TMEA - 2015

[imperialbari]

Interesting read!

Went to the Miraphone site to see a photo of the Elektra. If there is one, then only in a slide show on the homepage.

From your description I might have expected a smallish instrument, but the specs are not exactly for a sissyphone.

Klaus

[soyezu]

Some exploration of Miraphone's website led me to a photo album featuring the Elektra that Miraphone has posted on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 4479488252

[imperialbari]

No, not just your mouth, but the volume of your breathing apparatus. Affects pitch as well as fullness of sound. Really like playing with a singer's resonance technique. I am smaller, so I usually have to pull my tuning slide.

Klaus

[imperialbari]

image.jpg

Thanks for the photo reference!

I tend to see a discrepancy between the photo and the text description. To me it looks likevthe long semitone is on top and the long whole step then must be at the bottom of the stack of rotors.

Klaus

[Roger Lewis]

Actually, at the booth, we had the Elektra and the Bel Canto side by side and they are almost the same height with the Elektra a tiny bit taller. It looked as though the Elektra was a bit narrower than the Bel Canto. They are both very good with a nod to the Elektra for really impressive intonation and a great response.

The 5th valve is activated by a long rod and is after the 4th valve while the 6th valve is above the 1st valve. It comes in 4+2 or 5+1 as shown in the photo above.

The Elektra will be at the shows in Arkansas and Oklahoma City this year and should be in Ithaca and Bowling Green. Unfortunately the Knoxville and Arkansas shows are the same weekend. Richard Murrow will be covering the Arkansas show while I will be covering the Knoxville show with the Siegfried.

[Ferguson]

I've always tried to stock a few 4+2 Miraphone F tubas. You can get them by special order, but it's not the stock setup for the US market. They don't sell quite as well as the 5+1 models, but the die hards love them. If you don't have a lot of slide pulling to do, a 4+2 can allow your right hand to relax. Miraphone will customize the 5th and 6th to either half/whole or whole/half. The new Elektra is 5:whole/6:half like a B&S, and different from the stock setup on other Miraphones. Go visit the Musikmesse show in Frankfurt. That's where all the 4+2 display models live.
F

/A post above mentioned A=440 tubas. Miraphone makes longer tuning slides for the US tubas. You can tell by the long ferrules used to hold the tuning bow to the sleeves. They add about 1cm+/- to each side.

[Bill Troiano]

Holy shith !! I just type this fairly long report in regards to my experience at TMEA. Somehow, it got lost in the posting process. I'm not typing it again.

In summary, it was great to see so many of the guys holding down fort at the various booths. Every time I see Roger Lewis and Richard Murrow, I feel like I should've brought a 6 pack along with me.

The CC tubas I liked - not necessarily in any order:

5/4 -
MW Tuono
Kanstul
Miraphone 1293 CC

4/4 -
Eastman
Adams
St. Pete

[tuba114]

I was unable to make it to TMEA, but I would love to try the Elektra (preferably the 4+2). Does anyone know where I can do this? Any shops in the US have one?