I lucked into one on eBay a few years ago, and what a joy it is to play paired with my Hammond 5FL. It's so easy to get that beautiful rich flugel sound I love on it, and I can actually give it a lot of gas and fill the horn up without it sounding too edgy. The YFH-635ST is truly a hidden gem!
Another wonderful presentation!! 👏When you were playing in the upper register, I was hearing Chuck Mangione! Then, as you played the lower registers, you sounded like you were playing a trombone! Outstanding!
Nice review. I prefer the smaller .413 bore horns. The .433 horns have a bigger sound and are more open, but they are slow(er) to respond and take more air, I think. Test drive an XO 1646R if you ever get the chance. It's a sweet-playing pro horn.
@@ronaldinnewmexico1912 Thanks for your comment, Ron. I generally prefer .413” bore flugels too, although I don’t think a .433” will physically take any more air if you use the same mouthpiece with the same throat size on each. The response is indeed slower, though, and you’re getting at the right thing, which is that there’s less effective impedance at the valve block for the same existing amount of air, and the overall apparatus is less conical. I’ve tried a few Jupiters: the intermediate 846R and 1100R as well as the XO. Honestly, the intermediate ones were so incredible that the XO didn’t feel like much of a step up, besides playing a little easier below the staff. I love the 1100R-quite possibly one of the best-value flugels on the market.
That 635 sounds awesome!! How do you compare the sound and the ability to get around and play in tune on that horn compared to the Getzen 4 valve that you play.
Hi Tom, the playing footage from this video is older than the first time I tried the Getzen, so take my words with a grain of salt, BUT… SOUND: the Getzen is a more straight-ahead “dark and thick” sound, with the Yamaha having a softer touch, similar darkness, and more smokiness. Almost like a large bore vs. small bore trombone respectively. FEEL: Yamaha unfortunately is quite a bit easier to play. I said goodbye to some of that when making the switch from my ACB to the Getzen, for the sake of sound, intonation, and the 4th valve. INTONATION: quite similar across the two-not a huge difference. Many report the older Getzen Eternas with the squared-off bell crooks as being very hard to wrestle into tune-either they got unlucky, I got lucky, or Getzen fixed their issue by the time mine was made.
I do think it has a marginally better sound than the ACB, although the biggest difference is the vastly better intonation. The ACB was really annoying to tune. I sold the ACB about six months ago because I got a Getzen Eterna 896 for a great price. This video was recorded a little while ago, hence why the ACB was still in my possession there.
I just finished replacing the pistons on an old 1978 YFH 231S that has a trumpet valve block with no slide adjustment at all.Evan now Yamaha dropped the student model for more then ten years now. So you only have a higher pro model choice. No more student models.
I think they made the right choice eliminating the 2-series flugels. Unless they design one that actually has the proper proportions and wrap, as well as a trigger for the 1st and/or 3rd slide, there's no point in them trying to appeal to the student/school flugel market. The Chinese-made flugels that are built on proper French bores are now outcompeting any .460" bore flugel made for students. The issue with the 231/2310 is indeed the trumpet valve block with the too-large bore, which prevents it from sounding like a real flugelhorn. With that said, I hope yours plays well.
