Miraphone M7050 Ambassador EEb

[GeoffC_UK]

I’ve had my Miraphone Ambassador for a few weeks, now, and used it through a concert, so feel I can provide an informed review of this tuba.
The version I own is their model M7050 which is an EEb compensated tuba with a “medium” bored lead-pipe, and is in a lacquer finish.
https://youtu.be/iUfGyzxMc8E?si=GC4lXdSq73fK3E4s
Prior to owning this tuba I played, mostly, Besson (B&H) Sovereigns and Imperials. Playing as an amateur in brass bands and orchestras, with the occasional wind band thrown in.
Before I went over to Germany to test drive this tuba, I collected a few people’s view of what they thought.
The responses I got can be summarised as:
- They are heavy;
- Stuffy in low register;
- Play flat;
- They don’t sound like a Besson.
In my review I will try and address these observations as I go.
Let’s start off with the bad stuff.
The position of the 4th valve isn’t good. Its worst feature by a long, long way.
It is a real stretch to get to it. Anyone with short arms is going to struggle.
You have to put the tuba in a certain position to reach it, and that may not be where you want the tuba positioned.
This could be improved by re-design.
The carry ring on the bell section sticks into your ribs.
I have had this carry ring removed.
That’s about it, from a “really bad” perspective from me.
Being 60+ years old I was a tad concerned about it being “too heavy”.
The Ambassador comes in at 10.1kg and a Sovereign, I believe, weighs 9.3kg.
That’s about 2 lbs difference or the weight of a bag of sugar in old money.
When I first picked a M7050 up I didn’t really notice its weight.
It is very easy to handle in/out of the case and up onto your lap.
Balance is good, so I have never thought it a disadvantage.
Mira told me that the tuba is made from 0.8mm gauge brass, as all their tubas, but the bell section on the Ambassador is thicker (+25%).
Having played on compensated tubas for most of my (tuba) life, I can say that the Miraphone is stuffy in the low register.
However, it is no more stuffy than any other compensator that I’ve played.
I would say it’s better than most, but I found I need to regulate the amount of air I’m pushing through (less) to get the best from the basement with this tuba. At my recent orchestral concert we played Russian repertoire, so it fared quite well in the low register, I can report.
I mentioned this “stuffiness” to Mira when I visited and they said that this known “issue” had been sorted about 15 years back.
The impression I got was that they tweaked its design to correct more than that “issue” all those years ago.
Over the past few weeks’ I have played in 3 different ensembles (2 x brass bands, plus, 1 x orchestra) with this tuba.
Never thought the tuba was flat with main slide and the others extended.
What I have noticed is that it plays very flat when not warm; once at temperature it is fine.
I have also found Mira’s tubas to be mouthpiece sensitive: the one supplied with the tuba has a huge inner rim diameter but is shallow.
A change in mouthpiece can lead to a clear change in how flat/sharp the tuba plays.
In my testing of this tuba in Germany I had realised it likes a big mouthpiece, so I play on one.
The other consideration on “playing flat” may be the large (lead-pipe) bore version M7000; does that one blow flat?.
The M7050 which I have, takes all the air I can give it, with a big sound, so can’t see any reason to consider the large lead-pipe bore version.
I blew my old Besson 782 (Imperial) at the same time, same place, and same mouthpiece as my new Ambassador.
The old Besson sounded warmer.
The Ambassador sounded tighter and more direct, but not as much as a non-compensated Mira tuba: somewhere in the middle.
When I played with my brass band, who all have Bessons, the Mira’s sound blended well with the rest.
I can play the Mira for a lot longer than I could play the old Besson (less fatigued).
My Norwegian Star is even easier to play, which you would expect, but the Ambassador takes more effort than the NS.
Generally, the Ambassador is an easy blow for a compensator. Its intonation is not as good as my old 782 (Imperial) but that isn’t a surprise.
When listening to it, you can certainly hear it’s not a Besson, but not sure whether that’s a bad thing.
Orchestrally it is definitely not a bad thing and, already, I’ve said it blends well in a bass section made up of Bessons.
The valve action is very good. The valves have a polished surface, so I have found that they need re-oiling every 2 or 3 days to maintain a fast action.
This characteristic may be partly my fault, as I have swapped out Mira’s springs for lighter Yamaha springs.
The lead-pipe position is more akin to the Sovereign 982, so the Mira is going to sit on the edge of your chair or a stand, rather than your lap more often than not.
I won’t mention the Ambassador’s build quality because we all know its up there with the best (or is).
Consumable spares have always been a stone in my shoe. I like to hold such spares, so that I can quickly change something over.
Most people playing piston valved tubas change such spares without heading to their local repairer/maintainer for help.
It has been difficult to find the exact (consumable) spares for the Ambassador.
I am surprised they don’t sell them in kits or provide a list of such consumable spares.
As I am more than 800 miles from the factory, and across the sea, I’d like to keep such spares close by.
There are a handful of very good repairer/maintainers within an hour’s drive of my home, but none will carry Mira spares.
Getting any spare from Germany takes over a week, so I intend to keep a set or two at hand (not quite there yet).
I bought my M7050 Ambassador for use in brass bands.
It can and will do that job.
Its price point is about the same as a new Besson Sovereign (instrument + hard case, together).
Will the Mira ever be popular in UK? – in short, probably not.
Besson is ever popular and Chinese clones are too cheap.
But for someone looking for something different then the Ambassador is worth considering (if your arms are long enough, that is).
These are my thoughts and your experiences may be different (and that’s ok).