Posted by Steve Inman on December 30, 2002 at 08:07:30:
In Reply to: New miraphone CC question. posted by Martin on December 29, 2002 at 22:45:23:
Quick summary: the "older" Miraphones used a 5th valve tuning that is sometimes called a "2,3" tuning, but is (I think) more accurately a flat 3rd valve note, although it may well be tunable to equal 2+3. The "newer" Miraphones use a "flat 1st valve" tuning.
Why have a 5th valve? The lower you play in the low register, the more valves typically get pressed together. The result, especially when combined with 4th valve, will become more and more sharp, the more valves that you use in combination. Having a "flat 1st valve" or a "flat 3rd valve" available gives you alternate fingering combinations that can correct the sharpness. See the CC fingering chart posted elsewhere on Sean's site (I think under "Playing Tips").
If you only have a 4V tuba, then (with a CC) the low F will probably be pretty sharp if fingered 1+4, so you'll have to pull the 1st valve slide quite a bit. With my 4V Miraphone 186 CC, I finger the low F as 1,2,4 and lip up a bit. From E on down, I just use the fingering from the note a half step lower. You'll recognize that this means low D is fingered 1,2,3,4 (with the 1st valve slide probably pulled -- I'd have to go check). So, with a 4V tuba, there is no "in-tune" fingering left for the note that is 1/2 step above the fundamental pitch of the tuba (Db on a CC tuba, for example).
HTH,
Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN