Tubist of Time wrote:My question is, why the heck didn't Miraphone make it like this to begin with?
For the same reason that there is a 2155 and a 2000 or a 2165 and a 2265, a 181 and a 281...
The "standard" model comes out and gets placed in the hands of the artists/consultants/designers that test and tweak them until there are enough changes made to warrant an updated model. I will not get into it much further than that as to not completely hijack the thread.

I will say that I have dealt with Mr. Graves in the past (Rudy Meinl 5/4 CC trade) and have nothing but good things to say about him. He was a gracious host to me when I came to his studio to do the trade and even gave me the opportunity to give his rare factory (non-cut) Holton CC 345 a try.
Bump for Mr. Graves.