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Which one would you prefer?

Mirafone (I have an older horn) because you get a lot more tuba for the price. Intonation is good. Sound quality is good. And the price is right. I can't even afford a used Hirsbrunner!

Hard to beat Miraphones they are very consistent well built horns that have great intonation and a truly lovely sound and there easy to play on top of that. A good used 186 in cc or Bb cost about several thousand less then the other two listed also. The BBb 186's are great for band playing and the CC's are hard to beat as an all around horn for they have a very nice focused sound that projects very well and quick response good low register. PT's & Hirsbrunner's are also extremely good tuba's hard to go wrong with the manufactures you've listed.

It depends.

Whatever horns I happen to own at the time!
(which right now is none of the above.)

Where's Getzen, Cerveny, and Meinl-Weston?

Well... at the moment, I have a Miraphone BBb 5V, two Miraphone BBb 4V, and one B & S BBb 4V. If I had a Hirsbrunner to compare them to, I might feel differently. The B & S 4V is probably the best focused but I keep coming back to the Miraphone 5V for the best all-around horn.

As a previous poster said "for the price, it's hard to beat the consistency of a Miraphone".

I see

I have a Miraphone 184 CC & an HB-2. While, in many ways, comparing these horns is like comparing apples, and oranges, they are both great horns. I think that I do like the character of the tone quality, of the HB a bit better, though.

Porky wrote:Thein makes a great rotary version of the M&M/York III.

Melts in your mouth, not on your pants??

tuba114 wrote:Which one would you prefer?

Can't vote.

If it's F tubas, then the Hirsbrunner is just plain amazing. But so is the old B&S, though in a different way. I'd like to have both, heh, heh.

If it's Bb tubas, I'll take the Miraphone over the Hirsbrunner any day, but there are a couple of B&S's that I might prefer over the Miraphone. The PT-1, in particular, (plus many of its variants) is an amazingly good Bb tuba. Good Miraphones are easier to find.

Rick "who finds it difficult to choose, but who can't afford Hirsbrunner no matter what" Denney

Porky wrote:Thein makes a great rotary version of the M&M/York III.

York #3, who cares. I want to know where Huttl #3 is. Dillon's had one. BBC has one now that plays OK.

the elephant wrote:I am in the minority here, I am certain. But playing an Alexander and having that sound in my head from day one of tuba playing as the sound of my teacher (and my personal goal) I have always hated the sound of Hirsbrunner tubas.

You aren't the only one.

Now if only B&S would make a comp horn.

Melton, Rudy, Alex & Gronitz should really have also been in the poll.

sorry

iiipopes wrote:Now if only B&S would make a comp horn.

Melton, Rudy, Alex & Gronitz should really have also been in the poll.

I would still vote for the Mirafone!

LoyalTubist wrote:I would still vote for the Mirafone!

You do realize, of course, that "Mirafone" was a marketing name used for a while by the Sun Valley importer who felt that "Miraphone" didn't sound Yurrupean enough. Miraphones from that era made for the European market were marked Miraphone.

A date range would make your point more clearly, methinks.

Rick "whose Miraphone dates from the Mirafone days but is still a Miraphone" Denney

Rick Denney wrote:

LoyalTubist wrote:I would still vote for the Mirafone!

You do realize, of course, that "Mirafone" was a marketing name used for a while by the Sun Valley importer who felt that "Miraphone" didn't sound Yurrupean enough. Miraphones from that era made for the European market were marked Miraphone.

A date range would make your point more clearly, methinks.

Rick "whose Miraphone dates from the Mirafone days but is still a Miraphone" Denney

I knew the Lockie brothers....

Yes, I know the story well.

Actually, there were differences between the Mirafones and the Miraphones. Mirafones were lighter and had a brighter tone. Miraphones made you think of Oktoberfest in a beer tent. (And I played for many an Oktoberfest when I lived in Germany, even though we really didn't have Oktoberfest in Berlin!)

Hey, a tuba is like a car or any tool you use to do your work. I won't criticize you because you play a different tuba than I do. We all like different tubas and that's OK by me.

For DP, The 184 BBb IS currently being produced. I have a brand new one at my house and they still play great.