Making a Mute

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 3:36 pm

Does anybody have any experience/advice in regards to making a practice mute for a standard, 4/4 tuba? I've gotten into the bad habit of practicing late into the night, and I don't want to disturb my family/neighbors at 12:30 AM. I want to build a mute that prevents anyone from hearing me without being in the same room as me. Thanks.

Michael Bush · Post by **Michael Bush** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 5:01 pm

I have done it, and so has the elephant, who gave me excellent advice. If you search around, you'll find my thread about it, to which he contributed so helpfully.

One thing I would say is it is hard to overestimate how much interior volume you must end up with for it to play in tune. When it was bigger than I thought it could possibly need to be, it still made the horn play sharp.

It was a good learning experience for me and I'm glad I did it. Still ended up buying one, though.

Rotaryclub · Post by **Rotaryclub** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 5:12 pm

Until you manufacture the perfect practice mute, try draping a towel over the bell (folded if need be). I do this in hotel rooms on tour and it plays/sounds EXACTLY like a tuba practice mute (crappy).

Not pretty but it will get you going right away.

ppalan · Post by **ppalan** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:58 pm

Rotaryclub wrote:Until you manufacture the perfect practice mute, try draping a towel over the bell (folded if need be).

+1
Additionally, I have an Alteri top-loading gig bag that has an interior padded bell cover. It works as well as a towel on a gig to warmup before starting or after a break plus its already there and not one more thing to remember. It does, however, raise the pitch about a half step but quiets the sound pretty well.
Pete

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 11:51 am

I think I may just buy one. I've been looking around, and those Trumcor Stealth mutes look good. Anybody have one/played one?

nycbone · Post by **nycbone** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:13 pm

**********

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:44 pm

nycbone wrote:I might be in the market for one of these, but noticed on the web site:
https://www.trumcor.com/shop?product_ca ... Tuba+Mutes" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
that stealth mutes are ****CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE due to REDESIGN****

I haven't checked whether or not my favorite dealers still stock the old design.

FYI...

Edit: I just sent an inquiry to Trumcor. I'll post again if they respond.

It seems that WWBW and Musician's Friend both have it in stock.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/brass-in ... 0432136707" target="_blank

http://www.wwbw.com/Trumcor-Standard-St ... 26680.wwbw" target="_blank

But if the new design is on the way, I'd be very interested to buy that.

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 2:22 pm

KiltieTuba wrote:http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/tuba/TubaMutes.html

This is a straight mute that one would use in concert, no? I'm looking for a method to make a practice mute so I can't be heard outside of the practice room.

Antontuba · Post by **Antontuba** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:49 pm

Years ago I was told to use a pillow as a practice mute (and did, worked fine).

Adam

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:20 pm

Antontuba wrote:Years ago I was told to use a pillow as a practice mute (and did, worked fine).

Adam

Yes, but wouldn't that make me sharp? I want to stay in tune.

Jess Haney · Post by **Jess Haney** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:49 pm

I made mine out of plastic pots glued together with contact cement

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:30 am

tank wrote:I made mine out of plastic pots glued together with contact cement

Can you elaborate? Do I need cork? How exactly sized does this thing need to be to play in tune? I obviously need to cut a hole in the bottom of it, no?

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:46 am

I have experimented twice with building my own mutes.

Doing it well is not as simple as one would think that it is. Yes, there are "things" you can do to make your tuba quiet such as use pillows, blankets, dog bowls, etc, but moving beyond those sorts of things into a real "looks like a mute / works like a mute" situation has been more difficult. With tuba playing characteristics that vary so much along with bell sizes that vary so much, there are not good step-by-step instructions out there to follow. It's a lot of trial and error and easy to end up with a pile of ruined material as you try to get it right.

It has been my experience that by the time I rounded up the necessary materials, developed the pattern to use, and actually spent the time to build the thing that I could have just bought a commercially available product, especially a used version off TubeNet. That's even more true when you don't already have the tools to do the job...if you've got to go buy the most basic of tools, you might as well just buy the mute.

Then there are the results. Every time I built one (and I completed two), they were not as good as mutes that one can buy off the shelf. Even when I tried to build copies of successful mutes, it didn't really work out that well.

I now own three mutes: a Schlipf practice mute (well worth the investment for the practice situation I was in at the time), a Ion Balu straight mute, and a no-name, well worn, Tennessee Tech style (although I don't think they actually made it) straight mute that fits my F tuba well. Of those, I like and have used the Balu mute the least...I just don't think it's the straight mute sound that I'm into but I already own it and it gets the job done well enough in the infrequent situations in which I need a straight mute in my big tuba.

As for the "in tune" thing...every mute will make your instrument go at least a little sharp. Even the "best" ones. That's what you've got tuning slides for.

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:22 pm

Ah...that is unfortunate. I guess I'll have to go and test all the ones for sale and decide for myself.

nycbone · Post by **nycbone** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:52 pm

**********

Zaphod Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod Beeblebrox** » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:18 pm

nycbone wrote:My Q & A with Trumcor:

Q:
Hi,

I see that the Stealth mutes for tuba are in the process of being
redesigned. Do you have a target date for when they will be available?
Can you tell me about the differences between the new and old mutes?

Thanks,

A:
We are not sure when a completely new design for all sizes will occur. The problem stealth mute is for F tubas. We have heard from several customers about its ineffectiveness and decided to stop making it in the current design.

The medium C and large CC stealth mutes are more reliable and still available if you are interested. The only problem now is that the person who makes these mutes to order is currently out of town, and it will be a few weeks before I could get one made and sent to you.

FYI

Thank you! I appreciate the help very much. Now I must decide whether or not to buy one of these things, since I've heard great and terrible reviews of it.

TubeNet

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