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I briefly tried a Meinl-Weston 25 some time back and liked the big, dark, sound, of these horns. I know that there are better horns out there depending upon the tastes of the player and what they plan to do professionally (i.e. teaching, performance, etc.). If a player decides to stick with band music and the education route, is this horn a good one to have in ones arsenal? I am on the teaching/education route.

These seem to very much be a standard band tuba in Germany, so certainly should fulfill your requirement dependent on what sort of sound you want to produce.

If you can afford, I understand 25's in gold brass play much better.

They are the best BBb tuba I have played (don't interpret that to mean I have played scores of BBb tubas), and I say that for one reason. Although the scale is far from perfect, I found it very easy to produce a large quantity of sound on the 25. In a band situation, one often has to produce a large quantity of sound in order to balance the rest of the ensemble.

What about MW 25 vs. Mira 186? Any reasonable difference other than personal taste?

The university that sponsors the university community band I play in has a 25 in its stable that I have played, and one of the other guys who has a 186 used to have a 25. It's mostly personal preference, although we both had the impression the 25 took a little more effort to play consistently.

BavarianFanfare wrote:I briefly tried a Meinl-Weston 25 some time back and liked the big, dark, sound, of these horns.

Ditto. Would have bought one if it wern't for one thing: money.

The Big Ben wrote:What about MW 25 vs. Mira 186? Any reasonable difference other than personal taste?

186 is brighter and brassier, 25 is darker and less edgy.
However, there are numerous minor changes throughout the vintages of each of these horns that will make a difference.

I've performed pretty extensively on both. FWIW, I agree with the tone quality comments here, but also found that the 186 had a quicker response. Things may have changed though.

Edit: for band music, either of these horns would be great, and are made well enough to last a lifetime.

In my experience 25s have clunky valves. Even when a MW 25's valves have been maintained to top condition, most any Mirafone 186's valves will feel 10X better, IMO.

MW 25 slide pulls are really good though - particularly 3 and 4, especially when compared to a 186. Of course, if you need that much of a pull, something else could likely be wrong.

BavarianFanfare wrote:If a player decides to stick with band music and the education route, is this horn a good one to have in ones arsenal?

Yes.

And you could do worse even if you gig professionally.

If you like the sound and the way it plays, you've already answered your own question.

Rick "who wishes his first two Bb tubas were as good as a MW25" Denney

As with all MW horns... choose from as large of a batch as you can. Some are really great, others of them make you wonder what they were smoking in the factory that day!



My 2.2 cents!

jeopardymaster wrote:In my experience 25s have clunky valves. Even when a MW 25's valves have been maintained to top condition, most any Mirafone 186's valves will feel 10X better, IMO.

They do seem to have improved MW rotary valves performance over the last couple years. The valves on my 2040/5 are quite as smooth and fast as a Miraphone.