Why is the Miraphone 1293 considered small 5/4 or 4/4

[CooperBayliff]

The bore measurements for the miraphone 1293 are .772-.835 which is bigger than most 5/4 tubas and a lot of 6/4 tubas. The 1293 also has a 19.6 inches which is also bigger than most 5/4 tubas and roughly the same size as alot 6/4 tubas. So why is it still considered 4/4 or small 5/4

[Sousaswag]

4/4...

TRUE 5/4 tubas are really the MW 5450, B&S Pt6(P) and the Willson 3050

You don't need to keep creating threads for one-answer questions like this... Just Google "Miraphone 1293" and you'll get a plethora of information...

[royjohn]

There have been a lot of threads about tuba size in which knowledgeable people have advocated for classifying tuba sizes by the volume of the horn. This makes a lot of sense, but it is difficult to measure the volume of a tuba without filling the whole thing up with water and then finding a way to dump it and measure the volume. Mostly if there is a question about the size of a particular model, someone will mention the size of the bell taper and bottom bow compared to other horns.

There are many horns with a small bore which are not small 4/4/ horns, based on their volume. There are some large bore horns which are not 5/4 or 6/4 because of their bell and bottom bow volume measurements.

Maybe you should start a GoFundMe page to finance a trip to try multiple instruments, so you could get a first hand idea of what you want. I'd kick in $10...LOL...no, though, really...where are you located?

[bort]

Why?

Because it is.

It's kinda big for a 4/4, and kinda small for a 5/4. I guess you could call it a 4.5/4 (or a 9/8, if you were paying attention in math class)

Play enough true 5/4 and 4/4 tubas and you'll understand.

It's a good, meaty tuba that will put out plenty of sound. Accept that and stop paying so much attention to the numerator LOL

[royjohn]

bort said:

Play enough true 5/4 and 4/4 tubas and you'll understand.

So, what I said, take some trips and try some tubas...until then, it's all idle speculation. As he says, you're getting stuck on a number.