Posted by Doc on December 22, 2003 at 20:03:09:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Miraphone 1291CC posted by OK on December 22, 2003 at 19:31:20:
Maybe he's referring to the traditional German (rotary) vs. American (piston) sound. Tall slender bell (German - exponential horn) vs. shorter, fatter bell (American - bi-radial horn). Rick Denney has commented extensively about this, and he has a comparison on his website. It's possible the 1291 is a marriage of the two. The author doesn't say if the 1291 is mouthpiece sensitive, but choice of mouthpiece (German-bowl cup vs. American-funnel cup) could possibly make the horn lean towards one style of sound or the other. Just by looking at the picture, it appears to have a shorter bell with more rapid flare than, say, a 186. That would make me think that it might have a more "American" sound. Maybe the author used a German-style bowl shaped cup, thus tempering the "American" sound. It could be that I'm completely full of BS (it's just a theory based on uneducated observations anyway), and that we all need to just play one instead of speculating on this particular horn. Rick is the person to talk to about the physics of it all.
http://www.rickdenney.com/york_vs_miraphone.htm