Practice mute poll

[Shuford]

Looking to buy a practice mute to buy and use while visiting relatives over the holidays. Not looking to get a Silent Brass, it works but it's too bulky for seldom use. I'm wondering if anybody has used any of the others like Trumcor or Dennis Wick with decent results? Any constructive feedback would be great.

[bort]

I've had a Schlipf mute before... they are not cheap, but they are VERY nice!

[Shuford]

Cool. Do you have the practice or the tour if you don't mind me asking? I'll be traveling for the holidays so I'm thinking maybe the tour mute but I'm not sure if it travels well inside the bell, the website says so but customer testimony is invaluable.

[ppalan]

I have the Denis Wick practice mute. It works great in my Eb (YEB-321). It's useless in my Miraphone 186 CC. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that its designed specifically for Eb though so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise.
Pete

[bort]

I used to have the practice mute. It also was easily transportable, it maybe stuck 1 inch out the top of the bell, if even that!

[tuba.bobby]

Denis Wicks aren't really 'travel' mutes, you certainly can't just shove it in the bell, and IMOH there are better and cheaper alternatives.

[Alex C]

I have an older Trumcor mute and it blows freely and sucks up sound at the same time. Newer ones have a few more bells and whistles but work about the same.

[bisontuba]

Hi-
I wish someone in this country carried Voigt practice mutes--the little one for the Travel tuba is absolutely amazing!!
Mark

[John Banther]

I have the Travel Mute from Schlipf, and it is fantastic. When folded it sits inside the bell and can fit in your case/bag like normal.

Mr. Schlipf says that it can also be used as a practice mute. But, I never bothered to figure that out since I have his practice mute as well. So it is worth looking into that possibility as well for you.

If you need a practice mute, buy Schlipf, or don't buy one at all. Nothing comes close.

[tubamuphone]

Maybe I have the wrong model, buy my Schlipf practice mute is not really the be all-end all. After emailing with the maker himself and Lee Stofer, I'm pretty sure I have the right model. I play a rotary Neptune and I'm using a Nr.13 practice mute.

It sort of fits, somewhat muffles the sound, but It's not quiet like the Denis Wick practice mutes. Those are basically silent and they seem to affect the pitch less (at least on F tuba and euphonium). This one will fit in my horn in the gig bag, which is nice. It dampens the sound and provides resistance, so it's good for training. However, the pitch is bad, the mute is heavy, and it's not a snug fit when it's in the horn, even when I added some cork strips.

FWIW, I've used a trumcor practice mute and it really messed up the pitch (waaay worse, both a tunable one and a non-tunable one). I also have a Wallace practice mute I use on my F and my Alexander 163 CC. It's great but they're basically impossible to find.

Do I like my Schlipf practice mute, yeah, I suppose. Is it worth what i paid for it? No, but I'm open to suggestions on how to improve it.

JB

[Mark]

... my Schlipf practice mute ... somewhat muffles the sound ... I added some cork strips.

I haven't seen a Schlipf practice mute, but I have to question the cork strips. If you added the cork strips to the sides of the mute and they prevent the bottom of the mute from seating completely (sealing) in the bell stack, then the mute will not muffle the sound as much as it should.

[tubamuphone]

Mark,

You're describing exactly what I'm missing with this mute and I think that's part of the problem....it doesn't seal anywhere on the stack, especially at the bottom. The taper is all wrong. The top sits lower than the edge of my bell when it's in, so it's somewhat bottomed out and I can wiggle the entire mute from side to side.

The mute came with some strips of velcro where cork should go, so I made some really thin cork strips, which add approximately 1/4" to the three points where one would expect cork (two layers of velcro and a think strip of cork). I've used more cork and it pushes the mute out, which reduces the muting effect even more, but helps some with pitch.

There's no snug seal anywhere on the mute, which is very different than my Wallace. My Wallace practice mute has a collar that creates a tight seal around the bell stack. I feel like my Schlipf may be the wrong model of mute for my tuba...?

[bort]

Sounds like you have the wrong size Schlipf. When I had one for my 1291, it bottomed out and left the top of the mute about 1 inch (a little less) over the top of the bell. Don't think I ever took a picture of that, or I'd post one here.

I've never really used another brand of mute, but the Schlipf was very quiet, a little top heavy (but not too bad), and the pitch was great. Best part of it was that it actually seemed to improve my practice with centering pitches. Without all that resonance and cool tuba sound to distract your ears, you get to focus really closely on the beginnings of the notes. But... maybe that's true of all practice mutes. Like I said, I've only ever tried the one.

[Mark]

I feel like my Schlipf may be the wrong model of mute for my tuba...?

It does sound like it is the wrong size. Have you asked the dealer?

[Scott Sutherland]

I'm sorry to hear that there are some that don't like the Trumcorp. I have the F practice mute for my Yamaha 822 and it allows me to practice in airports and hotels while on tour. I love mine!

[tubamuphone]

I have not contacted the vendor. At this point, it's too much of a hassle. My schlipf practice works for what I need it to do. It's not ideal, but it muffles the sound and I sound better once I take it out.

I have an outstanding Trumcor straight mute, I just couldn't get their stealth mute to work for me pitch-wise. My tubas are also very different than an 822 (Alex, PT10, and a Neptune). This brings up perhaps the most important part of the thread. Not all mutes are equal, nor are tubas....practice mutes will never feel great. You may want to try a few combinations before settling on one.

[bort]

Has anyone done a direct A/B comparison of Wallace and Schlipf practice mutes? Time for Bort to get another mute, and though the Schlipf is my first choice, but curious about Wallace now too.

[bort]

Has anyone done a direct A/B comparison of Wallace and Schlipf practice mutes? Time for Bort to get another mute, and though the Schlipf is my first choice, but curious about Wallace now too.

[Lectron]

Two Schlipfs......I've stopped searching for anything better