Mirafone 185??

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:46 pm

I've owned most of the Mirafones but have never encountered a 185. I just received two Mirafones for service that at first glance I thought to both be 186's. UNTIL I began measuring one of them for a retrofit bell. The bell throat is clearly about an inch smaller in circumference on one of them. Closer inspection revealed that the bore of the 'questionable' horn is .740" and the bell is just 14 3/8". The wrap of the horn is nearly identical to the 186. This horn is too large to be a 182, 183, or 184. Is it a 185? Pictures here:

http://thevillagetinker.com/Misc%20stuff.htm

WakinAZ · Post by **WakinAZ** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:05 pm

http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/

I thought this link had a 185 in the lineup, but, alas, it does not. I still love these pictures and the info about the elusive 190.

Sorry, not much help Dan.

Eric "Mira-fan" L.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:53 pm

bloke wrote:To me, it looks like someone stuck a 184 bell on a 185 body.
.... other business:

That Conn "whatsit" tuba pictured on your website DEFINITELY has a Selmer-USA (Bundy/Buescher/whatever) sousaphone valve section on it.

Miraphone.de indicates that the 184 bell is 14 3/16" diameter. This one is 14 3/4". I don't think the bell has been changed on this horn.... based mainly on the lack of evidence at the bow/bell joint.

Yeah.... we decided early on that the 'whatsit' horn had Selmer/Bundy donor parts. It actually was a pretty nice setup. I don't know where the horn is now.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:26 pm

the elephant wrote:Slim chance, but suppose the original owner ordered from the factory a 185 with a smaller bell or even a 184 bell?

Has anyone been able to come up with information about the diameter of a 185 bell yet?

poomshanka · Post by **poomshanka** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:52 am

http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/may2001 ... 57068.html

...D

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:16 pm

Not just bell diameters. I always thought the standard 186/7/8 valve bore was .770.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:49 pm

bloke wrote:That's a really great job of finding info with a search (congrats!), but with the listed inaccuracies of the bell diameters of the other models, the diameter listed for the 185 really can't be trusted, imo.

184, bell 14.5", bore .705"
185, bell 15", bore .740"
186, bell 16.5" (as discussed- now 17.25"), bore .778
188, bell 17.25"
I've always THOUGHT that the 185 bell diameter was at LEAST 15", but I have no solid source.

I just received an email from Tim Jackson. His 185 CC has a bell diameter of 14 3/4" and a bore of .740". That's good enough for me.

poomshanka · Post by **poomshanka** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:52 pm

bloke wrote:That's a really great job of finding info with a search (congrats!)

Oddly enough found using The Google. Didn't even think to run it through the TubeNet search.

...D