New (to me) Old Horn - Mirafone 186

[rodgeman]

Last week I bought a Mirafone 186 BBb 4 valve. It was a local horn at a very good price. I have been playing a Conn 20J for almost two years.

Here are my thoughts.

I was thinking about adding a fourth valve to my Conn as I was playing in a community college band and was needing the valve for some notes(i.e. Eb below the staff).

I had read about the Mirafone and played a four rotor Yamaha in high school (many years ago). I called and went to play it.

It is very nimble. The balance is great. The tone is more focused. Even my wife commented on it. The Conn is very good I like the Mirafone better.

It speaks better and I can play softer. It does not take as much to push the sound. I apologize if I am not clear but am trying.

It has the S linkages and they are fast and quiet. I will be playing with my two groups this week and am waiting to see how it blends. I think it will be a nice blend. My Helleberg mouthpiece is good with this horn. It does have dents and at some point I will replace the bell as it is heavily scarred and has a couple of pin holes.

This was not an easy decision until I played the horn. I have spent a lot of time on it this weekend and enjoy it even more.

This feels like a long term horn. It reminds me when I got my Bach Strad 50B3 when I played bass trombone (before I switched to tuba full time). I feel it helps me play at a higher level. In short it just feels right. I enjoy older horns and am looking forward to a long term project of having the dents removed and the bell taken care of. It sounds great right now and I hope to play it to its potential.

I enjoy the pics every posts so here are the pics I got when it was for sale.
http://m1102.photobucket.com/albums/arc ... e/?src=www

Again this is my opinion and thanks for reading a long and rambling post. I look forward to any and all comments.

Thanks.

[The Big Ben]

Good move. I think you will like the 186. It has a very different sound than the 20J. The 186 should play in decent tune across all notes. The "speaking better and playing softer" are expected when changing from the 20J.

Spending a little money to clean up your 'new' 186 will be money better spent than putting another valve on the 20J.

[SousaSaver]

nice looking horn Rodger!

[anotherjtm2]

So how did it work out after this lucky purchase?

[paulver]

I bought my 186 used four or five years ago. I love it, too!!! There is a fourth valve issue with it....... it was damaged and repaired before I bought it. Decent repair job, but I am planning on getting the whole valve assembly updated at some point in the near future. I've been invited to play in a German Brass Band, and to me, that's a pretty good reason to get it in tip-top shape. I'll have to use my King Recording Bass after I decide to send it for the upgrade. And, depending of how much playing I end up doing, I'll consider a complete overhaul to the 186.

Find your serial number and check it out on line to see what year it was made. Looks like a 1970s area to me....... just a guess.

Enjoy it. It's really a nice horn.

[rodgeman]

So how did it work out after this lucky purchase?

I played it for a while and was asked to play bass trombone. It was sold to a younger player. I played bass trombone then euphonium. But the tuba bug never went away. A couple of years ago I happened upon a bell front Mirafone 186 and have been happy ever since.

[edsel585960]

Nice looking horn. I know my 186 is pretty point and shoot. Great horns!!!! I keep the 20J around when I have to be "the tuba section" . I think the 186 is probably a better all around horn but you can't beat an American BAT. Enjoy the MIRI

[iiipopes]

186 tubas are scaled-down German "kaiser" tubas...extraordinary build quality.
Almost any good mouthpiece will play them, and their resonance is subtly changeable via various mouthpieces.

What bloke said.