TubeNet

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.

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.

nice looking horn Rodger!

So how did it work out after this lucky purchase?

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.

anotherjtm2 wrote: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.

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

bloke wrote: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.