Posted by Steve Dedman on September 26, 2001 at 15:08:53:
In Reply to: What model is Miraphone "Premium" ? posted by Philip on September 26, 2001 at 05:29:52:
Philip,
I was in Rush's on Monday, and played that horn. I believe it is indeed a 189. It should be noted, however, that the technician there told me that the horn is over 20 years old, and was recently overhauled. It does play very nicely, with an exceptionally nice mid-register. It didn't play like a huge Kaiserbass tuba, so I'm guessing that this 189 is not the same as the "modern" 189. The bore is definitely smaller than the .840 on my Piggy, but the horn can produce a very big sound. Granted, I didn't have my mouthpiece with me, so I used the TU-23 that was on the horn, but it was very difficult for me to get the sound to break.
I wouldn't pay $5K for it, but they indicated that they would talk turkey.
Talk to Sande MacMorran at UT. I don't know if he has played it or not, but he indicated that he might drop by and give it a toot so he could talk about it with his students.
Steve