euphonium practice mute vs. silent brass

pgiampi1 · Post by **pgiampi1** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:45 pm

i had quite a bit of experience with silent brass this summer and liked it alright. the amplifier device sounded so badly however that i didn't bother with it at all.

i'm moving into a condo in january and, although by some coincidence the woman living upstairs is deaf (!), i would like to have an option for practicing with less sound production. since i didn't use the electronic features of the silent brass system, would a humes and berg practice mute work just as well? does anyone have experience with this? also, would it work well with a bigger horn? (i play a willson 2950)

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:01 am

Not familiar with the H&B, but over here the Denis Wick DW5512 is the most popular for euphonium;

http://www.deniswick.com/practical_aid.cfm

I've had these for many years for all my pupils.

CB

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:32 am

On the advice of "highams" I have purchased a Denis Wick mute and use it all the time . It is well worth the investment .

9811matt · Post by **9811matt** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:33 am

I've got the Silent Brass, Denis Wick, and the new "Warm UP" mute from Best Brass / slidebone.com.

If you've already got the Silent Brass, I wouldn't feel the need to go out and get another mute... I started with the Wick, and thought I'd use the electronics on the Yamaha when I moved to an apartment; never really did.

Yamaha - Slightly woody/hollow sound. Good intonation, response. Heavy.

Wick - Good intonation and response. "Zings" pretty easily in the high register. Lots more backpressure than Yamaha.

Best Brass - Fits entirely in the bell, and can be stored in the horn... Light weight, quiet. Designed be the same person as Silent Brass. Intonation in and below the staff is not good. Pitch center is a mile wide, and below an F4 it REALLY sharp. But extended practice is not the intent. Lets you practice informally, and like the name says, "Warm Up". If I need to practice at home SITTING DOWN, I'll use the Yamaha (sans electronics), but for everyday, everywhere, I've got the Best Brass handy. Expensive.

pgiampi1 · Post by **pgiampi1** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:36 am

i probably should have specified that i don't own silent brass, i only borrowed it. i own a denis wick mute but i don't think it would be an ideal practice mute.

Bob Mosso · Post by **Bob Mosso** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:44 am

pgiampi1 wrote:i own a denis wick mute but i don't think it would be an ideal practice mute.

I added a piece of plastic tubing around my DW mute, just above the corks. The thickness of the tubing is slightly less than the thickness of the corks. It's now a convertable practice/straight mute.

pgiampi1 · Post by **pgiampi1** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:56 am

wow, i really like the idea of the sclipfs touring mute...any idea where i can buy this is the US?

quinterbourne · Post by **quinterbourne** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:06 pm

I've heard that the Yamaha silent brass is a whole lot more effective with a proper set of headphones instead of what is included with the product.

You'd think as such an expensive price, they'd be able to include better headphones.

imperialbari · Post by **imperialbari** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:14 pm

Wrote a bit on mutes previously:

viewtopic.php?p=137145#137145

viewtopic.php?p=4479#4479

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre