Posted by Sean Chisham on December 10, 1998 at 21:43:34:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Mirafone Eb vs Besson Eb posted by Larry Lilley on December 10, 1998 at 20:19:01:
Condensation was not the intent at all.
I have played both the 981 and the Miraphone 184 and found the Besson the more sonorous and "dark" of the two instruments. I have also witnessed a good number of people who were far more proficient on their "main instrument" then on their "other" horn. I, while on tour, played my F tuba in a couple of towns our brass quintet was schedule to perform in. I, at that time, played mostly CC in the group. When I played the F, I could tell the members of the group were not as pleased with the results. This had to do both with my level of experience with several of the tunes on F vs CC and the ears of the other players which had become accustomed to the sound of my CC horn. If I had put in more time in that group and alone with the charts, then the ensemble probably would have grown accustommed to the results and my overall abilities would have been more balanced for both horns.
The Miraphone 184 I played on was far from a "dark" instrument. It seemed to be less flexable than larger contrabass tubas and lacked the breadth and richness of sound I appreciate for a versatile group such as a brass quintet. I have played on a Miraphone F's and found them unique, but still lacking the completeness of a B&S F or a Besson or Willson Eb. I will say that am yet to play the Miraphone Eb, but am skeptical due to my past experiences with Miraphone's other instruments. I like Miraphones for their unique sound, and wouldn't mind using them on occasion, but I am not anamoured with them enough to justify a purchase or serious consideration. Again, remember this is my personal tastes in horns. I also dislike Yamaha and Willson for ME, but hear many other who get good results with them.
The Besson 981, IMHO, is an instrument which is extremely flexible in sound, range, volume, and presense. I have always been able to achieve my musical goals more readily with the Besson 981 then with the Miraphone 184. This observation I noticed well before I was even an Eb convert. The first time I experienced this was while I was diehard F tubist. The 981 is a fantastically versatile instrument with a sound which has never let me down, either in my hands or in those of others I have heard.
So you see, with the combination of my experiences with playing F in a brass quintet, hearing others play F/Eb in brass quintets, my experience as a player and bystander of both the Miraphone 184 and Besson 981, and the ambiguity of the Internet I came up with a possible explanation as to why you get the comments you do about your Besson vs Miraphone dilemma.
All of my rhetoric is based on a perception in my world about your world, which I have never experienced. If I were to actually hear the musical results of your A/B comparison in the flesh I may very well have a totally different perspective on the subject. Unfortunatelly, I can only use mental aural imagery to make decisions.
There are several other Perantucci's which may work, but you may also take a look at Dillon mouthpieces or some combination of a Doug Elliott.
sean