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I am trying to identify a tuba I found at a pawn shop. It's a Mirafone Perinet 4 valve top action and by all accounts appears to be a 3/4 BBb. First, the serial number is 13587 - what year is it? And second what model is this?

You've got yourself a Mirphone Perinet BBb tuba. I don't know the model number, they haven't made them in quite some time.

Miraphone 200-4U BBb tuba 4TP

0.670" bore

15 3/4" bell

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

Later add-on to this posting:

Interesting to see this instrument being compared to the Meinl-Weston model 11. The main tuning slide and the 3rd slide are wrapped different as are other inner bows. And the M-W 11 has a somewhat smaller bore. The .jpg attached shows part of a page in a 2003 catalogue from M-W.

I own the 3-valve bell-front option of this model. I was told that it is a Model 1270 BBb (yours might be a 1270-4 or somthing because of the 4th valve, of course)

Have you played it yet? What kind of sound does it have?

Jeff "thinks a toploader, 4v 3/4 BBb would be cool" Benedict

**

My main horn is a 1980 vintage BBb 186 5U I bought new in high school that is by far the best free blowing, sweetest sounding Mira I've ever played - and I try out every one I'm allowed to. I'll never give it up.

This horn is a bit stuffy to me but the valves are very good and the bell has been straightened from a crunch but looks pretty good for it's age. It would be a great horn for a small ensemble as it doesn't have a very big sound. It was just chemically cleaned and reachable dent removed and most important - no red-rot.

Thanks tubists for the info so far!

Miraphone has different sets of model numbers for Germany and for America. Normal nomenclatura on TubeNet is the American set of numbers. By that standard the tuba in question is a 200-4U.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

Thanks for all the info. I have scoured the internet looking for comp values of this horn and can find absolutely nothing. Does anyone have any idea what it's value might be? I have no use for it and have every intention of selling it for a fair price.

dfwtuba wrote:Thanks for all the info. I have scoured the internet looking for comp values of this horn and can find absolutely nothing. Does anyone have any idea what it's value might be? I have no use for it and have every intention of selling it for a fair price.

If the TNFJ can agree that this horn is something like a MW 11, that might be a place to start. I've seen a few of those horns for sale in the last year. Whatever price they sold for might be a good place to begin. Of course, what you paid and how much money you think you can make and how long you want to wait for your money figures into your price.

If you are in a mind to do it, you might want to sell it to a school or youth orchestra at a real bargain price. That would be a better-than-average horn for a middle school band or orchestra and it could really help stretch the funds they have.

Jeff "An Idea" Benedict

I've had a couple of these horns through the shop in the last year or so. They are not very impressive .... not to me, anyway. I've found them to be quite 'stuffy'. They are probably quite playable in a school program but not what I would expect or need from an adult concert band perspective.

My serial number lists stop at 1979 but it's a fair bet that yours was probably made in the late to early 70's and brought to the US in a school program.

I usually figure any four-valve horn is worth $500-750 more than a three-valved one so I would put the value of this horn at between $900 and $1,200. .... nowhere near what the rotary Mirafones are worth.

I always thought that valve section (most likely made by Meinl) would be better on another tuba.

TubaTinker wrote:I always thought that valve section (most likely made by Meinl) would be better on another tuba.

It does look a lot like a M-W 11, doesn't it?!

I've looked at pictures of the MW 11 and this 1270 side by side and other than the brand they looked practically identical. I seems that the thumb ring is different (probably more confortable on the MW). The 4th piston is offset on the Miraphone. Also there doesn't seem to be any rings on the tuning slides on the MW.
I made my comparisons using my horn, the horn in this topic, and the MW 11 at dillons.

The MW 11 is/was amazing. I looked long and hard for one a couple of years ago, finally settled on the Weril 680. It's not a bad horn, but not nearly as good as the MW, IMO.

dfwtuba wrote:I am trying to identify a tuba I found at a pawn shop. It's a Mirafone Perinet 4 valve top action and by all accounts appears to be a 3/4 BBb. First, the serial number is 13587 - what year is it? And second what model is this?

My list stops at 1979 with serial #'s in the 11,xxx range, so yours must be after that.

hint: A Mirafone will say "Mirafone" on the bell. If it says "Miraphone", it's a Miraphone.

And if it says "Hell" on the bell, then it is, of course, one of Hell's Bells.

SplatterTone wrote:And if it says "Hell" on the bell, then it is, of course, one of Hell's Bells.

I have a 3valve Miraphone Perinet. The bell was severely crushed and all of the slides stuck. It is now playable with some cracks in the bell despite annealing attempts and the 1st and 2nd still stuck. It plays like the other 3/4 tubas that I've played not my Conn 20J or Martin Bb. Certainly sufficient for a middle school student, and it only weighs 12 pounds.

Greenbenches wrote:I have a 3valve Miraphone Perinet. The bell was severely crushed and all of the slides stuck. It is now playable with some cracks in the bell despite annealing attempts and the 1st and 2nd still stuck. It plays like the other 3/4 tubas that I've played not my Conn 20J or Martin Bb. Certainly sufficient for a middle school student, and it only weighs 12 pounds.

It's been awhile since this thread started but....

I have one of the 3v models of the same horn. It is very OK. Good for a beginner, not too heavy. I can play it in tune but definitely prefer my 099-4.

It is much better made than the student model King 1140 and their Chinese clones. They are made like a Miraphone- nice ferrules, nice braces, etc.