Miraphone Tuba Test | 6/4 Siegfried vs. 5/4 & 6/4 Hagen | Sound Check | The BIG BOYS | Kaiser Tubas

[Kontrabasstuba]

Today I had the chance to test three impressive Miraphone Kaiser tubas: the 6/4 Siegfried, the 5/4 Hagen, and my new 6/4 Hagen (Model 497). In the video, you can even hear the very first notes played on the 497.
Three fantastic instruments, all handcrafted in Germany. My personal favorite is the 497 Hagen.
Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

[cktuba]

You sound great on all of them. But that Siegfried... WOW! Those horns are FANTASTIC. It's a shame they don't get more attention.

[prairieboy1]

The 6/4 Siegfried!!

[tubamarc8891]

Love the 497 Daniel!!!

[catgrowlB]

The definition of Authoritative Projection and Vociferous Subtones

[bloke]

"model 98 too pretty" comment above...

This is exactly what prompted me to develop the OG Ultimate mouthpiece (after purchasing this model of tuba).
It takes that fatter resonance and adds just a little bit of that thing you're hearing in the 497 into it (avoiding adding as much as the 497 displays).
As I've mentioned before (whether or not this was intentional) the model 98 bell taper is exactly (yeah, not just similar) like that of a Holton 345. The model is a hybrid crossover between an American 6/4 (specifically, a Holton) and a German kaiser.
---------------------------
My previous comment had nothing to do with player prowess.
The playing was exceptionally fine...great !
I was simply asking that - the next time Daniel is at the Miraphone factory - if he might (additionally - to add to his demonstration and comparison of these three models) pick all three of them up again and play something along the lines of vocalise #1 (down just one octave into the regular tuba range) in the Rochut trombone books... or some other short cantabile style demonstration along those lines. That type of playing demonstrates additional things about models of instruments.

[bort2.0]

I think the Rudy Meinl 5/4 BBb is sort of in that hybrid category, given that it doesn't have the true Kaiser tuba shape/form... But it is an enormous BBb tuba. I've spent a lot of time with the Rudy 5/4, and it might easily be my all-time favorite tuba...

...which leads me to fully understand the limitations of YouTube recordings and small rooms for a sound check for these massive horns. Playing in relatively confined spaces is only half of the conversation. And we don't always have access to large rooms or halls, but with these large horns, I find that(more than other horns) they open up and unleash totally differently, given the opportunity to do so.

[bloke]

I think the Rudy Meinl 5/4 BBb is sort of in that hybrid category, given that it doesn't have the true Kaiser tuba shape/form... But it is an enormous BBb tuba. I've spent a lot of time with the Rudy 5/4, and it might easily be my all-time favorite tuba...

...which leads me to fully understand the limitations of YouTube recordings and small rooms for a sound check for these massive horns. Playing in relatively confined spaces is only half of the conversation. And we don't always have access to large rooms or halls, but with these large horns, I find that(more than other horns) they open up and unleash totally differently, given the opportunity to do so.

I finally quit listening to any tubas on laptops and phones. LOL
I also finally acquired some really nice headphones (which are far from the most expensive, just for what it's worth... Sony 7506). I suspect headphones and tubas can sometimes be analogous, in that their prices don't necessarily indicate how useful they are.

I don't know if those recordings were made with a phone or with some really nice microphone, but it's pretty easy to hear the differences between the three instruments with really good headphones.

Rudy 5/4...
I owned one in C for quite a while and have played B flats that I repaired. I'm thinking that their bell flare shape (thus their resonance qualities) are more like the old (original one piece upright bell version, specifically) Conn 36J tubas. The 5/4 RM tubas are far easier to play in tune vs. those Conn tubas, but they are sonically similar. That RM/Conn characteristic sound (I don't "dislike" it) is not my personal favorite.
Not every Holton 345 tuba played as well in tune as the next one (and they've been around for so long - and so many of them have been altered and chopped on - that it's hard to find one that's going to now be as it was built, and so many of them that were built were built crummy ), but the Holton 345 comes in first place - as far as an American 6/4 tuba's sonic characteristics are concerned.
I'm thinking that the 98 model was a stroke of genius (particularly since it offers easy intonation), but it was offered to Americans a little bit too early (whereby Americans are now beginning to rediscover what BB-flat is all about, and why there are some things about it that are definitely better than a similar tuba two feet shorter). Additionally, the 98 is a handmade tuba with five rotors, and it's not inexpensive.

[Mary Ann]

Love the video! I also would love to hear YOU test a 494 Hagen, which is what I have. I want to hear what you can get out of it, so I have something to aim for!

[bort2.0]

Love the video! I also would love to hear YOU test a 494 Hagen, which is what I have. I want to hear what you can get out of it, so I have something to aim for!

I have to say, I think your determination and lifelong quest to improve are inspiring.

[pjv]

Thank you for this Daniel. Once again your unrelenting contribution to the tuba world is unique and much appreciated!

I used to own a 496 and sold it to buy a 497. I really enjoyed the 496. I definitely didn’t need or really want a larger tuba.
For me the game changer was that the 497 (that I bought) was just a much better musical instrument than the 496 (I owned). Before I bought the 497 I had also found another 496 which was better than mine but eventually didn’t but that one..
But the 497, though larger, just played much freer. Riper. It was that much more a “mature musical instrument” than my 486 was. Why? Maybe just that extra TLC that's involved in making a 497. Hand-made parts. Or maybe it was just luck. The fact that my 497 also has 5 valves sealed the deal, 'cause that makes playing for me even easier.

Later I had Miraphone bend a new mouthpipe for the tuba (thanks Sepp!); one which allows me to play the tuba with the bottom bow resting on the chair. In this way the tuba is now balanced so that it doesn’t constantly “fall” to the left. The bell points straight up. The weight of the tuba is off my legs and I’m not required to contract my leg muscles in order to keep the tuba in position. The different playing position also lowers the position of my “valve” hand, taking out the 90 degree bend in the wrist. It puts my ears a bit closer to the bell top. As well the typical German-style bend of the original MP (where it roller coasters up before it goes down into the valves) is now more of what you see like on a Fafner piston, going straight out (slightly sloped) past the valves, then curling back down towards the valves. I like this because it removes the “water catcher aspect trad German-style MP’s have. No more water peeing onto my shirt through the MPC whenever you lean forward to mark a part!