Given that I am not a professional tubist, and I couldn't find any decent used tubas on the market here, after much research I contacted Tom McGrady at Mack Brass in VA and purchased one of his TU-200 horns. I gotta say, this horn is great! I'll be honest, I can tell that the horn is Chinese -- the tuning slides are a bit "gritty," but I found the rotary valves to be quite nice. Granted, I've never played a "professional" horn, but I can tell you I sound just as good on this horn as I ever did on any Yamaha tuba or Conn sousaphone I've ever played. I don't regret my decision to purchase this horn in the least, and certainly don't see a Miraphone sounding 4 times better than this horn (not to anger all you Miraphone players -- if I win the lottery I'll be buying one!).
I honestly feel that these horns are an excellent value for an amateur musician. I doubt this horn will ever hold my playing back, and would highly recommend Mack Brass horns for students/hobbyists (or even professionals on a budget I suppose).
