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I suppose it all boils down to personal preference, but having repaired a few dozen of these, I'm just not impressed by the sound. To me they are like Yamaha tubas; not much variation or character from one to the next.

Although, that does take the guess work out of buying them on eBay

Could you amend this poll? It is somewhat incompleat. I am a longtime Mirafone player, but I don't know enough about the various changes made to this model over the years: the later smaller leadpipe, larger bell, venting, the short lived and quite silly "Presto" system, flat whole step 5th valve/right hand operated. To assess these changes, one would have to have several 186's of varying vintage side by side. My own 186 CC (4+1) was made in 1966. It's a workhorse.

bloke wrote:There's a 5-valve 1963 model here that - serendipidously - offers as-good-as-current-versions intonation, combined with the handmade 16-1/2" bell sheet metal sound (and like-new condition rotors).

Showoff.

I voted for "more change." The old stove pipe bell, to my ears, is too "point-and-shoot" (yes, knowing that a lot of players love that sound). Again, to my ears, the new 17 3/4 bell is too "vanilla" and does not have the best definition (knowing that Miraphone is seeking a broader market). I had the '60's recording bell for awhile. It did not capture the "American tone" that was the goal, and it made everything too front-heavy. I had a retrofit detachable St. Pete bell for awhile. The tone was big and full, leaning towards Alex territory, but again, this is a Miraphone, not an Alex.

As most of you know, my 186 now has a Besson New Standard BBb 17 inch bell. Tone and intonation are great, especially for my application: community concert band. I believe if Miraphone took the taper and bell throat of that bell, which is a slightly different log curve than others, and extended the diameter about an inch to help the terminal node develop for the privileged and pedal tones, it would be a great improvement, along with going back to the smaller bore, different taper of the old leadpipes to bring back out a little more of the even overtones so the tone will knit to the rest of the ensemble better.

But keep the valves - the best rotary valves in the business.

I have a 1968 186BBb 4 valve. Great horn, and love the quality and craftsmanship of a horn made "in the day".

http://i.imgur.com/h53RQG8.jpg" target="_blank

Maybe it deserves its own thread, but the school I teach at picked up this horn a couple years back. It came with the recording bell! Makes me want to join a polka band. Plays like a 186...however you take that

Voisi1ev-

The tuba is certainly interesting, but it's the case that really got my attention! I'd actually be interested in seeing more photos of that just out of sheer curiosity.

Another thread would likely be more appropriate so that it doesn't totally take this one off the rails.

Voisi1ev wrote:
Maybe it deserves its own thread, but the school I teach at picked up this horn a couple years back. It came with the recording bell! Makes me want to join a polka band. Plays like a 186...however you take that

I have one. It is a 186. My recording bell says Mirafone.

That case is interesting, but it sort of defeats one of the main advantages of a detachable bell, doesn't it?

Both bells are the original Miraphone ones.

We got the horn through a Federal Surplus program, so the case came with it. I assume it was from a NASA band that toured, thus needing a case to withstand a shuttle launch. It is YUUUUGE. Like they don't need to build a wall, just put that thing on the US/Canadian border and no one else is sneaking through. I'd love to sell the case, but not sure there is a market for it. I've put it on the for sale board before.

the elephant wrote:I like the new ones a lot, but I wish they would release a "classic" version with the exact, same bell used in the late 1960's (with CAD to sniff out any pitch errors that the bell itself might introduce). The new horns are easier to play, but boring, IMHO. So the modern horn from the mouthpiece through the upper bow, and perhaps the old style (and manufacturing techniques) bell and *maybe* the bottom bow.

If having to make a choice between a late 1960s (or early 1970s) era 186-5U CC and the current 186 I would probably opt for the "issues" and go for the sound and feel (and flat 23 5th) of the old horn.

this.

Voisi1ev wrote:http://i.imgur.com/h53RQG8.jpg

Maybe it deserves its own thread, but the school I teach at picked up this horn a couple years back. It came with the recording bell! Makes me want to join a polka band. Plays like a 186...however you take that

That's what mine used to be before 1) it had the retrofit St Pete bell fitted to it; and 2) I put my Besson 17-inch BBb bell on it to turn it into a "Bessophone."

I've only played and worked on one OLD (circa. 1960-ish) Mira. 186 BBb, and liked it better than the modern versions.
To me, it sounded sweeter. Other than the 4TH valve circuit being slightly too short, it played well in tune and had good response.