who want new version of electronic mute: BestBrass & Yam

desmo

hi all,

unfortunately I am forced to use an electronic mute to study at night. I use the bestbrass e-brass. This is a good mute, but the last release was in 2007. If I remember correctly the last update for the yamaha silentbrass was in 2004 ...

do not believe it is time to renew these products?

why we don't start to ask some new version of yamaha and bestbrass?

I'm the only one that use this type of mute?

please partecipaite

razeontherock · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:12 am Post subject:

I have used Yamaha's, and honestly I don't remember if I sold it or not. I found that even though the resistance is surprisingly good for a mute, it still altered the way I played undesirably. Part of that I think, is it would make me sound good in the headphones, even if I didn't actually play well.

This would be a very complex problem to fix! I've heard good things about best brass in general though, so maybe there's is truer to life, tone-wise?

desmo · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:18 am Post subject:

razeontherock · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:25 am Post subject:

Does the sound on the best brass change as you play not as good, and.or also play with better tone? (The Yamaha didn't, although what I heard in the headphones made me think I was playing fine)

Crazy Finn · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:50 am Post subject:

I've got a Silent Brass. I bought it in 1999. I've used with the whole module about 4-6 times. I used just the mute part for a few years as a practice mute until I dug out my old H&B Manny Klein and realized it was just as nice and pretty indestructible.

I'd rather not play in a practice mute, if I don't have to. I haven't really need to use one, well, ever. I did live in an apartment for a few years, but I was also a band director, so I could just practice at school.

I should just sell it and get something for it, if I can find it. It's somewhere in my basement...
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giakara · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 12:45 am Post subject:

Practice with those mutes every day is like to learn to drive with a simulator , when you go out to the real road you crush your car the first ten minutes.......

.

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etc-etc · Heavyweight Member Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 3959

Yes, just as giakara said, these mutes are only good if you plan to perform using them. What you get using an e-mute: the tiny but noticeable delay between the tongue strike and sound coming out of the e-mute, the difference in blow, changes in intonation vs open horn, e-mute amplifier noise and added weight.

Practice whisper notes and quiet playing at home on an open horn, find a place to practice loud, and get a Bremner sshhmute or something similar for all other times.

ChopsGone · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 1377

Just what I need - another gadget to try once and put back in its box. I got sucked in by the Silent Brass idea, but the reality is a big disappointment.
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RandyTX · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 9:25 am Post subject:

I checked "prefear" as well. That is to say, I really don't like playing into a practice mute at all. And the electronic ones ... just one more gizmo I don't need and won't use.

If I absolutely had to use one at some point for noise reduction, I have an ancient Shastock whisper mute that I could drag out of a closet. That said, I'd probably try and get away with a harmon or something instead.

It's not natural to expect a wind instrument to remain completely silent while playing it, so I don't. Seems more potential for harm than good, but I'm sure some people use practice mutes and are happy with the results.

kehaulani · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:01 pm Post subject:

razeontherock · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:17 am Post subject:

I've heard of people using this in performance situations; something about the pickup and the reverb, but not playing muted. Anybody know how that works? (I mean what's the set-up)

As per the above poster, i can see practice benefits; I just found that making a habit out of it affected me negatively. If you're getting in all the fundamental work you need daily on open horn, and jamming along with some great recordings after it's too late to do it any other way? That's the best application for it I can think of.

ChopsGone · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 1377

bagmangood · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:01 am Post subject:

I found that there was a lot less "resistance" when I use my silent brass with high quality headphones.

The sound quality is quite good then - its not a high-end mic, but its a solid pickup.

kehaulani · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 11:28 am Post subject:

etc-etc · Heavyweight Member Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 3959

If you want to play even more silently, use SB and point the bell into a secondary sound absorber (closet full of clothes, or a box with sound-absorbing foam). The box would work by itself, too.

kehaulani · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:13 pm Post subject:

irith · Heavyweight Member Joined: 14 Sep 2008 Posts: 790

I once had a Silent Brass, but stopped using it. First of all, it was a hassle to carry around headphones and the module along with it. It also felt really off to me and sounded too different even with the headphones.

I now have and use the Bremner Sssshhhmute. It is very quiet, and has a lot less resistance. It sounds a bit like a soft Harmon mute. It feels different from open for sure, especially in range extremes, but is a useful tool in a pinch. I also find it helpful as a warmup tool as times.
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Andy Del · Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:03 pm Post subject:

Both of these feel restrictive to me. When I must, I use a Bremner Shhhh! mute. In an effort to reduce the difference betwen the open horn and a practice mute I drilled out the hole it has in the end, added couple more holes and put a few cotton balls into it.

It's now much more free blowing. And it's small.

BUT, when at home, I use a contraption made for me by an Aussie player, Harry Berry when I was in high school. It's a standard harmon mute, but with the stem blocked off by a round piece of fibreboard. A hole (hmmm, twice the size of a mouthpiece throat?) is drilled into the board to allow air out. Fill with cotton balls. Fix the stem so it's extended as far as it goes. This is an amazingly free blowing mute... just a tad delicate.

cheers

Andy
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etc-etc · Heavyweight Member Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 3959