Mira clon vs Hirsbrunner clon

[wagtuba23]

Hello Tubenet,
Between these 2 chinese tubas which one do you like the most and why? (sound,projection) MIRAPHONE 191 CLON and the HIRSBRUNNER CLON tuba.
thanks!

[Three Valves]

Then there is the YBB-641 clone...

[Mark]

If you're seeking a really high-grade 191 copy, there is a new beautiful (lacquered, etc...) PROTOTYPE JP (gold brass & nickel silver - as their top models tend to be) copy (with JP's superb rotors, superb linkage with Minibal links, etc.) collecting dust.

Four or five valves?

[wagtuba23]

Bloke,
Wich one is 5/4 and wich one 4/4 in your opinion? I believe that both are 5/4 right? help me out please! I have tried the Hirsbrunner CLON and like it ( M&M) and the original MIRAPHONE 191 (not the clone) and according to Miraphone is a 5/4 tuba.Havent tried the Mira clone yet but looks like the same size and bore.

[MackBrass]

Personally I like the
Hirsch clone better as its more consistant in sound and response from one register to another. Haven't played the JP versions but with my experience on the Miraphone I decided to stay away from it. The Miraphone clone is larger but the sound of the Hirsbrunner clone really appeals to me.

[tclements]

A few years back, I played a Hirsbrunner clone (HB2), and it was pretty bad. It WAS worth the amount of $$ paid (confirming the adage, "You get what you pay for"), but I could not recommend it to the student. It had pitch problems, and mechanically, I thought (even though it was brand new), the valve linkages were going to break while I was playing it. I am not saying the new influx of clones is bad, I am just suggesting that one give the horn a good going over and have the purchaser check in with a local pro, or university instructor for an honest evaluation of the instrument. Maybe this 'next generation' of imports have been improved.

Have a great holiday!!

[Michael Bush]

No. That's not it.
They obviously switched over to the cranked-out-in-the-many-thousands Jinbao model 200.

Here it ~WAS~...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/brass-in ... 4-bbb-tuba

A guy in one of the bands I play in has had one of those for 13 years, since the band started. It's still doing everything he wants without giving him problems.

[Michael Bush]

A previous suburban middle school band director bought three of those several years ago (bragging about how much money he saved...), and the current director (who had been the assistant at the adjacent high school) had to hand them to me to get the rotors turning again and to replace a bunch of broken links and link action arms.

Even when the previous director was still at that school, he had to order some (real) cases from me to replace the included cases. Kudos to the importers/manufacturers who - bit-by-bit - are moving over to "real" cases for their tubas.

The difference between middle school and an adult professional-in-something-other-than-music....

[Dan Tuba]

I have owned both. The Miraphone 191 copy is "wide open" and capable of a lot of volume. However, pitch, evenness of sound, response can be challenging. Overall it's a good tuba and is very similar to the original.

The Hirsbrunner copy is "tight", has a lot of punch, and also projects very well. If you're used to a "wide open" playing tuba, this tuba will require a little time to get used to playing, especially below the staff. However, once you figure out how to play this tuba, it's very efficient, even, and nimble.

As with most Chinese instruments, they require consistent maintenance. Once a month maintenance isn't going to work. As long as you perform weekly maintenance, you " shouldn't" run into any problems. I have used both of these tubas "professionally " and I found both to be adequate for the type of playing that I was doing at the time. Neither tuba is as good as the originals that they copied, however, the price was "right."

[MaryAnn]

Just for the neophytes, do you care to list what "maintenance" consists of? I'll bet there are some of the student variety who have not put serious thought into it yet.

[Dan Tuba]

Depending on how often you perform or practice, the "recipe" is as follows:
1-2 times per week oil both spindles on each rotor w/the appropriate oil(I use 3&1 Oil, and it seems to work fine...at least for the past few years)
1-2 times per week remove the main tuning slide and poor a "generous" amount of "valve" oil through the tuba(hold the 4th valve down,then release while holding the 3rd valve down...), paying careful attention not to "flush" tuning slide grease into the rotors.
1-2 times per week oil the ball joints w/the appropriate oil(3&1 works for me, plenty of others to choose)
1-2 times per week oil the spring/ bearing at the base of the paddles. Make sure to pull the spring back slightly on each paddle to ensure oil is applied to all moving parts.

***After each performance or practice session, be sure to empty all slides.

This process has worked for me. Yes, it takes time, but it usually keeps the tuba working well. From my experience, synthetic oils don't work as well on Chinese rotors as conventional oils. Especially if the tuba is not played on a regular basis. However, synthetic oils may work fine for you. I hope this helps.

[MackBrass]

Depending on how often you perform or practice, the "recipe" is as follows:
1-2 times per week oil both spindles on each rotor w/the appropriate oil(I use 3&1 Oil, and it seems to work fine...at least for the past few years)
1-2 times per week remove the main tuning slide and poor a "generous" amount of "valve" oil through the tuba(hold the 4th valve down,then release while holding the 3rd valve down...), paying careful attention not to "flush" tuning slide grease into the rotors.
1-2 times per week oil the ball joints w/the appropriate oil(3&1 works for me, plenty of others to choose)
1-2 times per week oil the spring/ bearing at the base of the paddles. Make sure to pull the spring back slightly on each paddle to ensure oil is applied to all moving parts.

***After each performance or practice session, be sure to empty all slides.

This process has worked for me. Yes, it takes time, but it usually keeps the tuba working well. From my experience, synthetic oils don't work as well on Chinese rotors as conventional oils. Especially if the tuba is not played on a regular basis. However, synthetic oils may work fine for you. I hope this helps.

Just curious but this sounds like standard maintenance to me. No matter what brand of tuba i have owned or currently own, i have always done this. This brings me to my question, what is the frequency one should oil a tuba, made in China vs made in Germany? To me, you can not oil enough. JMHO

[Matt Walters]

Dan Tuba wrote:
Depending on how often you perform or practice, the "recipe" is as follows:
1-2 times per week oil both spindles on each rotor w/the appropriate oil(I use 3&1 Oil, and it seems to work fine...at least for the past few years)
1-2 times per week remove the main tuning slide and poor a "generous" amount of "valve" oil through the tuba(hold the 4th valve down,then release while holding the 3rd valve down...), paying careful attention not to "flush" tuning slide grease into the rotors.
1-2 times per week oil the ball joints w/the appropriate oil(3&1 works for me, plenty of others to choose)
1-2 times per week oil the spring/ bearing at the base of the paddles. Make sure to pull the spring back slightly on each paddle to ensure oil is applied to all moving parts.

***After each performance or practice session, be sure to empty all slides.

This process has worked for me. Yes, it takes time, but it usually keeps the tuba working well. From my experience, synthetic oils don't work as well on Chinese rotors as conventional oils. Especially if the tuba is not played on a regular basis. However, synthetic oils may work fine for you. I hope this helps.


Just curious but this sounds like standard maintenance to me. No matter what brand of tuba i have owned or currently own, i have always done this. This brings me to my question, what is the frequency one should oil a tuba, made in China vs made in Germany? To me, you can not oil enough. JMHO
Tom McGrady

EXACTLY. But the same people who would buy the cheapest tubas (or cars, or whatevers) tend to be the same persons that don't maintain what they have.

[Three Valves]

So oil and lime don't mix??

[Three Valves]

They should probably schedule band practice BEFORE lunch as well.