Make up a catchy name for the Mirafphfone 186!

[toobagrowl]

Generic.

+1

[iiipopes]

Generic.

Only the newer 17 3/4 inch bell variants.

[Mwtuba32]

Generic.

+1

[bort]

Generic? Your best, most specific name is "Generic"?

[Mwtuba32]

Not very creative for a bunch of musicians, are we?

[jamsav]

Generic.

Only the newer 17 3/4 inch bell variants.

nah...don't have a cute name for mine- I wouldn't consider a blank canvas to be " generic" , the art is in the artist...Arty ??? ...even better , Farty !

[iiipopes]

The problem is, we usually give singular nicknames to items that have some ideosyncracy or strange attribute. A 186, especially the newer 17 3/4 inch bell version, is the antithesis of that: reliable; predictable; foundational; versatile, etc., not lending itself to catchy or quirky nicknames.

That said, with the burdens of all types it gladly supports, "Mule."

[GC]

Generic? Your best, most specific name is "Generic"?

Yep. Not high priced, gets the job done, nothing remarkable or special, widely found.

Catchy, no.

To be honest, I played 5 different 186's through my high school and college years (and occasionally helping out the band at the school where I taught). Of the 5, only one played well. The 186 does not often inspire fond memories for me.

[ShoelessWes]

The Miraphone "Taurus". Gets you where you need to go, without being completely embarassing when you pull up next to someone at a stoplight.

[Bob Kolada]

"Restraining Order", as in, stay the hell away from me.

[bort]

The Miraphone "Taurus". Gets you where you need to go, without being completely embarassing when you pull up next to someone at a stoplight.

I always used to think 186 = Honda Civic and 188 = Honda Accord. Having owned both Hondas, and now a 188, I don't really buy it anymore. The 188 is a great tuba, maybe not everyone's style, but a great classic tuba. And I think the 186 is often underrated. I my 188 more than other tubas that cost twice as much. There are very few (if any) cars that cost twice as much as a Honda Civic/Accord that I would like less.

All that said, it's a very good thing that there are dozens of options for tubas, and hundreds of options for cars. We'd be an even more grouchy group if we all had to play and drive things we didn't really like.

[chronolith]

I equate the 186 with the AK-47. Cost-effective (read: cheap), reliable, and continues firing in conditions that would put other weapons down. And now that the Chinese are knocking them off, there is an extra few overtones to the comparison.

[BavarianFanfare]

The 1911 Colt .45 automatic pistol equivalent of the tuba world that works!

[BavarianFanfare]

A great German-made instrument for my needs, and at a price that is affordable. Only the real thing is acceptable, no Chinese clones or other imitations.

[Rick Denney]

Let's see, Miraphone has Ambassador (for a British-style instrument), Bruckner, Norwegian Star (collaboration with Baadsvik), Starlight, Petrouschka, Firebird, and Belcanto, and the best we can come up with is "Clydesdale"?

How about Melchior and Fischer-Dieskau?

Or, if that's too obscure, Siegfried and Alberich? (We'd have to save Wotan for the 190, wouldn't we? Especially given that Fafner has already been taken.)

Rick "who has heard a lot of sniggering about Miraphones 186/188, but never that they plod" Denney