New to me Mirafone

[andrew the tuba player]

Hey everyone. I wanted to show you all the horn I got a few months ago. I sold my 52j and bought a 1969 Mirafone 186 BBb in silver plate. It has the small bell and Garland. I got it from Dan Oberloh who checked it over before it shipped. And it's been in his territory since it was new so it's always gotten the Oberloh treatment.

It's in great shape considering the age. The plating has the usual wear on the contact points but other than that its extremely shiny. It's hasn't dulled over the years. There are no large dents to speak of.

The valves have the original S links. They are incredibly smooth and QUIET. All of the slides pull and push nice and easy.

This horn has amazing intonation. I've always heard of the "point and shoot" nature of these horns but I never quite understood what that meant. I can do jumps all day and everything seems very well in tune. I haven't gotten a tuner out yet but I haven't ever noticed having to bend any particular pitches to match.

The sound is great. The small bell and Garland combo make it easy to get the nice bright Mirafone sound but I can also bring it back and get a nice deep dark sound as well. Right now the only group I am in is a traditional British Brass band and everyone loves it. I can either speak out the higher split parts or give a deep sound to the low parts.

Over all I'm extremely pleased with this horn. The more I get used to filling a horn this size and really showing it's potential the more I love it. I will definitely miss my 52j but this will be a great replacement that is more suited to my needs.

A silver 186 has always been on my horn bucket list. I think the combo of the silver plate and the s links really make it a pretty instrument. I'm glad I found one in such good shape.


Pics:

https://imgur.com/gallery/ADCTO" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Sousaswag]

Congratulations! I'm really not a rotor guy but I'll bet that horn plays great! It's always an amazing feeling when you purchase a new horn! Have fun with the new one!

[The Big Ben]

I had a 186 at one time where Dan did the rotors and the S-Links and they worked great. Have fun with your new horn.

[bort]

Gorgeous! Find me one of those in CC, please!

There is an old myth about old silver-plated Miraphones -- it says that a Miraphone in silver-plate was a special order, so when the factory was building a run of these tubas, they would pick the best of the batch to be silver plated.

Who knows if that is actually true... but you have a really nice tuba there. Enjoy it!

[rodgeman]

Welcome to the club. Looks like a great horn.

[andrew the tuba player]

Speaking with Dan, this horn in fact was a special order along with a twin. Back when Boeing had a band, two friends in the back row ordered them side by side. Being fabricators for the company, they didn't order cases and instead custom built them from fiberglass. It's an odd case as it's a hard shell top loader. But it's great because it's very tight to the horn and has a lot of padding. It's also small enough that although the horn is fairly large, it will fit in my truck, unlike my 52j with the conn/mts style case. That's great because I have to be at work 30 minutes after rehearsal so it has to ride with me. I feel alot better with it not being in the open. I'm going to make a separate post about it for those interested.

I won't be changing out the linkages. I've heard of the advantages of both and I'll stick with the S links. They are quiet, smooth and fast. And the asthetics alone make it worth it. In my opinion it give a much more 'artisan' look.

[Rebel]

Congratulations!! I have a 1968 in lacquer finish and not silver. I find the build quality very nice on the older horns, and I don't have any issues with the S linkage either, mine is nice and quiet too. Nice find!!!

[edsel585960]

Nice looking horn!!! 20J and a 186. What else could you need.