Posted by Steve Dedman on April 08, 2001 at 14:25:40:
In Reply to: Re: Looking for an older horn posted by Charles D. Ortega on April 07, 2001 at 23:07:43:
I'll chime in here, if you don't mind.
I'm not the original poster, but I'd love to have an older Miraphone, too. I have always heard, and discovered for myself that pre-1975 or so Miraphones have an absolutely gorgeous sound to them that they lost for awhile in the '80's and early '90's.
When I was at OU in the late '80's, they bought a couple of new 186 BBb's. The older ones owned by the university had a much better sound to them. The sound was smoother and darker in the older horns, and the sound of the new ones broke up much easier; you just couldn't push the new ones nearly as much in terms of volume. Of course, the new ones were a little more consistent in terms of intonation, but the gain there wasn't enough to offset the difference in sound.
My understanding is the the new ones now (after about '93 - '95) have gotten back toward that classic sound, but the pre-'75 horns are the ones gave Miraphone the reputation that sustained them through the "leaner" times.
If you find one, give it a toot. You'll see what I mean.
My observations, FWTW.
Steve