Miraphone bags

[Mary Ann]

There seems to be a supply problem -- very few of these at retail stores. Only thing Dillon has is a euph bag. Anyone know what's up with that?

[bort2.0]

Music and Arts has them all in stock...

Goodness these have gotten expensive

[bloke]

...As posted, I don't even like stocking sousaphone necks, anymore... $$$

four, four, and four is over $1000 (dealer cost).

[Sousaswag]

Be careful with the Music & Arts conglomerate. I ordered a bag for that Hb2P I had a while back and they sent me the wrong one twice before they got it right. Eventually I got the right one but it took a good long while.

[bloke]

semi-non sequitur sidebar:

I believe there is a SIGNIFICANT market for a BAG for the 32"-34" tall 19-to-20-inch bell front-action instruments,
particularly in the (considering the hyperinflation we've suffered) c. $300 price range - and that actually FIT.

I no longer use bags, but that has nothing to do with anyone else (unless I'm trolling ) and a whole bunch of peeps have King/Eastman tubas as well as Getzen, discontinued Conn C (defacto King), and Holton/York, (top-to-front conversion) tubas in this size.

[BuddyRogersMusic]

The Miraphone bags are produced by Soundline and we get the ones for Lidl tubas. If you'd like to send what you're looking to outfit, I can see what our cost would be. We also get Supersacs from Goetz, top loading bags that used to come with B&S/Melton instruments. Let me know if you'd like more info on either line.

[bloke]

I've been trying to get retail type people to convince protec to expand the line of their platinum line bag to include more sizes.

Good quality and affordable

[scottw]

I've been trying to get retail type people to convince protec to expand the line of their platinum line bag to include more sizes.

Good quality and affordable

I got my first ProTec Platinum bag at the last TUSAB conference, and I really like it's improvements over the older line. It opens all the way to the back on both ends, making access much easier than the old model. Also additional padding inside, making it pretty darn protective [for a bag!]. Priced well, too.
scottw

[Mary Ann]

The Miraphone bags are produced by Soundline and we get the ones for Lidl tubas. If you'd like to send what you're looking to outfit, I can see what our cost would be. We also get Supersacs from Goetz, top loading bags that used to come with B&S/Melton instruments. Let me know if you'd like more info on either line.

I have asked twice in the past and got no response.

[Mary Ann]

I've been trying to get retail type people to convince protec to expand the line of their platinum line bag to include more sizes.

Good quality and affordable

It's funny but I have always hated top loaders but now find that is the only thing I can use because it is now iffy to lower a tuba into a side loader and keep my balance. I agree the protecs are high quality but the Mfones are better padded, I think.
I hope I didn't make a mistake -- I asked Miraphone what would fit the 494, got an answer with a model number, found a reverb ad by M&A with that model number as an open box for a better price, and ordered it. I hope that was not a mistake. The Hagens are shaped differently than the 186 line and require a different shape of bag. The description of the one I got didn't match the model number given along with it, so probably I just did a dumb thing trying to save a few bucks.

[bloke]

I suspect that the easiest way to use a clamshell bag is to set it on a backstage table for unloading and reloading, and I suspect that the easiest way to use a top loader is to set the tuba down on a wooden or some sort of non-concrete floor and drop the bag down over the tuba when reloading the tuba into a top loader. As far as getting a tuba out of a top loader, I don't see there's a particularly effortless way to do that.

Clamshell bags which don't unzip around the bell are annoying.

[Mary Ann]

I don't have a backstage table. I have a floor, everywhere I play.
I've gotten quite good at getting a top loader on and off a tuba, but the bag needs a minor modification so the lid in the fully open position can be stuck to the bag with velcro, so it's not interfering when you have the tuba bell down on the floor taking the bag on and off. Then you just invert the tuba onto the bow and fasten the lid. Big tall tuba-sized guys can just hoist it and put it in bow first, but I'm not that.

[travisd]

I got my MIraphone bag (For my Mack horn) from @kingrob76 who as I recall bought it direct from the old country originally. Perhaps he can elaborate on how that worked....

[LeMark]

I found top loading bags to be a pain, and I AM a big tall type.

Someone did show me a technique where you stand the bag up again the back of chair and fold the lid over the chair, holding the bag upright like a trash can, and you can use both hands and arms to elevate the tuba into the bag. That did help soften my heart toward the bags, but I still prefer the side loaders

[cktuba]

I wish they made a slightly larger Protec Platinum bag. It fit my old Kalison DS perfectly. But my Wyvern is about an inch to 2 inches too wide and started to rip the stitching.

[bloke]

If they have to invest in more sizes...well...That's one of the reasons that the people who offer tons of sizes have to charge so much.

...They sell FEWER tuba bags than those for smaller instruments, YET they cost way more to make and (unlike trumpets, horns, trombones, saxes, etc.) they have to make tons of different sized ones for tubas.

[Sousaswag]

Yeah, I think it’s one of those “buy once, cry once” type situations. I do understand the thought of needing a bag to fit that type of horn.

I had a heck of a time finding something for that Bohm & Meinl, which is right at 38ish inches with a 20 inch bell. Nothing from any of the “budget” manufacturers would work. Sometimes you almost have to go custom, or you have to buy something that’s way too big just to accommodate the bell size.

[kingrob76]

I got my MIraphone bag (For my Mack horn) from @kingrob76 who as I recall bought it direct from the old country originally. Perhaps he can elaborate on how that worked....

Thomann Music. 30 second glance tells me the price is the same as Music and Arts when shipping is factored in, but I could be wrong. Shipping was much cheaper in 2021 and 2022. Being somewhat closer to the point of production seems to help with availability....

[Three Valves]

I found top loading bags to be a pain, and I AM a big tall type.

Someone did show me a technique where you stand the bag up again the back of chair and fold the lid over the chair, holding the bag upright like a trash can, and you can use both hands and arms to elevate the tuba into the bag. That did help soften my heart toward the bags, but I still prefer the side loaders

That’s what I do with my Gard.

[peterbas]

How I use top loader bag.
Put tuba on bell.
Grab handle with right hand, lid with the left hand.
Wiggle it over the tuba.
Lift the tuba with the right with the elbow pointing toward the end of the bag so you get some rotation, the left hand grabs the bell to help the rotation.
But bag bottom bow on the floor.
Rotate bag quarter turn to the left, use your knees to keep the bag steady.
Put lid on the bell and close the zippers.
Done.

Should be ready to go half way reading through the text, and try to keep the tuba+bag as close as possible to your body to minimize any strain.