PRICE REDUCED Beautiful Miraphone 190 for sale, gold brass

[Benjamp]

190 CC for sale

Postby Benjamp » Mon Sep 15, 2014 1:32 pm
Selling my gold brass 190 CC.

The 190 was produced in the 70’s, I believe, for a short time. I understand that it was Tommy Johnson’s main tuba. Joe Murphy ordered a new one maybe 8 years ago (?) and they put a Bruckner valve set on it, which made it play a lot better than the old ones did. They made a few more at that time, and had one in raw brass that I tried out in the factory. I loved it, so I ordered one in gold brass. I think it’s the only gold brass 190 they’ve made. The 190 is still not in production, but Miraphone will make any instrument on special order because they save all their tooling.

Anyway, the horn has an extremely colorful sound. Think 186 or 188 on steroids. I would not say it’s a “point and shoot” horn. Pitch is generally good but Fs, both 3rd partial and 6th partial, are very sharp. For that reason I had Joe S. vent the 1st valve and I pull it routinely while playing. Because it’s such a big tuba it also has a really nice contrabass bottom to it. It just “cuts” more than most 5/4 or 6/4 instruments. It’s a Kaiser tuba- tall w/ a huge bell. One of my favorite things about it is it’s comfortable for me since I’m tall. I don’t have to slouch or use a stand.

Comes w/ a custom Cronkite leather bag (cost me $1000!). No hard case. It’s in great shape w/ the usual minor scratches and dings from 6 years of use. Asking $7,500.

E-mail Ben Pierce if interested. bjp02@uark.edu" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Photos:
http://www.comp.uark.edu/~bjp02/1.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.comp.uark.edu/~bjp02/2.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.comp.uark.edu/~bjp02/3.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.comp.uark.edu/~bjp02/4.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

[bort]

The photo links aren't working... I'd love to see it!

[Benjamp]

Ok, thanks. Should work now.

[barry grrr-ero]

What a beauty! The only thing missing for me, nostalgia wise, is the older 5th valve set-up of sharp 2&3 (which I prefer). If I hadn't recently purchased a used Neptune (also very beautiful), I'd give this a serious honk.

I like to think that I can recognize on older movies/TV shows when Tommy was playing his 190. Anyway . . .

BUMP!

[barry grrr-ero]

I was in L.A. briefly in the middle '70s. At that time, Tommy was mostly using a very good 185 CC. Perhaps he started using the 190 more often later on. As I said, I like to believe that I can hear the difference on my television.

Barry

[bort]

What a great looking tuba! The pictures do little for scale though. This is a BIG tuba.

Here's a picture (not mine, and not the tuba being sold here) that shows the lineup of Miraphones: 184, 186, 188, 190. The 190 is several inches taller (and overall just several inches "more" all around).


http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/front.jpg

I wish I had both $8,000 and the reason to need a tuba this size!

[jon112780]

Having never played a 190, how does it compare to a PT6?

[Billy M.]

Anybody wanna give me $8,000? This horn is something special.

[toobagrowl]

Tommy Johnson apparently used the Mira 190 on a lot of recordings/movies throughout the early-mid 80s, most notably, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Sounded freakin amazing on it, too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-lw5eygRDU

[Benjamp]

I may be bringing the 190 along on my recital tour next week. I'll be in Muncie, Ann Arbor, Bloomington (IL), Urbana, and Evanston.

[Benjamp]

I actually have not sold this horn. I listed it, talked to a couple people about it, and then just moved on to other things. I'm not doing orchestral playing anymore. I suppose it is time to sell it.

[southtubist]

I've played a bunch of band/large orchestra type concerts with an old 190. I loved that horn and I wish I was still playing it! I almost want to trade my Alex for this, and the price is about even... Very nice playing on E.T.!

[Benjamp]

bump

[Benjamp]

still for sale

[Benjamp]

bump

[barry grrr-ero]

Damn, I want to try this tuba out. Anybody want to buy a rotary Neptune? With the larger Bruckner rotors, I'll bet this 190 is really good.

Barry Guerrero

[Benjamp]

bump

[bort]

How does this compare to the Neptune in size? Is it a 5/4, or really a 6/4?

My recollection is that the 190 is taller than the Neptune, and the Neptune is fatter than the 190. Different shaped horns.

To me, the 190 seems "two clicks" larger than a 188, whereas a 188 is "one click" larger than the 186.

[barry grrr-ero]

I think I'm getting serious about this. If anybody wants to give me 7,500 for my rotary Neptune, I may want to buy this 190 with that dough. I've got to try it first though. The problem is, I'm now focused on trying to find a place to move to. My wife is retiring and wants to move to the Santa Cruz area. It's a full time gig!

[Benjamp]

bump