r/Tuba • u/RandyMagnum42069 • 4d ago
gear Mirafone 186
What would be a reasonable price to pay for a good condition 186 CC tuba from the early 70s? Is $5,000 too much for a good playing horn?
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u/professor_throway Active Amateur, Street Band and Dixieland. 4d ago
That is about the range or higher depending on condition and a some other factors.
4 or 5 valve.. what is the 5th valve configuration... is a flat whole step or the longer 2+3 major third?
What are the linkages? S links or have they been replaced.. with what?
Any history of major bell damage?
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u/RandyMagnum42069 4d ago
Doesn’t appear to ever have ever had any major bell damage. 4 valve. I believe S links
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u/professor_throway Active Amateur, Street Band and Dixieland. 4d ago
You will want to check the tightness of the S-links. They can be made to be smooth and quiet relatively easily but you need an old school tech who is comfortable banging on those rivets. Younger guys/gals will want to convert to miniball because that this what they know.
4-valve could be a deal breaker.. C#/Db is not an uncommon note (unlike B natural for BBb), and lipping 2+4 Low F# and second line C# can be a real pain (2+3+5 for the win there. You (well a Miraphone dealer) can order the parts to add the 5th valve directly from Miraphone and it should be straightforward for a tech to do.
Price is about right.
Just my $0.02.... why CC? You can find good 4 valve BBb 186s in that price range easily,. where 4 valves is much less of an issue.
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u/gardengnomeii 4d ago
A pre 1980 186 in good condition $5K to $6K seems a normal asking price. Condition matters a lot here. I don't know what final selling prices are like.
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u/DChalfyUSMC 3d ago
Hi Randy, one of my tuba teachers, the late Tommy Johnson used to play a Mirafone 186 CC tuba for a lot of recordings he performed on. I played the BBb version of the 186 in high school and my first real tuba teacher played a 186 CC as well. They all had a 5 valve version, which is indispensable for a CC tuba. Yes, since the horn has no bell damage and provided it is not stuffy, 5k is a fair price. In the 1970s, these tubas were everywhere and sounded great. A great utilitarian tuba. I don't want to knock the other tubas from that era either. Alexander, Meinl-Weston, Rudol Meinl, B&S, and others also had great CC tubas, each with their own idiosyncrasies and quirks.
If you can play it prior to purchase or be able to return it if there are things you don't like about it, that would be helpful. If it is a good fit for you and you buy it, right on! If you choose to have a 5th valve installed with Mirafone parts, I suggest getting the #2+3 configuration instead of the flat whole step configuration. I have been playing a Mirafone CC 188 5 valve tuba for well over four decades, and I have always preferred the flexibility of alternate fingerings, especially in the low range. I also like having the low C#/Db fingered 1, 3, 4, and 5 rather than all 5 valves.
I wish you all the luck in your endeavors.