Re: Rex Conner tuba mute
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 6:49 pm
Skip Gray had one at UK in his office when I was last there ca. 2014. There has been some remodeling and they seem to be lost. Here's what David Gilbreath says (viewtopic.php?t=63064&p=523810" target="_blank" target="_blank):
Edit: you could always email Skip Gray, too. We always called it "the space ship mute" because it looked like a flying saucer.
I've played with it. It's all metal. Imagine a dome that completely covers your bell, with small turning latches that lock the mute onto the bell. It's about 20" in diameter. There's a small, trumpet bell-shaped, skinny protrusion from the top of the dome that makes it sound like a tuba harmon mute. It's really interesting. Probably hiding in a closet at UK somewhere.davidgilbreath wrote:I studied with Rex Conner at UK (1970-1974) and Dr. Ben Roger Gossick was my Acoustics professor. Rex had quite a collection of mutes that Dr. Gossick had made in the Physics lab (he also had our "Conner" mouthpieces fabricated there). Rex demonstrated the mutes to me during lessons and I recall they were heavy, well made, and interesting (to me) to handle. When Rex retired in 1980-81, the mutes went back to the Physics department.
I asked one of my UK classmates to make inquiries this past Tuesday morning. When he asked, no one seemed to know their collective/individual whereabouts, including Skip Gray.
Dr. Gossick passed away 12 November 1977.
Edit: you could always email Skip Gray, too. We always called it "the space ship mute" because it looked like a flying saucer.
