Old Miraphone - Can anyone identify?

[indiaanderson]

I used this tuba through high school, and I was wondering if anyone could identify what model it is. It's a BBb and has 4 valves, and was probably bought around the 60s and 70s, I'm not exactly sure when. Nice tuba, except for the look of its bell!

http://imgur.com/a/155KP

[kathott]

Looks like a standard 186 BBb, with the main slide pulled out 20 feet, L.A. style. Classic old linkage. Should be easy to date if the serial number is on the bell. My local university Music has one of these. It has the same kind of miles as this one, and is preferred by many of the students over the newer instruments! K.

[Lee Stofer]

Mirafone 186-4U BBb, as it is known in the US. Elsewhere it is the Miraphone 0086A, where the letter suffix indicates the pitch. An A suffix indicates an A=440 model. Serial number indicates late 1973.

[tmz1m]

I've got a similar 186 from 1967 or 68 and I notice it plays relatively sharp as compared to more modern 186s I've owned (I feel like my slides resemble those in the picture). Is that a typical characteristic of the 186 from this era?

[indiaanderson]

Thanks for the help! Yes, despite the amount of hands it's passed through it still plays very well. Not sure about sharpness being a characteristic, someone else will have to weigh in on that.

[Lee Stofer]

If the Mirafone plays sharp to A=440, there are two possibilities. One is that tubing distorted by dents may be causing the problem, or it may be a higher-pitch model. Take a look at the Miraphone.de online catalog and see how many pitch variations are available above A=440.

[tmz1m]

If the Mirafone plays sharp to A=440, there are two possibilities. One is that tubing distorted by dents may be causing the problem, or it may be a higher-pitch model. Take a look at the Miraphone.de online catalog and see how many pitch variations are available above A=440.

Thanks Lee! It's also possible a third option exists -- my cruddy playing! There are no dents of any significance and given that it was made for the US market I doubt it was A=443 (or something else), but I guess anything is possible. One day I'll have someone better than me play it to see if they notice the same thing.

[Donn]

Looks great to me - the rumpled bell flare gives it an insouciant, artistic look.

Is there really an LA school of tuning? As in Los Angeles?

[Ethan M]

Being the previous owner of tmz1m's horn, I thought I could weigh in some.

I've got a similar 186 from 1967 or 68 and I notice it plays relatively sharp as compared to more modern 186s I've owned (I feel like my slides resemble those in the picture). Is that a typical characteristic of the 186 from this era?

When Dan Schultz sold me that horn, he told me it was a '67, and it played great... sometimes I miss that horn! Sometimes I would notice that the MTS had crept out over a period of a few weeks of playing and tuning, so I would put it back to where I normally had it without issue, but after a few more weeks, the cycle would repeat. I never had any problem whatsoever playing in tune with that horn, so I never thought anything of it. Hope it's been treating you well!

[tmz1m]

Thanks Ethan - yes, I still really like the horn and, as I suspected, it's probably my terrible playing that makes the horn seem sharp to me. Probably just need MORE AIR and MORE PRACTICE. Haha!

[ronr]

I have this horn from the same era. When I looked at the picture first thing I thought was the slide was pulled out as far as I pull mine.

[imperialbari]

Could the less than optimal bell shape of this specific instrument be a factor in the sharpness?

Klaus

[rodgeman]

Could the less than optimal bell shape of this specific instrument be a factor in the sharpness?

Klaus

Maybe. I have one from that era with a recording bell that is in it's original shape and I have to have the MTS out further than any tuba or other horn I have played. It just might be a characteristic. I had my brass tech clean it and check it with another (better) tuba player and the slide did not have to be lengthened. It will always be further out. Even a different mouthpiece does not make much of a difference. I started mine with a Conn Helleberg, a Kelly 18, and now a Dillon Geib 5. All had to have the MTS out quite a ways. I hope this helps.

[Matt Walters]

1) Miraphone tubas back then were made to A=443 pitch. Look at a modern BB186-4V with the longer ferruled A=440 tuning slide and imagine the slide were pulled out instead of the ferrules being longer. You'd be closer to where the slide pull is on that old school horn.
2) Amateur players more often than not tend to play sharp as they "lip up" in a effort to get the resistance or feedback that feels good and/or trying to get the "smooth pretty sound". School horn was mentioned in the original post.

A minor correction to Lee Stofer's post. The "A" after the 086 actually means 4 valves. "B" equals 5 valves and "C" equals 6 valves. Anybody bored just go to http://www.miraphone.de" target="_blank" and start comparing the long model numbers Miraphone uses and you'll start to see all the patterns.
Key of horn, followed by model or body, number of valves, finish, and then variations like tuning, nickel bell rim, etc.

[tmz1m]

Here's my 1967 example referenced earlier just to provide a different data point.

[Lee Stofer]

Thank-you, Matt, I apologize for getting that wrong. It's been a while since I checked out the Miraphone website. The pitch identifier is a suffix of 500 for an A=440 model. If there is no suffix of 500, then it is an A=443 instrument. For example, the article number 170086A07000 is what we in the US would know as a Miraphone 186 4-rotor BBb tuba, except that it is pitched at A=443. The 170086A07000500 is the A=440 version.