Page 1 of 2

Mirafone and Miraphone Confusion

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 2:38 am
by mTaUrBkA
Alright.... I have a MiraFone 186 that came with a MiraPHone TU29 mouthpiece. Why is the brand name spelled differently if it came from the same place? That has been a question that has been bothering me lately.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:19 am
by J.Harris
As far as I know Miraphones were NEVER made in the U.S. The spelling was changed for a time to differentiate the horns made for the U.S. market. It was supposedly a more "American" spelling or some such nonsense.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 12:02 pm
by mTaUrBkA
They have always been made in Germany haven't they?

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:11 pm
by mTaUrBkA
My horn is a Mirafone 186 that has minibal linkage.....but one of my school's tubas is a Miraphone (i dunno the model, but it's smaller than my 186. The linkage on the school horn is terrible. It is the older style, fancy decorated linkage that look kind of like "S"s.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:39 pm
by CJ Krause
I have

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:08 pm
by mTaUrBkA
if thats the story......why is the mouthpiece that came with my tuba that was maunfactured about the same time have miraphone on it...but the horn has mirafone?

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:40 pm
by windshieldbug
mTaUrBkA wrote:if thats the story......why is the mouthpiece that came with my tuba that was maunfactured about the same time have miraphone on it...but the horn has mirafone?
You obvously got a European mouthpiece with it... send it back!

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:13 pm
by Dan Schultz
windshieldbug wrote:
mTaUrBkA wrote:if thats the story......why is the mouthpiece that came with my tuba that was maunfactured about the same time have miraphone on it...but the horn has mirafone?
You obvously got a European mouthpiece with it... send it back!
OR.... it's one of those cheap Chinese copies :!: :shock: RUN!

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:27 pm
by SplatterTone
OR.... it's one of those cheap Chinese copies
Nah. I'm pretty sure those come with a genuine Rolex watch.

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:07 am
by CJ Krause
[quote

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 3:38 pm
by mTaUrBkA
so is one or the other spellings lacking quality?

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:43 pm
by Dan Schultz
mTaUrBkA wrote:so is one or the other spellings lacking quality?
NO! As has been explained in previous replies, they are the same horns. However, Mirafone/Miraphone has made manufacturing changes in their products over the years that may give the appearance that the quality has changed. They've fiddled with bell sizes and linkage mechanisms (including the thickness of the old 'S' links and levers), but to my knowledge, the basic horn has remained the same... except for normal manufacturing variances, of course.

Hmmmm.... manufacturing variances/tolerances. Now... THERE's a subject to kick around. Ever wonder why one horn is awesome and the next one off the production line is mediocre :?: :shock:

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:52 pm
by Mark
I have a case that has both Mirafone and Miraphone on it. Does that mean it was a cheap Chinese manufactured case that was actually being sold by Miraphone for import into a German-American community in the United States?

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:02 pm
by mTaUrBkA
Thank you very much for the explanation Mr. Schultz! haha I couldn't tell which replies were serious and which ones were sarcastic and jokes due to lack of tuba knowledge, and just a little bit of stupidity! I am better at reading that when actually hearing voices!

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:32 pm
by windshieldbug
TubaTinker wrote:Hmmmm.... manufacturing variances/tolerances. Now... THERE's a subject to kick around. Ever wonder why one horn is awesome and the next one off the production line is mediocre :?:
Are English tolerances any better/worse than metric ones? :shock:

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:40 pm
by Teubonium
TubaTinker wrote:
Ever wonder why one horn is awesome and the next one off the production line is mediocre :?: :shock:[/quote]


Prolly cuz one is SILVER and the other is LACQUER !

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:48 pm
by windshieldbug
I'm my own Mira-phone.
I'm my own Mira-fone..
It sounds funny, I know,
But it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own Mira-pfone.

Now many, many years ago, when I was twenty-three,
I bought a horn that was pretty as could be.
This horn had a valve block which had valves of four,
My tech put on another, and soon it had more.

Oh, I'm my own Mira-phone.
I'm my own Mira-fone..
It sounds funny, I know,
But it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own Mira-pfone.