report on (likely, pretty old) Jinbao copy of a Miraphone 184 BB-flat

[bloke]

I've only seen one other of these.
The other one was made a long time ago, and it was a 3 rotor version.
This is a 4 rotor version, and the lacquer looks darn nice.
It has a plastic case with a plastic pull handle for the wheels.
As with other old Chinese cases of this type, the plastic pull handle is broken off (whereas similar plastic handles found on European-made Jakob Winter cases seem to withstand quite a few years of use.)

The build quality of the bell and bows - as well as the slides - is really pretty good.
The rotors and linkage are typical Jinbao.
(For now - after straightening everything out and cleaning everything up, everything is quiet and working well...??)

Overall, the instrument is approximately 4 inches too long, and can't be played at A=440 I've reported this to the customer and I've quoted how much they owe me so far and how much they would owe me to render it playable with other instruments in an ensemble.

Predictably, the fifth partial is quite flat and the eighth partial is quite flat (compared to the others). ...so even after the instrument is shortened, tuning will not be a walk in the park.

The #2 rotor doesn't have much of an air compression release, and I see no evidence of any previous shop work on the #2 rotor.
The other three are satisfactory.

Based on the other one that I've encountered, I'm thinking this might be at least a couple of decades old, but based on the condition of the finish and the lack of very many dents, I suspect it's been sitting in someone's closet the overwhelming majority of that time.

It's out in the shop, and I would have to walk back out there on top of glossy wet melting smooth ice to retrieve it to take a picture.
If you guys want to see a couple of pictures of it, I'll take them when everything is melted and it's a little safer. It's one thing for a 70 year old man to walk across shiny water-covered ice a hundred feet each direction, but it's yet another to do that carrying a tuba - particularly one that isn't mine.

[arpthark]

I had one of these pass through here — “Wurzbach” brand, about the same age.

[bloke]

I had one of these pass through here — “Wurzbach” brand, about the same age.

Some of the earlier Wurzbach stuff (Orpheus/San Antonio) was Roland Meinl...yes, later Chinese.

It seems like a pretty significant percentage of early Chinese tubas were built too long... the most notorious being the "Cb tuba".

[prodigal]

The real 184 that I played in high school is sitting in a locker at the new school that replaced mine and hasn't been played in a while, as there haven't been many tuba playing kids come down the pike. It makes me kinda sad.

[Jperry1466]

My 184CC will play A=440, but it is like wrestling an alligator to play it in tune with itself, and I have learned some "interesting" alternative fingerings that I've never used with a CC before. That said, it makes a good "old man tuba" for my community band and ensemble needs. I too thought of the infamous Chinese Cb tuba when I read your description.