Posted by Steve Inman on February 05, 2004 at 20:21:08:
I received permission to post the contents of an email reply I received from Markus Theinert, explaining the meaning and significance of the Miraphone 1291 CC "improved asymetric body taper" feature mentioned on their website. FYI.
Danke schoen, Herr Theinert.
Steve Inman
Kokomo, IN
----- Original Message -----
From: Markus Theinert
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 12:48 PM
Subject: "Improved Asymetric Body Taper"
Dear Steve,
My tuba designer Christian Niedermaier forwarded me your email request about our new 1291
CC tuba and asked me to reply on your question . . . . [small snip] Anyway, it is not all that complicated, although I must admit that the term "improved asymmetric body taper" is not easy to understand.
What it means is simply, that the two top bows of the body are not shaped completely round with their peak in the center, but the highest point of these two bows is slightly out the middle. Scientists at a German university in Dresden have found out that this design helps to avoid interferences of the sound waves by guiding unwanted reflections (which automatically occur in perfectly round bows) towards the bell rather than backwards. The projected energy level will henceforth increase.
I hope this explanation helps you a little bit. Thank you very much for your interest in this new Miraphone flag ship. I am sure you will be eager to try this horn as soon as it is available on the market. Or maybe you actually did try it at the Midwest 2003 in Chicago.
Best wishes from cold Bavaria.
Markus
Markus Theinert
President
Miraphone e.G.