Miraphone 56 oval euphonium 5 valve (rotary)

[BDeisinger]

I have a question that some may have the answer. Baltimore Brass has a used Miraphone 56 oval with 5 rotary valves on their web page for sale. When I inquired about the instrument, I asked for the shank size. The response was they tried a small shank and it was too small and the euro didn't go all the way into the receiver. Does anyone have any ideas on this. I would have guessed an euro shank based on my B&S oval. The reason for my interest is certain finger patterns on my compensator are getting increasingly difficult depending on how the arthritis is. I like the B&S oval and do well on a straight 4 up valve non compensator. I'm not driving all the way to Baltimore Brass with no idea what to expect. The front valve Festivo is another possible solution when the time comes. Thanks

[Snorlax]

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...m#.XmmZ1EBFzeM

[highpitch]

All the 56 series 5-valve models aren't oval, rather parallel like a little tuba.

DG

[notaverygoodname]

11.5mm shank. Josef Klier sells mouthpieces for this as the option "-B shaft". Probably some other companies do as well, but I've never asked. If you have a custom mouthpiece shop that you prefer, they should be able to make you a compatible mouthpiece. It is not the same as Besson medium shank.

[BDeisinger]

11.5mm shank. Josef Klier sells mouthpieces for this as the option "-B shaft". Probably some other companies do as well, but I've never asked. If you have a custom mouthpiece shop that you prefer, they should be able to make you a compatible mouthpiece. It is not the same as Besson medium shank.

Thanks for the input. I checked on the Klier website. If I buy the horn, I can get a shank from Warburton to fit my cups. I knew with all the knowledge in this forum, someone would come up with the solution.

[BDeisinger]

11.5mm shank. Josef Klier sells mouthpieces for this as the option "-B shaft". Probably some other companies do as well, but I've never asked. If you have a custom mouthpiece shop that you prefer, they should be able to make you a compatible mouthpiece. It is not the same as Besson medium shank.

I just got email from Miraphone in Germany and she says it is a 11.1 but she might have converted the figures wrong.

[tbonesullivan]

The Baltimore Brass writeup calls it a 54L "Kaiserbaritone" in one place, and a 56 Oval Baritone in the other. The 56B looks like a "little tuba", and I also see a 56L, which is oval.

[notaverygoodname]

I just got email from Miraphone in Germany and she says it is a 11.1 but she might have converted the figures wrong.

Never heard of 11.1, but if it was, a small shank (10.8mm) would fit the receiver as it's only 6mm difference in length. A small shank mouthpiece with a long enough shank, like a Schilke, will actually just barely fit an 11.5mm receiver. If they measured the receiver, they probably converted the insertion depth wrong. An 11.5mm shank mouthpiece doesn't sit as deep as you'd expect.

[adrian_quince]

The picture on the Baltimore Brass site shows an oval 5-valve Bariton. The 11.25" bell measurement and curved linkage arms would indicate that it's an early 54L. Miraphone currently makes a 5-valve 54L. I played one at their factory last year. Really sweet instrument, super responsive, but it will be less euphonium-like than a 56 would be.

[BDeisinger]

The picture on the Baltimore Brass site shows an oval 5-valve Bariton. The 11.25" bell measurement and curved linkage arms would indicate that it's an early 54L. Miraphone currently makes a 5-valve 54L. I played one at their factory last year. Really sweet instrument, super responsive, but it will be less euphonium-like than a 56 would be.

Adrian, thanks for your input. The owner of the horn has no mouthpiece that I guess truly fits the horn. He said he uses either a shortened euro shank or a trombone mouthpiece with tape around the shank which makes be think the shortened euro shank is the 11.5. However, I'm probably going to take a run down to Baltimore to take a look at the horn since traffic is light with the virus shutting things down.

[notaverygoodname]

Someone is selling the original stock mouthpiece for this horn on ebay. It is 11.5mm shank.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MIRAFONE-Ba...cAAOSwDDdeZq4g

Seems expensive for being such a niche item, but I'm hardly one to talk about that sort of thing.

[bbocaner]

The Baltimore Brass writeup calls it a 54L "Kaiserbaritone" in one place, and a 56 Oval Baritone in the other. The 56B looks like a "little tuba", and I also see a 56L, which is oval.

The 54L and 56L are oval. The 54L has an 11.something inch bell and the 56L has a 12.something inch bell and a larger bore. There are 4 and 5-valve variants of both of these. The 56A and 565 are tuba-form. The 565 is 5-valve. The 56A comes in both C and B-flat. The 56B is bell-front.

My 56L is fairly recent and has a small-shank receiver. They may have different ones available on different models and may have used different in-between sizes in the past. German players don't typically use as large and deep a mouthpiece as we do.