G. Dolge

Manufactured by the Augsburg workshop of Gottlieb Dolge, this German-style flugelhorn features a traditional rotary-valve mechanism. The bell inscription reads "G. Dolge, vorm. A. Scherlein in Augsburg", which places its manufacture in the period between 1868 and 1900. Acoustically, the horn is pitched in C, but it comes with a "pigtail" crook to change the pitch to B♭.

Visually, the instrument has a beautiful vintage look, but it arrived with some mechanical damage: a support brace for the valve casing had come loose, leaving a rather large hole in the third valve tubing. To restore the horn, the brace was carefully soldered back into place, and a custom brass patch was crafted to seal the hole. For an airtight seal, the patch was additionally secured with tape.

With the air leak successfully repaired, the flugelhorn is now fully playable once again. Testing revealed that a flugelhorn mouthpiece with a traditional German shank fits the exceptionally wide mouthpiece receiver perfectly. With this correct mouthpiece setup, the horn plays remarkably well, confirming that the rotary valves still maintain good compression and offering a rare opportunity to experience how this Augsburg instrument sounds today.