Posted by Doug Whitten on April 28, 2003 at 09:30:14:
In Reply to: Mirafones - 186 CC (five valve) posted by Scott on April 28, 2003 at 05:59:58:
I think the 186 sound is still very relevant. It is still considered by many as an ideal all around tuba. It seems to be, according to people on this board, to be falling out of favor. I think there are a few different reasons for this:
1. Many tubists are patterning their equipment after what is being used in major symphony orchestras. In most cases, the belief is that bigger is better for orchestra.
2. Players are using multiple tubas. It was not long ago that tubists would use 1 tuba for everything. Now it seems you need a BAT, a smaller CC, and an F tuba to be a member of the cool tuba crowd.
3. Individuality. Although there is a reason that so many schools buy Mirafone tubas (they work well), when a young tubist goes out to buy his or her first tuba, they want to be different than all the others in their section.
4. Mirafone 186 CC tubas tend to have a very bright sound. I switched to a Mike Finn 3 mouthpiece and darkened the sound considerably. This mouthpiece also improved my dynamic range... the sound dousn't break up when playing loud. None the less, when playing next to someone with a darker sounding instrument, the brightness is noticable.
All this being said, I sincerely miss my 186. Its consistency, great intonation, and versatility is unmatched. I suspect that now that Mirafone has changed its 5th valve to a long whole step, its popularity might increase.
It is amazing to me how much of our instrument choice is about the fashion of the the day. The mirafone 186 is much like a 2 button suit in that it may not always be at the top of the tuba fashion world, but is is a classic that never really goes out of style.