Posted by Marty Neilan on May 12, 2001 at 14:58:12:
In Reply to: Re: Miraphone 1290 posted by Bob Joles on May 12, 2001 at 12:41:22:
I would consider the 1290 to have a darker, less brassy sound that the 188, and a higher volume threshhold before breaking up. They seem to take more air than a 188 and the response is also different and maybe not as agile as a 186 or 188 (but still more than many other horns and very acceptable), the trade off for the bigger horn / bigger sound.
They are great horns, but some who have tried them haven't liked them. Play it before you buy it. You may be one of the those who love them, or hate them. They are just very different horns than anything Mirafone has made before. Also, use a large Helleberg style mouthpiece in your playtest. Lee Stofer is currently in the process of cutting my fifth valve slide to a more conventional flat whole step. He has played my horn in Army band rehersals and seems to like it a lot and be very pleased with both its sound and intonation. He said that it reminds him of a PT6, if that helps for a comparison. He is a monster of a player and is considering making a plastic bell ring for it to further raise the level of sound that can be cranked out of it. It still does not have quite the sheer volume capabilities of his beloved 6/4 Conn, but comes much closer than a 186/188. To steal a line from an Oldsmobile commercial of a decade ago: "This is not your father's Mirafone".
I have heard that the 1295 is brighter than the 1290, but I haven't tried one. I would consider this a shame, as I love the balance of darkness of my 1290 while still having ample core to the sound and enough overtones to add a little color. When I get my horn back from Lee in a couple of weeks, I will post photos of the pushrods I made for it to make the seemingly awkward valve slides much more accessable for someone of my modest height.