Miraclone durability?

[jayfarlow]

Any of you musicians who have owned a JinBao 410 ("miraclone", e.g., Mack Brass TU410, Dillon 410, Schiller American Heritage) for more than a few years, please reply with information on how long you've had it and how well it has held up. I'm interested in knowing what maintenance or repair issues (if any) appear over time with this instrument. Thanks!

[JaxBen_20J]

I've had a Mack 410 in gold brass since 2016, so I'm coming up on 9 years with it. Mine has been really solid, with only a couple of minor dings that have been easily addressed. The big thing is that you need to take good care of it, and you do need to get it serviced by someone competent. I had mine maintained by Rich Ida for the first several years (including adding a third valve slide pull ring for my giant hands to be able to extract it) and I switched to having Kevin Bowen at North GA Horn Works do the maintenance, since he's a few miles closer to me. Both are excellent craftsmen, and both shared the opinion that these horns aren't good for someone who doesn't at least try to take care of it (e.g., as school horns), but in the hands of someone who does appropriate maintenance? They'll last for many years, at least until the valves become worn enough to need replacing. At that point, you might as well buy a new one.

[jayfarlow]

Thanks for the helpful insight!

[Slamson]

I have a student who got a used one earlier this fall. For 2k, it's a good horn. In spite of the fact that it's about five years old there's no signs of any solder joints loose or red rot, just the kind of wear and tear that would come from that much time. I'd say that the brass alloy is quite different from the Miraphone, but that makes it more dent-resistant (and yes, perhaps slightly less responsive). But there are no major tuning problems - in fact he has to do less slide work while playing than I had to when I was playing my 186. I'm sure it will last him through his undergrad years and then when he's making six figures as an orchestral player (har-har!) he can move up to something else.

[jayfarlow]

Thanks, Slamson!