TubeNet

Miraphone 186 BBb.

looking at the ornamentation on the large ferrules and the shape of the bell, it looks most like a Rudolf Meinl 4/4 BBb to me.

GOT to be a Mirafone.

tclements wrote:GOT to be a Mirafone.

Yeah... the thumb-ring backing plate says Miraphone.

Not sure I've seen any Miraphones with such a "blade" on the bottom bow like that. Also, the age of the photo could be a clue... Miraphone has only been around 65 years, so if the photo is older than that...

In the *old* days, Mirafone put those thigh slicers on their larger BBb's.

Well there ya go. Glad they stopped doing that!

I had an old Mirafone Eb with one of those thigh slicers on it. First thing I did with it was to take a blowtorch to the sucker and pull that thing offa there!

That's either a quite small person and a 186-ish-sized tuba or it's a pretty large tuba.

The shape of the thumb ring backing plate is similar in shape to Miraphone, but Miraphone thumb ring backing plates are diamond shaped with the two sides rounded off. The thumb ring backing plate in the picture has four points; the sides are not rounded off. For reference, here's a picture of a Miraphone thumb ring backing plate on a 186:



If it IS a big tuba and NOT a small person AND the tuba is a Miraphone, I would expect the tuba in the picture to more closely resemble a Miraphone 190, not a 186, which it does not.
Miraphone's big BBb, the 190, had an vertical tuning slide, not a horizontal one like a 186.

There's a picture of a 190 BBb here:
http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/190190.html" target="_blank
It's the tuba on the right:


If it's a small person and closer to 186-sized tuba, then the tuba in the picture has some differences from your typical 186. The lines on the ends of the ferrules are very close to the end of the ferrules where on Miraphone ferrules, they're spaced out. The routing of the 4th valve tubing is not like a 186 so the 4th valve slide is in the wrong place for a 186.



The tuba in the picture looks more similar to a 4/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb to me than anything else. A 4/4 RM is quite a bit larger than a 186. A 4/4 RM is comparable in size to most other manufacturer's 5/4 sized tubas. In other words, a RM 4/4 BBb is a fairly large tuba. The ferrules look like a Rudolf Meinl. The valve routing of the valve tubing (especially the 4th) looks like a Rudolf Meinl. The bell shape (ie, flare) looks like Rudolf Meinl. You can order a RM with a keel like that even today. Here's a picture of a modern 4/4 Rudolf Meinl BBb for comparison:



The tuba in the original poster's picture could be something else, but IMHO,it's more similar to a RM than a Miraphone.

Not having much to go on other then a not so detailed pic. Best guess: Ed Kruspe or Bohland and Fuchs (Late 20s early 30s).
Predates Mirafone, MW, RM. Not an Alex design nor Cerveny. Not LIdl. Could also be an early 20th century NY or Chicago (Wunderlich?) product but I don't think so.

Fun game.

Dan'l

hrender wrote:Lovely horn. German, I assume. Anyone know the make?

I wouldn't dare try to second guess Mr. Oberloh! But, assuming that's your standard 3/4 Bass(check out the width of the Bell vs. that lower bout), and the small distance the endpin is sticking out, noting the nut looks like it should level with the man's jaw... I guess HIM about 5'7"!
Al

Before I get any flack, I mean the Hinge of his jaw, abot ear lobe level!
Al

Daniel C. Oberloh wrote:Not having much to go on other then a not so detailed pic. Best guess: Ed Kruspe or Bohland and Fuchs (Late 20s early 30s)..... Predates Mirafone

Yeah.... had my head up my rear when I suggested the thumb-ring looked like Miraphone. Miraphones weren't even thought of when that picture was taken! Duh.