5-valve 184 BBb *UPDATED WITH PICS*
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:53 am
I have a local friend who bought a 5v BBb 186 off of that auction site. He's mostly a eupher, and had some questions about the horn, so he sent me a picture. To my surprise, it has the old, smaller bell. Upon serial # investigation, the horn was made in 1974. The 5th is in the left hand, and looks from the pic to be a factory original.
So my question is: exactly when did Mirafone start making 186-5v BBb's? I know that they have made them a-plenty over the last decade or so, but I have never seen one with the smaller bell. I suspect that this horn probably has an interesting history, and I'd be interested to find out more about it.
*UPDATE*
Firstly, I apologize for the pic quality, but all I had with me was my phone...
After seeing the horn in person, it HAS to be a 184. It's a BBb, but is quite small. Pictured here next to a Yamaha 641 BBb:
It plays BEAUTIFULLY. Despite its diminutive size, it has a GIANT sound. This horn will easily bury some 186s I've played. The sound is quite a bit darker than any other Mir I've played as well, but still projects like crazy. Almost an Alex-like quality to it. I think that one reason for that is easily seen. There is a substantial amount of extra tubing that was added professionally at some point. In this pic:
it can be seen clearly that the main tuning slide is meant to be repositioned into the new tubing, which then travels towards the bell behind the 2nd valve slide:
When it reaches the top bow, it curves around and behind the top bow, then down the outer branch. It then turns again and follows the 4th slide before another u-turn ending in an open tube:
1. Does this horn look familiar to anyone?
2. What is the purpose of the tubing? Is it an unfinished project? My first thought was that someone tried to turn it into a marching tuba, but the valves would all be on the wrong side of the horn unless you played it left-handed and upside-down.
This is a real head-scratcher (at least to me and the owner).
So my question is: exactly when did Mirafone start making 186-5v BBb's? I know that they have made them a-plenty over the last decade or so, but I have never seen one with the smaller bell. I suspect that this horn probably has an interesting history, and I'd be interested to find out more about it.
*UPDATE*
Firstly, I apologize for the pic quality, but all I had with me was my phone...
After seeing the horn in person, it HAS to be a 184. It's a BBb, but is quite small. Pictured here next to a Yamaha 641 BBb:
It plays BEAUTIFULLY. Despite its diminutive size, it has a GIANT sound. This horn will easily bury some 186s I've played. The sound is quite a bit darker than any other Mir I've played as well, but still projects like crazy. Almost an Alex-like quality to it. I think that one reason for that is easily seen. There is a substantial amount of extra tubing that was added professionally at some point. In this pic:
it can be seen clearly that the main tuning slide is meant to be repositioned into the new tubing, which then travels towards the bell behind the 2nd valve slide:
When it reaches the top bow, it curves around and behind the top bow, then down the outer branch. It then turns again and follows the 4th slide before another u-turn ending in an open tube:
1. Does this horn look familiar to anyone?
2. What is the purpose of the tubing? Is it an unfinished project? My first thought was that someone tried to turn it into a marching tuba, but the valves would all be on the wrong side of the horn unless you played it left-handed and upside-down.
This is a real head-scratcher (at least to me and the owner).