Miraphone 5050 vs Besson Prestige

[John Morgan]

...After I finished playing all of them, I asked my listeners what they were hearing and they all agreed that the best instrument for me was the Miraphone 5050. I actually purchased the demo horn at the exhibit.

Hey Scott,

Good for you!! The 5050 is a great horn, no doubt, and I would probably still be playing it today if it wasn't for my quite less than perfect lungs. That unfortunate reality provided me the reason to switch to the Adams E3, which for me, turns out to be the "one". You will surely enjoy the 5050.

[RickF]

Congrats Scott on your new M5050! I still love mine and often get compliments on its tone.

[MichaelSchott]

Congratulations Scott. What characteristics of the 5050 factored into your decision.

[JTJ]

I played a 5050 for a while. When I think of that euphonium, I think of power and projection greater than any other horn I have ever played. Ultimately, the ergonomics of it just didn't work for me and I moved on.

[Scott Heath]

Thanks to all for your input and advice over the past month. Guido, the mouthpieces that I used for my test were th Parker LaDuke 5G, and the Wick SM4U. After purchasing the horn I took a trip to see Carl Hammond in Chicago and purchased a Hammond F3. The F3 is a new mouthpiece with a more funnel shaped cup but with the rim closer to the Schilke. It really increased to clarity for me on the new Euphonium. I also made a call to Kronkhite cases and ordered a new bag from them, which may be 8-12 weeks until delivery.

I have to review the rules on this forum but the Prestige will be up for sale.

[Scott Heath]

The characteristics of the Miraphone that set it apart from the Adams were the ability to push the horn very hard and still get the tone that I wanted. The Adams instruments that I played had a wonderful tone and tuning but didn’t stay as consistent when I played Mars from the Planets. The Besson and the Miraphone had no problem with it. I like the tone of the 5050 better than the Prestige, which is why I made the change.

[guidocorona]

Hi Scott, your favorable impression and selection of M5050 corroborates my own brief encounter with the same Miraphone eupho at the last ITEC in 2019.... Playing it mostly with a SM4U, I found it to generate a tone shimmering with harmonics.... Made me think it perfect in a sinfonic orchestral role.... While it readily spoke with a velvety voice with just a tiny amount of breath, it seemed to yield a heroic tone when pushed... My favorite euphonium at that event.

Next time I encounter M5050, I will try it out with DC4.

Regards, Guido