Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 8951 Location: Monument, CO
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:37 pm Post subject:
I have the original version and like it quite a bit. _________________ "After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley
I also have the original version, but have long since lost the stethoscope attachment. It was always uncomfortable in my ears and sounded terrible. As a practice mute, it’s fine, and I still use it for that purpose on the rare occasion that it’s needed.
It also works well for working on an even double tongue. The mute seems to amplify in strange things that are happening inside the mouth between t and k — every bit of unevenness is magnified.
I have the all plastic version and it's the only practice mute I own. I got it over 20 years ago during my first trumpet foray.
I haven't used stethoscope attachment in years. It's clunky and uncomfortable. I instead place an earbud in one ear while playing while using the mute (and sometimes use it to listen to a metronome).
It's... okay. I wouldn't give it a ringing endorsement. I don't like how far it sticks out of the bell. I'm not fond of the intonation. If I had need to use a practice mute more than an hour or so a couple times a month, or if I had need to use it for an offstage warmup or something I'd seek out something better.
As it is, I'll just keep using it because it does an okay job for something I don't need very much.
I have one of the very first ones made, being privileged to have known the owner and inventor. He found a niche at the time and had a small operation in Houston that grew to shipping to various parts of the world, actually. I don't know when he stopped making them (presumably he has, anyway), but he went to law school years ago to help raise his family and has been practicing law (instead of trumpet) for years. He had done his undergrad in Trumpet Performance with Jim Austin at the Univ. of Houston and then Masters with Vincent Cichowicz at Northwestern Univ., back when that degree was a one-year Masters program. (As I recall, he placed 1st in the quarterly auditions all three quarters, btw. Very talented player.)
Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 7770 Location: Des Moines, IA area
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 6:41 am Post subject:
I have one. Tried it exactly once, then put it back in its bag. I didn't like the sound, the "stethoscope" in my ears, nor anything else. It's in a box with probably 50 other mutes I've acquired over 60 years.
FWIW- I use a Silent Brass quite a bit, I find it much better if I use the electronics and adjust the volume and reverb to what my ears feel are normal for the amount of effort being used. I use a set of light weight foam ear phones, not the buds. That being said, my prime criticism of the Silent Brass is that it does not seem to differentiate between dynamics, loud to soft to loud as well as I wish it would. For me, using the SB without the electronics is a waste of time and effort as well.
Oh wow, a lot of you picked one of these up back in the day.
Thanks for the additional info and feedback! I'll have to pick up one of the all plastic versions if I see one just to compare.
Seems like the earpiece/stethoscope attachment was equally disliked ... I wonder if there's a store that supplies equipment to Drs/nurses where I could buy a replacement that was more comfortable. I can't imagine no better option exists. _________________ On the road with Under the Streetlamp
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