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Glass straight mute



 
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Louis-Nut
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:46 pm    Post subject: Glass straight mute Reply with quote

Louis Armstrong seems to be using a glass mute in this performance. So I must have one.
Could anyone point me in the right direction?
https://youtu.be/EDg--Bb79YM
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 2:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not sure, but I always thought that was a clear plastic mute. Relistening to the clip you posted, my ear agrees with that guess.

I haven't seen anything like it... it would be fun to try, my "gut" tells me that a glass mute would be heavy and have a dead/dull sound.


cheers.
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TKSop
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

zaferis wrote:
I'm not sure, but I always thought that was a clear plastic mute. Relistening to the clip you posted, my ear agrees with that guess.

I haven't seen anything like it... it would be fun to try, my "gut" tells me that a glass mute would be heavy and have a dead/dull sound.


cheers.


Depends how big the glass is, I guess - if it were fairly thin (think chemistry lab flask kind of thing) then I would've thought it would be manageable... not so much if milk-bottle thick.

I'd have thought the opposite, that it'd sound brittle and nasty...

Still, would agree that clear plastic seems most likely.
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boog
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you want to hear how it sounds, use a glass soft drink bottle. Used to use a "Coke" bottle when I would forget to bring a real one to band practice. A drink bottle actually has a nice sound when you record it. Of course, it ties up your left hand...but so does a plunger.
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lakejw
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Side note: what a performance. Pops!
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Danbassin
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's a clear plastic mute.

I actually picked up one of these (missing one piece of cork) at the Baltimore Brass Co. this summer. I've hesitated to put cut-down modern corks on it, as I've been keeping my eye out for Shastock-sized corks to use, but it plays surprisingly well, even as is.

You can hear that the low register is a bit stuffy (what else is new?), but it's a really unique vintage sound.

-DB
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bike&ed
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have used a beer bottle as a mute once or twice, interesting sound...
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Louis-Nut
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 4:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for the replies everyone. I wouldn’t have realized that it was plastic. Unfortunately they do not seem to be available anywhere new or used.
Daniel Bassin,
It would be great if you could put up some measurements on that mute and possibly pictures. I am planning to improvise something by gluing together plastic containers.
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boog
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Somewhere over the last few years I remember reading a post, I think it was on this site, describing how to build a home-made straight mute with a air-freshener container (maybe Glade?). Sorry I can't remember more, but maybe one of the readers here can recall where this appeared?
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Don Herman rev2
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 6:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

boog wrote:
Somewhere over the last few years I remember reading a post, I think it was on this site, describing how to build a home-made straight mute with a air-freshener container (maybe Glade?). Sorry I can't remember more, but maybe one of the readers here can recall where this appeared?


http://everythingtrumpet.com/gearhead/Renuzit_Practice_Mute.html
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Louis-Nut
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:04 pm    Post subject: Louis Armstrong plastic mute update Reply with quote

I found a conical shaped plastic spray bottle to make the mute from. Here are some photos of the construction:

I cut off the threads.
https://flic.kr/p/2aPmGSC

I cut wine bottle corks to fit the contour of the bottle and my trumpet.
https://flic.kr/p/2aPmGXC

Turned out better than I thought it would. I’m thinking about cutting off the bottom and replacing it with something flat so it doesn’t look so bottley.
https://flic.kr/p/29a2tXj
https://flic.kr/p/29a2tQ5

It fits ok. The initial toots sound pretty promising. I’m not allowed to play in the house, strictly speaking. I’ll upload a video to my YouTube when I get a chance to really play.

If DB or somebody else who owns one of these mutes could show me some photos and specs I would sure appreciate it a lot.

Here’s a photo of the actual mute from the Goodyear show footage:
https://flic.kr/p/2bN8DBk
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benlewis
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pops also uses the clear mute in one of the scenes in the movie High Society...

HTH

Ben
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jazz_trpt
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the back story was that the clear plastic mute was given to Armstrong by Jack Teagarden, but I could be mistaken about that.
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giakara
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 2:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe that he also use the early days the Shastock straight mute .

Regards
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Louis-Nut
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 9:50 pm    Post subject: Plastic bottle mute test Reply with quote

Here’s the first test of my creation. It is amazingly easy to play!
This is my first day of practicing Someday, by Louis Armstrong. I learn songs by ear and just keep feeling my way through them until it sinks in. I apologize for the many mistakes. I will upload Someday again for comparison when I get better at it.
https://flic.kr/p/2aVDP1u

Ben,
The High Society mute does look exactly the same except it has a white bottom. Thanks for the info!
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jimspeedjae
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I made a mute out of a Perrier bottle once.

Good size, good shape. And good sound too.

But way too heavy to use more than a "I wonder what happens if I stick some corks on this thing" kind of thing.
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LarsHusum
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've made one from an Orangina glas bottle.
It has a great mute shape, and it plays with good intonation from top to bottom.
It's supprisingly good, but it is of course made of glas. So it's a bit heavy, and doesn't project.
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Louis-Nut
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I definitely agree with TKSop that a glass mute could only have been thin glass like tempered glass, but glass is seeming more and more unlikely. The mute played by Louis Armstrong on the video above is most likely plastic, as zaferis and TKSop said.

This plastic mute that I made is light as a feather and it sounds closer to what I hear on Louis Armstrong’s recordings than the other mutes I have used.
I would love to get my paws on a real one!
Does anyone know the brand/model they were sold under?
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