons:
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Tuning, slides and valves
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I purchased this horn from WWBW about 5 years agol. Within twenty minutes of playing it, I was ready to return it. The tuning of the horn was the worst ever. I could tune the middle C, but then everything else was out of tune. I immediately contacted WWBW and asked them to pick up the piece of crap. WWBW sent me a used horn which was suppose to be new. The lead pipe and valve had wear markings. From that point on, I always take a tuner with me when trying out new horns. I eventually purchased a Yamaha 631OZ from a local music shop. Very pleased with that horn. In short, you get what you pay for.
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;)
