Mike McLean Mutes

[DelVento]

Has anybody tried using the Mike McLean "three-in-one" mutes?

It can fit in your bell, and becomes a practice mute, straight mute, and "bigger" straight mute.

Any thoughts?

-John

[imperialbari]

I won mine in a UK eBay auction, where I only bid the opening sum. Mine is the version for British Eb tubas like the Besson 981, Besson New Standard, and hence also my old Boosey F comper as all of these are made on the same mandrel only differing in the amount of bell flare. As a bonus it also works in my 1970 Besson BBb comper, and to my immense surprise also in my narrow 1870 Besson Eb tuba. Of course it goes much deeper down in the BBb bell than in the bell of the small Eb tuba. But where my H&B Stonelined practice mute topples out of the small Eb tuba bell, the McLean sits securely also because it is made out of lightweight glassfiber.

I haven’t tested the pitch of this mute, but it is very well in tune with itself in scales and intervals. The straight set-up is brighter sounding than my Ion Balu straight mutes, but that hardly is a surprise with the relatively dark and non-edgy muted sound of the Balu mutes. The McLean mute doesn’t approach brassiness. Maybe it would, if I pushed it violently, but I rarely do that. Response is very alive for the straight setup as well as for the practise setup.

Mike McLean is easy to communicate with. As the 4 modules can be stored inside each other, I hardly believed the small size of the packet it arrived in.

I like this mute way better than the Yamaha and Stonelined practice mutes for tubas. For euph I will stay with my Yamaha practice mute.

Klaus