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An interesting aspect of the Mirafone 186 is the many different mouthpiece design concepts it can function with.

I have been trying an original Deck #1, and an old King #26 mouthpiece (quite heavy). An unexpected result is that I’m getting an ‘Alex like’ sound out of the 186 CC. Of course, this is subjective, and we hear what we want to hear.
I love Alexanders and have had the opportunity to buy some good ones, but passed them over because my two Mirafone CC’s have equally fine qualities.

K.

From my experience:
1) Change out the bell for a St. Pete bell (This is what my 186 had on it when I bought it).
2) Use a Wick 1L (almost as deep as an old King 26).

Indiana university actually had an Alexander 163 with a 186 bell on it. It was actually a great horn.

The older Mirafone 186 and Alexander 163 both had a 16.5" bell diameter. When I was an undergrad and the earth's crust was still cooling, the Mirafone 186 was sometimes referred to as the, "Poor man's Alexander." The Alexander had a slightly larger valve bore, and required a larger shank mouthpiece, but the design was really quite similar. The newer Miraphones were/are equipped with a smaller leadpipe, and like the Alexanders have gone to a 17.5" bell diameter, and I think both have lost some of their character in the process. I really like the sound and response of the older Mirafones,and had three mouthpipes specially ordered and made for the earlier Mirafones. Contact me if you need a replacement pipe for a vintage Mirafone, pre-1980's. Until I placed my order, the US supplier did not know that these even existed.

I would aim for a bell with thicker gauge brass. A slightly bigger pipe may help, but you might also lose the quick response in the low end.

Mirafone 186 players: I have tried a very interesting R&S TUHH (heavy) mouthpiece on a 186 CC. It takes out lesser highs in my sound than my old heavy Deck model. Bewildering.
Who else has experimented with heavy mouthpieces on 186 models?

My first personal horn was a 186, and I played it for about ten years or so. During that time, my favorite of the mouthpieces I ever tried was an old LM4, which I believe was close to a pt88 in dimensions? Not heavy, necessarily, but certainly large.