Re: Re: Mirafone tubas (cc)


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 24, 2003 at 14:33:51:

In Reply to: Re: Mirafone tubas (cc) posted by Tracy B. on August 24, 2003 at 11:07:10:

With respect, what experience has led you to the conclusion that Miraphones are not durable? My experience doesn't support it.

Many tubas have passed through my hands, including some new ones. I had a Cerveny that would dent if you breathed on it, and a Vespro (aka VMI) whose valves would lock up solid if you didn't play it for a week. When I got my Miraphone, it was pretty beat up. But it had been around the block a few times, too, having endured schools and all manner of abuse. But an econo-overhaul put all that to rights, and it is still dent-free over the ten or eleven years of use since that work was done.

All tubas will dent if you drop them. Like many rotary tubas, the Miraphones are not stable on their bells, and this tippiness leads to damage in the hands of the unwary. But I know of no tuba for which this would not be true, so one can hardly blame it on Miraphone.

At least with Miraphones, spare parts are easily available, either new or used, even to weekend hackers like me.

There has to be a balance between the weight of the isntrument and its strength, as long as we are going to make it out of brass. The Miraphone is in the middle of the pack in terms of weight, and therefore provides a good balance between strength and portability. My York Master may be stronger because of its extra weight, but at ten pounds heavier than the Miraphone, it's more likely to be dropped by a young'un (or even an old'un). There are lots of Miraphones in schools that are still serviceable (in both senses of that word) after decades of school use, while the budget brands--usually Cerveny stencils in those days--have long since been retired to the junk heap.

That said, there were times when Miraphone used horrible materials in their linkages. I'm thinking of those terrible white plastic ball joints. But these are easily replaced, and the stuff they provide now doesn't have that fault.

To the original poster: There have been and continue to be a large number of Miraphone CC tubas in use by professionals. They are versatile and reliable, with a characteristic sound, a good scale, and good intonation.

Rick "who thinks the Miraphone 186 is the ultimate vanilla tuba without being vanilla" Denney


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