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I'm SHADDUPING.

Oh, God, I hate to admit this, but the newer 186's with the "vanilla" toned 17 3/4 inch bell comes the closest to my ears to the detachable bell Kings I played in high school, with two intonation exceptions:
1) Kings had pretty good 5th partials; Miraphones have the classic flat 5th partials;
and by contrast:
2) Kings have sharp 6th partials; Miraphones have pretty good 6th partials.

Oh, Lord, forgive my heresy....

I've owned four of these since 1982 and used them for most of the work I did, although I did own a lot of other horns I've always come back to the Kings. To me, they don't sound like any rotary horn I've heard or played. And I own and use a rotary King sometimes. The rotary horns, to me, have a smoother sound where the piston Kings have more "turbulence". But I am able to blend with whatever else is on the job. I got to hear just about everyone at the "Rat" play on my various Kings and was always gassed with the sound. And when they went back on their B S 101's, or Meinl Weston 20's, Mirafone 186's, or Cervenys it was great but, to my ears, quite different. I used them in bands, orchestras, quintet, polka bands,the Rat tuba quartet, and a boatload of Dixieland jobs as well as Ray Charles and the Moody Blues and people always dug the sound. All that being said, there are other horns that I find are less work to play but I'm in it for the sound and those Kings make the sound that's in my head. FWIW, Ed