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I was wondering if anyone has any information on Dalyan tubas. I've been pricing tubas for a while and would preferrably like an older Miraphone, but the Dalyan brand tubas seem like a pretty decent spin-off of the Miraphones for a fraction of the cost of a new one. Is it really worth it or should I just keep saving my money?

artuba wrote:I was wondering if anyone has any information on Dalyan tubas. I've been pricing tubas for a while and would preferrably like an older Miraphone, but the Dalyan brand tubas seem like a pretty decent spin-off of the Miraphones for a fraction of the cost of a new one. Is it really worth it or should I just keep saving my money?

You will get some general warnings about Chinese-made tubas. But there are also some specific recommendations of the Dalyan instruments by the members of this forum, including myself.

I haven't played the Miraphone copy, but I have played the Prague (a Cerveny Piggy copy), and found it to be completely competent, with a good scale, good intonation, and a sound that is just like a Cerveny Piggy. The mechanical parts were reasonably well-made for the price. It does not have the decorativeness of a pro-model Miraphone, but neither does it have the price tag. And it comes with a very serviceable lightweight hard case, which is worth a lot.

Dalyans are imported by Orpheus Music, and Orpheus has a long history with importing quality tubas. They were the first to import VMI instruments, for example, after German unification. They also have a long history with Miraphones, being the former Miraphone USA. The Orpheus folks have reportedly been closely connected with the Dalyan factory to make sure the product is up to standard.

I'm not sure I'd get a Dalyan versus a used Miraphone in good condition, but if I wanted a new tuba in the sub-$3K range, it would be high on the list of instruments to consider.

Rick "one man's opinion" Denney

I liked the CC I played at TBA.

FWIW

Ralph

Having had the pleasure of hosting a couple of Dalyan tubas at my house, I can say that a pretty much agree with the above posted assessments, especially Rick's. One would have to say they are not Miraphones. This is true. They also don't cost as much, either.

I like them.

I played their F tuba at the BGSU festival, and the WWBW guys had to pull it because it wouldn't even play an F. It may been an individual problem, but it was a real stinker.

TonyZ wrote:I played their F tuba at the BGSU festival, and the WWBW guys had to pull it because it wouldn't even play an F. It may been an individual problem, but it was a real stinker.

It wasn't the Eb, was it? That one looks a lot like the F, but with 4 valves instead of 5 and a vertical-pull main slide vs. the F's horizontal-pull main.