Posted by Rick Denney on July 13, 2000 at 23:58:09:
I played and I played and I played some more. When my chops hurt, I did low tones for a while and then thrashed them some more. When I could play no more, I pulled out the tape measure and the camera. (Pictures will be posted on my web page when I get them back from the lab and scanned.)
Perceptions:
The York is easier to play than the Miraphone. The notes speak easier, the low range is much easier to center, and big intervals pop out much easier. I could do things on the York after a few minutes that I haven't been able to do on the Miraphone ever.
The York is not louder than the Miraphone, though the sound has much more bottom to it. The Miraphone may in fact be louder, but loudness is difficult to assess from the player's perspective. The York seems to have more dyanamic range, and the sound holds together well when pushed. Both horns seem to require about the same amount of air, but the York is more forgiving. The York is pickier about mouthpieces for intonation. I'm getting good intonation with the Wick 1 that Chuck provided and with a Bach 18. The PT-48 sounds a bit better, but the intonation isn't as good, though this may be a shank problem. A Conn Helleberg sounds less focused and has poor intonation on the York. I'm going with the 18 for now.
The first-valve slide on the York is hard to reach--you have to go through the horn to get to it. But my hands are bit too big to do this comfortably. I may work on the slide a bit to speed it up, and I think that will make it easier. Also, the fourth valve is a reach, even for my monster hands. This horn would be difficult to manage for a player with small hands.
When I get more experience with the horn, my perceptions might change, of course.
The York Master and the Miraphone 186 are almost identical in volume. Here are my measurements:
York:
Bore: .75"
Bell: 20"
Volume: 2040 cubic inches
Length of open bugle: 215 inches
Miraphone 186
Bore: .77" (20 mm)
Bell: 16.5"
Volume: 2000 cubic inches
Length of open bugle: 209 inches
Based on volume, the York can only be called a 4/4, but it sure has the depth of sound that bespeaks a bigger horn than the Miraphone. The volume measurements are probably not different enough to overcome measurement error, so let's call them the same.
In comparing the taper designs of the two instruments, the big difference is not volume, but the length of cylindrical tubing. Here are few interesting measurements:
Leadpipe length:
Miraphone: 27.6"
York: 16.5"
Cylindrical tubing in open bugle:
Miraphone: 34.8"
York: 11"
So, the distance from the mouthpiece to the beginning of the tapered section is 27.5 inches for the York, which is less than half of the Miraphone's 62.4 inches. Consequently, the tapers are bigger on the York all the way to about 18 inches from the bell opening, with the biggest differences in the smaller branches. The Miraphone has a larger bell throat (by a little), and that makes up the difference in volume. So, mebbe volume is even less useful than I thought it would be.
Rick "About as different as two 4/4 horns can be" Denney