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Hello,

I have this very large tuba and I have never found another. It has "Musik Barth Stuttgart" engraved on it.
It has a nice sounds but a far share of intonation issues.
Is this something rare worth keeping or is it a cheep knock off of a Miraphone/ Kaiser etc.

Thank you.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... JKj9YFF8Fj

Without measurements I would say that was a stencil of a Miraphone 190 if it's big enough. Not a cheap knock off, but made by Miraphone and engraved with someone else's details.

Look at Dave Manson's site: http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/190190.html

Can't really comment on value, but I wouldn't be throwing it in a skip! I love mine, admittedly a later one, try a large diameter cup mouthpiece as that was what was the traditional German Kaiser mouthpiece.

Wilf.

That does look like a Miraphone 190, with the lower-spec brass outer slide tubes, and a paddle rack, paddles, spiral springs, link arms and Minibal link ends that were retrofitted to replace (a guess, here) a clockspring system and S arms. I would guess this to have been made in the 1970s and upgraded in the last 15 years or so. There is no Kranz on the bell. Perhaps the bell was swapped? I have never known Miraphone to stencil stuff out, and I have never seen a Miraphone rotary horn from this era that lacked a Kranz. I think they did not have the tooling to roll back the edge of tuba bells back then. They were set up for bells without an edge with the protective Kranz instead.

These horns have issues with intonation, but they can clear a stage of unwanted string players with just a few notes.

Not a cheap knockoff, and worth keeping if you can play it in tune. I like these for a lot of things. This one looks to be in nice shape. You have a beautiful tuba, sir.

Easy Mac wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:04 amThese horns have issues with intonation, but they can clear a stage of unwanted string players with just a few notes.

Because of the profundity, or lack of consistent intonation, or both? LOL!

Barth in Stuttgart was a big music trade (later also radios) for more than 100 years, but closed in the 1990s. They had their own brass workshop for production and repair, which was in fact the former Schediwy workshop. Trumpets were made (mostly) in-house, other instruments were bought from various manufacturers labelled as Barth. Other instruments included everything, I have a 1890s accordion from Barth...
The long-time brass workshop boss Norbert Boepple is still making high-end trumpets near Stuttgart in his own workshop.

iiipopes wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:23 am

Easy Mac wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:04 amThese horns have issues with intonation, but they can clear a stage of unwanted string players with just a few notes.

Because of the profundity, or lack of consistent intonation, or both? LOL!

Have you really ever known string players to be bothered by "lack of consistent intonation"? Sounds like a pot and kettle situation to me.

lornix wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:39 pm

iiipopes wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:23 am

Easy Mac wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:04 amThese horns have issues with intonation, but they can clear a stage of unwanted string players with just a few notes.

Because of the profundity, or lack of consistent intonation, or both? LOL!

Have you really ever known string players to be bothered by "lack of consistent intonation"? Sounds like a pot and kettle situation to me.

Indeed.

Do what string players and vocalists do- use more vibrato!

windshieldbug wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 10:51 pm Do what string players and vocalists do- use more vibrato!

Ouch! Do you know what that much vibrato would do to a tuba player's jaw and embouchure!