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Dog Bowl Mute

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:31 pm
by yoink
I read an article a while ago about someone making tuba mutes out of metal dog bowls and using cork board strips for the padding. I was thinking about making one of these but I have been unable to find the article or anything that might help me make one. I was wondering if anyone has ever has made one or has some specifications for making one. If you have neither but have some ideas on how I could go about this they are also welcome.

Re: Dog Bowl Mute

Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:51 am
by yoink
*Bump*

Re: Dog Bowl Mute

Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 10:03 pm
by glangfur
Years ago I was on an orchestral tour with John Manning, who had flown with his Yamaha 621 and didn't have room to pack a mute in the flight case. We were playing The Firebird Suite, which of course has a muted passage. He found a large (64 oz.) stainless steel dog bowl at a Big Lots and gave it a try, and it worked like a charm. He just held it over the bell at an angle so that he could control how much it was covering and therefore how muted it was and how much it changed the pitch. It worked so well he went back and bought one for me as a gift. I haven't needed a mute yet in my limited tuba career, but when I do...

Best of all, they were $2.99 apiece.

Re: Dog Bowl Mute

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:55 am
by 1895King
I made one about 3 years ago, It was easy to do. I got a thick plastic dog bowl, drilled a hole in the center for a piece of rope to pull it out of the bell, and glued three pieces of old fan belting to the sides for pads. It worked well. I'll include it if someone buys the Miraphone 186 I have for sale.