Mutes

jicetp · Heavyweight Member Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 987

Hi

What are your thoughts on mutes ? Specially Harmon
I mean what brand(s) have your favor and why ?

Yesterday, I had a gig where I played with my Harmon Joral Bubble Copper in a Big Band setting but I was dissapointed with the ' power ' that was lacking from it.
Just did a research on the Net and I noticed this name : the Zinger ! Appealing to me...

Any thoughts appreciated

JiCe

zaferis · Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 3:56 am Post subject:

Interesting,, I never thought the Jo-Ral bubble, especially the copper one, lacked power... quite appropriate for big band, pit and solo work-with or without the stem.
One thing to remember - if you're like me, most of the time that you're muted, it is section work. Important to have a good blend - the same mutes or ones that blend is important! (i.e. Tom Crown straight mutes play great, but sound unique enough that they don't blend well with Wick, Jo-Ral, Vacchiano mutes.)

Zinger is wonderfull.. expensive, but not sure how they blend - a bit more "open" than most harmons ??

The Soulo, is excellent too, I find it sounds very much like the Jo-Ral but weigh a lot less. comes with a plastic stem, sounds fine with the stem in.

So any of those 3 in your bag and you should be golden.

I also carry a Denis Wick Harmon - smaller, more of an "old school" Harmon sound..

To finish the "bag of mutes':

Cup = Stonelined (properly fitted), Denis Wick adjustable, Jo-Ral (especially for my Bach Commercial, which has a slightly larger bell), Warburton Woody, Soulo adjustable (I've added felt to the cup to get a more traditional tone)

Straight = Denis Wick, Jo-Ral (copper bottom), Soulo

Bucket = EAZY Bucket

Plunger = Mutec Plunger, when I get picky (great sound, and big enough to work with a pixie mute)

Solo Tone = Mute Meister "Show Tone"
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Nonsense Eliminator · Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:25 am Post subject:

My sense of the copper Jo-Ral is that it may not sound loud close up, but it projects like crazy. The first time I played it in the orchestra, my wife was sitting across the room and asked me if I got the new mute because it was louder. From where I was sitting, it sounded pretty much the same.
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Turkle · Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:57 am Post subject:

I own a few harmon mutes. My thoughts:

Copper Jo-Ral - I have one of the old ones. It's quite heavy. I agree 100% with Nonsense Eliminator above. It doesn't give you a lot of feedback behind the bell but it is very loud out front. Great mute if you can stand the weight on your horn.

Emo - Extremely lightweight with a ferocious buzz. If you want a mute that cuts through a big band, this one is worth a look. Very responsive and has a very "traditional" harmon sound, so you'll be able to blend with a section when you need to.

Trumcor "Zinger" - the best of both worlds. Great core to the sound like the Jo-Ral, and buzzes like crazy. It does have a very unique sound so I don't think it would blend with a section. However, it's so in tune and has such great soloist tone that it's my go-to for jazz combo work. If you're looking to cut through a big band this one could also be a great choice.

(I never play with big bands any more, so please take the above with that in mind. I play almost exclusively with small combos.)

Finally, the harmon mute in general is meant to be played into a mic. It's quiet by design! If you're trying to cut through a big band without amplification with a harmon mute, you are going to be one unhappy trumpet player. So I just hope you are mic'd up.

I hope the above is helpful! You can never have too many mutes so maybe you should just buy them all and see which you like best.
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kehaulani · Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:58 am Post subject:

I think it's also important to know what overtone range is provided from the mute. Projection with a mute, particularly in a solo setting, can be influenced by whether or not it reinforces upper partials or middle ones.

For the record, my harmon-type mute is also a J-Ral copper mute.
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jadickson · Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:28 am Post subject:

You can listen to most of these on Youtube to get some idea of how they compare. Of course they will sound better in real life.