Miraphone F tuba (early 181) - SOLD
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:23 pm
This is an unusual Miraphone F tuba in excellent condition. It appears to be an early version of model 181, possibly from before the 181 version that looked like a PT10. The bell and bugle and overall size are a very close match to the PT10-style 181. I'm guessing before rather than after because this one has the S-link valve mechanism.
I bought this from bort a few months ago as a first F tuba, so I could understand all the comments about love and hate for rotary F tubas. That worked great, so now I’m passing it along to someone else in the same situation (or whatever your reason for wanting this fine instrument).
Bort's sale listing that runs down the pros and cons is here: /viewtopic.php?t=101876. If he hadn’t said it was Euro shank, I wouldn’t have noticed, since the only functional difference compared to my U.S. market Miraphone is that the mouthpiece sits about a cm deeper. Bort managed to get a better picture of the inscription than I did.
Here it is (right) next to a 188 (left, shorter and wider) for size comparison. The bore through the valves is the same size.
Some more pictures are here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjSV784Qkma_hdp7MAe ... w?e=yoaNUV
This tuba has a really nice sound with a beautiful high range and a solid low end (good false tones, even). Except for the sharp C (4th valve is good), the overall intonation is great. It's genuinely fun to play.
There's also an Altieri gig bag that's seen better days. It's enough to carry the tuba and protect it from scuffs, but you'll probably want a better bag if you carry it a lot.
I bought this from bort a few months ago as a first F tuba, so I could understand all the comments about love and hate for rotary F tubas. That worked great, so now I’m passing it along to someone else in the same situation (or whatever your reason for wanting this fine instrument).
Bort's sale listing that runs down the pros and cons is here: /viewtopic.php?t=101876. If he hadn’t said it was Euro shank, I wouldn’t have noticed, since the only functional difference compared to my U.S. market Miraphone is that the mouthpiece sits about a cm deeper. Bort managed to get a better picture of the inscription than I did.
Here it is (right) next to a 188 (left, shorter and wider) for size comparison. The bore through the valves is the same size.
Some more pictures are here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjSV784Qkma_hdp7MAe ... w?e=yoaNUV
This tuba has a really nice sound with a beautiful high range and a solid low end (good false tones, even). Except for the sharp C (4th valve is good), the overall intonation is great. It's genuinely fun to play.
There's also an Altieri gig bag that's seen better days. It's enough to carry the tuba and protect it from scuffs, but you'll probably want a better bag if you carry it a lot.