Reducing volume, small group

[Tivolian]

I started playing (amateur) with a few other geezers in a jazz quartet, with tenor sax, keyboards, and drums. It's all acoustic, no mics. The sax player has politely complained a couple of times that I'm too loud, especially since we have a little gig coming up where people will be mixing, chatting while we play. So, my question is whether there are recommendations for mutes that would reduce my volume but let as much pure trumpet sound as possible come through. Thanks in advance.
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Tivolian

[ayryq]

I would play with mutes that don't necessarily give you a "pure trumpet sound". Cup mutes can be very jazzy. Harmon of course, bucket, even a felt bag over your bell (à la Crown Royal).

That said, if you're overplaying a live drummer, you can probably afford to back off a bit.
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[starkadder]

This: https://soulomute.com/product/trumpet-bucket-mute/

[Tivolian]

[mrhappy]

[trickg]

I seriously doubt if you are too loud - sounds like the sax player is an @$$.

With that in mind, there's almost nothing you can do to get the pure sound of the trumpet to come through if you are muting it. For that particular gig, swap out between straight, cup, harmon and bucket mutes, depending on the tune and the timbre you think would work best.

There's also the option of playing into a hat mute - a friend of mine had cobbled together a setup where he had his hat mute mounted to a base of a wire music stand, so to engage the mute, he simply had to point his bell into the hat.
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Patrick Gleason
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[kehaulani]

My first choice would be a flugelhorn.

Please don't be offended, but you called yourselves "old geezers". Can part of the problem be that you've suffered hearing loss over time? If so, you might be thinking you're blowing at one volume when it is, in actuality, another volume? Maybe overcompensating and not realizing it.
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Adams F-1 Flghn

[mrhappy]

[kehaulani]

[Tivolian]

[kehaulani]

Just mentioned auditory assessments because I thought it might be overlooked. In that case, even finding the right mute might not be the solution to the true problem. My bad.
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[oljackboy]

Flugelhorn. Harmon-muted trumpet. But very hard for a sax player to play softly enough to blend with Harmon-muted trumpet. I have a Peter Gane bucket that I like a lot for small venues.

[kehaulani]

[nieuwguyski]

I use cornet for gigs like that, use mutes (cup and bucket mostly) and accept that the horn will sound muted, play softly, and avoid playing above the staff.

And if a sax player kept telling me I was too loud when I was doing all that, I'd wish him well and wish him well away from me. And then I'd walk out.
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J. Notso Nieuwguyski

[TrumpetMD]

[JonathanM]

I echo the above comments about the Soulo mute. I think it's the least muted sound (reduces volume but minimally [if this makes sense]) and alters the tone less than any other mute I've found.

Although this isn't what you asked, I remember a video of Trent Austin playing his TA TF (Trent Austin Trumpet Flugel) mouthpiece. He said something like, 'When the conductor is giving you the hand (as in 'you're too loud!'), this is a great option. I have a TA TF and it's great. Not the huge throat like many TF pieces, I'd guess perhaps a 24or 25 hole, but with a deep V it is marvelous at making a trumpet more palatable - without sounding too much like a flugel. I can still play easily up to a high C and even beyond - it's a tremendous mouthpiece. Any TF piece might be help for you in this situation.

You know some of these sax players though... Anything that rivals them for volume is often too loud.
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[jazz_trpt]

I sometimes go to a C/V-cup hybrid moutpiece in those situations, makes it feel a little more natural to back off.
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Jeff Helgesen
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[bike&ed]

This sounds like my average gig. I use cornet a lot because I get noticeably less volume for the same effort compared to my trumpet, and the overtone spectrum is more pleasing to many of the ’geezers’ I play for (no, cornet is not easier to play, actually it’s a little harder to play accurately). Flugel sometimes, but its tone quality isn’t right for many pop tunes. Find a way to have fun while playing softer instead of considering it a chore, you’ll make the band and audience happy, you’ll be happier, and you’ll get more gigs!

[Tivolian]

Thanks a lot to everyone for the replies and suggestions. I ordered a soulo bucket mute, which I tried last night and it sounds pretty good. I think what I'll do is a combination of unmuted trumpet (but backing off as much as feels comfortable), the bucket mute, and flugel, according to the sound I'd like to get for each piece. Now, it's back to work on improving my improvisation.
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Tivolian

[Richard III]

Changing your life. Use a medium bore cornet. Less energy in, less out. Full spectrum of sound at just a lower volume. Sit back and enjoy the good life without struggle. Add a mute and really get expressive. Just sayin'.
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Richard

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