Posted by Lew on July 30, 2002 at 16:51:15:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mirafone 186 for sale - great condition posted by Volker on July 30, 2002 at 13:24:16:
As another engineer I appreciate the value of empirical measurement in determining a device's characteristics. Unfortunately I have yet to hear a set of measurements that can tell definitively how a tuba will play with regard to intonation, openness, and sound quality. Part of this is sample variation in characteristics that are not easily measured and part is that the entity actuating the device, a human mouth, varies so widely in physical characteristics and how it is applied as to have a larger impact on the playing characteristics than just the device itself (i.e. the tuba). The best that we could hope for is the minimizing of sample variations in tubas resulting in consistency from instrument to instrument. Variations in players and playing style will still impact the evaluation of what tuba fits a player best, leaving us in a subjective world.
Not that this has anything to do with Rick's original post, with which I agree. People are free to ask what they want for a horn, for whatever reason, just as others are free to not purchase for that price should we not believe it is worth it.