Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Heavy_Metal · Post by **Heavy_Metal** » Sat Dec 08, 2018 11:23 pm

Might be a 190.

bort · Post by **bort** » Sat Dec 08, 2018 11:58 pm

Yes, it is a 190, the vertical MTS is a giveaway.

The 190 BBb always looks a little smaller in pictures like this, out of context. It's a very large tuba, but is more tall and skinny than big and fat.

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:45 pm

One of the reasons the 190 “looks” skinny is because it is 5-6 inches taller than a typical American BAT. Were the tuba rewrapped into a shorter configuration, the bows would be correspondingly fatter.

greenbean · Post by **greenbean** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:15 am

Man, that is big!

How do these play?...

bort · Post by **bort** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 3:55 am

Interesting and somewhat related info:

http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/190190.html" target="_blank

The Big Ben · Post by **The Big Ben** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:06 pm

bort wrote:Interesting and somewhat related info:

http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/190190.html" target="_blank"

Also interesting on that site:

Side by side photos of 184. 186. 188 one 190/ The 190 is a mutha!

http://www.daveamason.com/mirafone/cctubas.html" target="_blank

bort · Post by **bort** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:25 pm

The one 190 CC that I played was not a tuba I liked; I played it a few minutes, expecting it to be a huge 188. It is not.

Perhaps it is a good tuba when you learn how to play it, but for what I thought it was... and after 5 minutes... it wasn't great.

That said, if Tommy Johnson had a 190 and played it regularly, then at least that one was a great tuba. He would never have wasted his time on something awful.

Donn · Post by **Donn** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:37 pm

I believe the conventional Tubenet wisdom is that the CC was fine, but the more common BBb not Miraphone's best. I had one myself, a "scratch and dent" from WW&BW back in the '80s, but I wasn't really in any shape as a player to evaluate its place in the ranks of great tubas. The guy I sold it to thought it was great, and still has it, to the best of my knowledge.

This one was a good deal older, I noticed some minor differences. Past tense, because at the moment the ad is expired, but if I remember right, the price was pretty fair, considering what it is and the condition it's in. You could hardly assume it's going to be the perfect tuba for you, just from looking at the pictures - but then, that does tend to be how it goes.

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Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"

Re: Seattle CL: Mirafone BBb "Kaiser Tuba"