Posted by Scott on April 21, 2003 at 11:25:59:
In Reply to: Re: Miraphone 181? posted by Jim L on April 21, 2003 at 08:21:31:
There has been a lot of discussion on whether to get the 5 or 6 valves and yellow or gold brass for the 181. My teacher, Tommy Johnson, had the 6-valve, gold brass version, which I used for part of my master's recital. I chose the 5-valve, yellow brass version over this other version simply because I could not justify the extra cost and weight (the 6th valve is much heavier) for a single note (low F). I could easily fix any intonation problems without the 6th valve, and the only standard piece I could see the 6th valve as an advantage is the Vaughn-Williams (runs with low F to Gb). Realistically, every advantage the 6th valve added simply took a little time in the practice room with the 5-valve version and was easily fixed. More importantly, the gold brass sound, in my opinion, is much less interesting. The yellow brass seemed to get the German sound I was after, much closer to an Alex or B&S F than the gold brass.
Like I said before, there are many differing opinions on this. Russ Dickman (fellow Tubenet poster with Reno Phil) was close to purchasing the used 181 I have for sale, but instead chose the gold brass 6-valve. Aubrey Foard (another Tubenet regular at the Cleveland Institute) chose the yellow brass for the same reasons I gave above. Try both before purchasing one to see which is best for you.
Scott