Couple horns at Dillons...

[Toobist]

Hi all,

I'm taking on a new student next week and he's asked me my opinions on horns to buy. I gave him the regular 'if you're gonna only have one horn, it's gotta be versatile' speech but then he told me how much he has to play with. I'm figuring with his $8500 budget he could get two nice horns, one CC and one F. I tell you... if I had that coin when I was going into school, that's what I would've done.

Any thoughts on these two horns? I can't get to Jersey to try them myself. Has anyone any comments on these particular instruments?

http://www.dillonmusic.com/HeleoCart/Pr ... 06578.aspx

http://www.dillonmusic.com/HeleoCart/Pr ... 10922.aspx

Thanks for your input.
The search continues in the meantime.

[J.c. Sherman]

The little miraphones are are really nice. Not too big, though. I did try one with a suspect C on the staff, but otherwise, WOW, what a singer!

J.c.S.

[circusboy]

I used to own a little Miraphone F that pre-dated the 180 designation by a few years. The sound was, indeed, singing and gorgeous. The intonation, on the other hand, was the worst of any horn I've played, before or since--practically throughout the range.

Maybe there was some improvement for the 180 . . . .

I made the mistake of doodling on it within earshot of a trumpet player. He offered me his old tuner.

[Casey Tucker]

i own and use miraphone 180 5v F. i bought it used with alterations. re-routed the tuning slide to the back and moved the leadpipe up so it's more comfortable to play for taller people. when paired with the right mpc the horn is fantastic. it has a GREAT singing high/mid range, mid-low range isn't terribly spectacular but nothing out of the norm with an F tuba, and the low range is fantastic. great buy i would say.

[Uncle Buck]

For a CC tuba in the $5K range, there might be better, or more reliable, options than the Conn.

[Toobist]

Thanks for the input so far. I'm going to suggest that Mira F for sure and I see a few CC's at Baltimore Brass that may fit the bill.

Any more suggestions are more than welcome though!

[jeopardymaster]

I was there last month. I can't remember trying that Conn - but pretty sure I didn't even see it. However, the Mirafone definitely made a positive impression on me. Quite small, but punchy with very good intonation. I might be more interested in a Besson EEb however if the budget is that tight. There are a few out there right now at or under $2000, and I'd think that would be a more useful instrument. Plus he would free maybe $1000 more to invest in a contrabass.

[Brendan Bohnhorst]

I was just at Dillion's music the other day and I thought that the Conn 56J was the best tuba that they had right now. The cut tubas didn't impress me that much really. Some notes felt very stuffy, and the intonation on both the Conn and the Martin was questionable.

They had a very limited selection of horns right now. I was told that they are having a difficult time keeping things in stock. People are buying tubas before they arrive.

I was not impressed with the Mirafone F tuba at all. I didn't like the sound and it felt very stiff to me. That said, I do play a small Alexander F everyday... So take what I say with a grain of salt.

cheers,
Brendan

[MaryAnn]

Call Matt and ask.

MA

[tubagirl5]

Hey...the Mira F was a trade in from a student where I am currently the grad. assistant. He made the horn work, but the intonation is quite screwy. He "outgrew" this horn very quickly as he realized the horn took much more effort than what it was worth. However, he did learn the f tuba. If I were your student I would buy a good C tuba...save up a couple grand more and then purchase a really good f tuba. If he is anxious to learn f...you could purchase this horn and hope it resells well. It appears that your student doesn't have to finance the money, but if that money is borrowed (I have no idea obviously), I would hold out as this is not the horn your student wants forever or for a long time. If you finance it your could end up paying a thousand more than what it's selling for....it all depends. Just something to think about.