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If you can afford the Miraphones, get them. They're workhorses with almost always superb intonation and sound.

I cannot think of a reason to choose St. Petersburg over Miraphone if money is not an issue, honestly. I assume this is for a school purchase?

Adam C. wrote:If you can afford the Miraphones, get them. They're workhorses with almost always superb intonation and sound.

I cannot think of a reason to choose St. Petersburg over Miraphone if money is not an issue, honestly. I assume this is for a school purchase?

Double Ditto!

School or no, I agree.

Sou

I like the Miraphones... I'd say a 186 before a Yamaha 641...
hell here.. you could probably get 2 186's for the price of a 641

tjrck wrote:I've been told the St. Petersburg are a softer metal, but better sound and intonation.

I very definitely say no to "crack."

I would say go with the Miraphones, and further go on to say not go with the student line miraphones, if you have the money. They are good at first, but slowly fall apart. The 3 my school owns just have to be completely serviced, racking up about $600 worth of repairs. The Miraphone professional line tubas are a whole step up in quality. If you really had the money, I'd go for a 4-piston horn, like the King 2341. Not because rotors are bad, but rather that the cost of maintenance on the valves should be less. Referring back to the 3 tubas at my school, 400 dollars of the repair cost was on the valve linkages, so pistons might be good. Don't get the Yamaha upright models, either! Your shorter tuba players will hate you!

The comparison sounds like one that might be made by someone who happens to sell both horns. ...I wonder who that might be?

(Of course I agree with everyone else, Miraphone hands down. A St. Pete doesn't even come close in intonation, sound or playability, not to mention durability (although I mentioned it anyway).)

Lew wrote:The comparison sounds like one that might be made by someone who happens to sell both horns. ...I wonder who that might be?

(Of course I agree with everyone else, Miraphone hands down. A St. Pete doesn't even come close in intonation, sound or playability, not to mention durability (although I mentioned it anyway).)

Do you suppose there is a slight profit differential between the two horns? Of course, a diligent dealer will not recommend a poorer horn just for that reason, will he? Well, will he? History tells us the answer.

scottw wrote: Do you suppose there is a slight profit differential between the two horns? Of course, a diligent dealer will not recommend a poorer horn just for that reason, will he? Well, will he? History tells us the answer.

That appears to be the likely answer to the $100K question (Who the hell would say that???).

Well if cost is an issue, I'd also look at the VMI or a stencil (Schmidt or Sternberg). Better quality than the St. Pete for not much more. They might not be as steller as the Miraphones, but they are built like tanks and a couple K less.

If you can try before you buy, the Chinese horns are getting better. I got a cheap chinese baritone horn of e-bay for the case and ended up liking the "free horn" better than the St. Pete's which it seemed to be a copy of.

I agree, if its a school horn, get a piston horn. Less moving parts = less chance for problems. VMI makes a good big piston Bb. Brasswind has them on sale now too.

/Just my 2 cents.

how many of you have played both?

With today being "Balblowout" on Spike TV, and if the tubas had arms and legs, and if they were animated, and if Don King promoted the fight, I'd say that the Miraphone would win before the fight because the St. Pete was disqualified. Why, you ask? Because it got so nervous beforehand that it's nickle plating sloughed off!

tuba114 wrote:how many of you have played both?

I have, and there is no comparison. See above.

tuba114 wrote:how many of you have played both?

I have. The St. Pete didn't play that badly, but it didn't play as well as my Miraphone. And the construction wouldn't hold a candle to your better Chinese-made tubas these days.

Rick "a fan of ex-Soviet junque but having no illusions about it" Denney

the elephant wrote:I would rather purchase three new 186's than four or five St. Petes.

And I would rather purchase six Dalyans.

Rick "thinking the St. Petes were a good deal for a knowledgeable adult tinkerer when they were $1000-1200" Denney

Rick Denney wrote:..... Rick "thinking the St. Petes were a good deal for a knowledgeable adult TINKERER when they were $1000-1200" Denney

Huh!? did someone say something!?

I played a St. Pete in high school, it is definately not a good horn. all of the bad rumors are true, except that it is hard to dent (generally) it's sound is no where near as rich as a 186. and in a short time you'd have to tighten the rotor springs just to keep them moving decently fast.

I played a St. Pete (201N) and a miraphone 186 side by side. I must admit that the Miraphone has 100% better intonation in most registers, it didn't have the large feeling of the St. Pete. The St. Pete had better resonance than the Miraphone in my opinion, but the St. Pete was just lacking in the intonation in such an extreme that one register would be very sharp, from a Bflat below the staff to a Bflat on the staff, and go extremely flat while working its way up the register. The Miraphone, however, stayed at the same pitch center through all registers. I would recoment the St. Pete to a person on a budget who likes to pull and push slides a lot, and the Miraphone to someone who is more centered and is willing to spend almost double the price of a St. Pete... Overall both horns are great, but will never stand up to a C..... As for educational purposes, I would chose a mixture between the two. The Miraphone's construction is solid, but it just doesn't provide the size (unless you get the pro model) that the St. Pete offers. I stopped playing B flat for many reasons, but with most of the major C tuba manufactors, (Miraphone, Menil Weston, Yamaha, Hirsbrunner, Willson and so on) you just can't go wrong! Personally I LOVE my 1971 model 186, it provides all the flexability I need with the addition to my 181 6 Valve F, I'm set..

Why is the discussion between Miraphone and St. Pete?

If you're looking for a thin-metal tuba with a big bore and low price, why not one of the Cerveny instruments? Still cheaper than the Miraphone, but constructed better than the St. Pete--and they dent just as easily.