I've only spent quiet time with one of the euphs with a wide throat that you mention, namely the Miraphone 1258 - I got one of these on trial in the early 2000s from the Brasswind. It was a wonderful horn with great intonation. It had a huge dark sound, and if you ever wanted an instrument to steer you away from every possible element of cylindrical instruments, this was the horn. The issue I had with it was it didn't blend well with the Willson 2900s and King euphoniums I was playing with at the time in brass band and wind ensemble - they were much more focused sounding instruments and the huge wide Miraphone stuck out big time. Because of that, I sent it back. Now, I've only played the Miraphone 5050 in the elephant room at the Army conference, but this model seems like it would blend much better - it still has a wonderful, dark sound, but it seemed to have slightly more focus than the 1258 I had on trial. I tried a couple of the Hirsbrunners in the early 2000s when you could still regularly find them at the Army conference - I know there were a couple of different designs of these, but the ones I tried reminded me of a slightly nicer Yamaha pre-Neo 642. I've never played a Sinfonico so I can't comment on that one.
The old Meinl Weston 451 reminded me a lot of the Besson 967 - wonderful tone - and the intonation was even worse, if you can believe it. I didn't know this was a wide throat model.
Speaking of Meinl Weston, it doesn't look like they are making euphoniums anymore - they are still making oval baritones, etc., but no euphoniums - don't know when that happened.
Tubas - Melton Meinl Weston (melton-meinl-weston.com)
I've never paid attention to leadpipe angle and any impact on tone - the only thing that matters to me is whether it is positioned on the bell to where I can comfortably rest it on my lap (Yamaha Neo, JP274, Besson, Sterling, etc.) while playing and not require a pillow or lifting it up (e.g., Willson, Yamaha 842). I've never played a Shires, but it looks like it might require a pillow or lifting up the instrument while seated.
Last edited by euphdude; 04-12-2023 at 03:59 PM.
Reason: forgot to add something
- Scott
Euphoniums: Dillon 967, Monzani MZEP-1150S, Dillon 1067 (kid’s horn)
Bass Trombones: Greenhoe GB5-3G, Getzen 1052FDR, JP232
King Jiggs P-bone