The mysterious M&M

[bisontuba]

Hi-
You will NOT be unhappy if you buy from Michael at M&M--I am sure this horn is very solid. I have not played it, but having ordered the Eb comp. tuba from him, he was dead on in his description of the horn--amazing tuba. I will be ordering again from him shortly. If, by chance, you will attend ITEC, M&M/Michael will be there--not very mysterious, just there with some fine playing instruments...
mark

[jamsav]

Played the real deal and the stenciled knock off at Dillons today. They sound very very very much alike. Fit , finish and feel are a completely different story. The Miraphone lacquer is perfect ! Its valves move freely and quietly . Slides like silk- the Chinese copy , well, you get alot of horn for what its price is, but it aint no Miraphone...5th valve rotor linkage was particularly lacking...sounded real good and equally in tune

[eupher61]

I've played one, too. Not bad. The specific one I played looked good, seemed like the slides were OK, and played OK. It wasn't a mind-popping experience, but dollar for dollar, quite acceptable.
Re-reading, I need to say this was the BBb. Looks sort of like a reworked Cerveny BBb, Piggy-esque.

[Dan Schultz]

Played the real deal and the stenciled knock off at Dillons today. They sound very very very much alike. Fit , finish and feel are a completely different story. The Miraphone lacquer is perfect ! Its valves move freely and quietly . Slides like silk- the Chinese copy , well, you get alot of horn for what its price is, but it aint no Miraphone...5th valve rotor linkage was particularly lacking...sounded real good and equally in tune

Funny you should mention the 5th valve rotor linkage... I have both a Miraphone 1291 5V and the M & M clone here. When I first got the Miraphone, it had a buzz in it that was about to drive me crazy. At first I thought the wire in the bell was loose. Turns out that it was the rod end connection on the stop arm. I fixed it by adding a very thin piece of felt between the rod end and the stop arm.

The linkage on the M & M clone was fine!

Just want to add.... I've NEVER taken ANY horn apart where I HAVE NOT found something wrong.

[T. J. Ricer]

Just to piggy-back on the topic, has anyone bought an M&M/Schiller/etc. trombone? Care to comment on the slides, valves, or general characteristics? They've copied a couple of great horns. . .

--T. J.

[ken k]

Just to piggy-back on the topic, has anyone bought an M&M/Schiller/etc. trombone? Care to comment on the slides, valves, or general characteristics? They've copied a couple of great horns. . .

--T. J.

I wish they would copy a Bach 50B.....

[Euphistuba]

I have heard that the Schiller alto trombone is nice and plays well. I have their British Baritone, (Besson copy) its its quite nice, Having owned Bessons in the past, id say its a good copy, well in tune and sounds just like the original. In fact the lacquer is better than some of the horns that Besson was pulling out of India. I suspect that any of they "Elite" or American Heritage line of horns is likely to be worth a go.