Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:28 am Post subject: Piccolo practice mute
Hey TH,
I recently got the new picc practice mute from Divitt Trumpets, and had the opportunity to chat with him about it's development. This mutes plays with practically no backpressure, and plays extremely well in tune.
This is a picc mute that I will definitely be using.
Joined: 16 Feb 2019 Posts: 354 Location: Rochester, NY
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:35 am Post subject:
Something I don't get is why the surface finish is so rough-looking on these. You see this on the bowl of the S-mute and the Huber mutes too—if I had a 3d-print look like that I'd be double-checking my settings. Somehow Tatu gets a smooth finish (acetone smoothing, maybe?) and the newer-generation S-mute looks a lot better.
I've never seen one of these 3d-printed mutes in person, except for a Hughes practice mute, which looks pretty good on the website but the example I saw was rough.
It turns me off from buying one, honestly.
Separately, I wish some of these folks sold STL's so I could print my own, though I can definitely see why they don't want to do that. _________________ Yamaha YTR6345HGS Bb
Bach "Philly" C
Bach 239 Eb/D
DEG Signature 2000 Bb/A picc
Yamaha YTR-9835 Bb/A picc
Yamaha Bobby Shew flugel
Yamaha Neo cornet
Something I don't get is why the surface finish is so rough-looking on these. You see this on the bowl of the S-mute and the Huber mutes too—if I had a 3d-print look like that I'd be double-checking my settings. Somehow Tatu gets a smooth finish (acetone smoothing, maybe?) and the newer-generation S-mute looks a lot better.
I've never seen one of these 3d-printed mutes in person, except for a Hughes practice mute, which looks pretty good on the website but the example I saw was rough.
It turns me off from buying one, honestly.
Separately, I wish some of these folks sold STL's so I could print my own, though I can definitely see why they don't want to do that.
I purposefully add a fuzzy texture to the mute.
3d printing a perfectly smooth model with no heat bubbles or z seams showing is very difficult, and not worth the effort. The fuzzy mutes look better than the smooth versions.
Joined: 16 Feb 2019 Posts: 354 Location: Rochester, NY
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:15 am Post subject:
Divitt Trumpets wrote:
I purposefully add a fuzzy texture to the mute.
3d printing a perfectly smooth model with no heat bubbles or z seams showing is very difficult, and not worth the effort. The fuzzy mutes look better than the smooth versions.
Thanks for answering. That makes sense, and I agree it's a ton of effort to get a clean print, especially on a concave curve like the bottom of your practice mute. I use a dehydrator/warmer and still have to adjust for varying filament thickness even on the same spool.
As I said, I've never handled one of your mutes, but I imagine the texture makes them easier to use/handle as well.
I had a look at the S-mute website just now and it looks like his cup bowl is actually some sort of flexible material—I've never printed with that sort of filament so I'm not sure what pitfalls there are. _________________ Yamaha YTR6345HGS Bb
Bach "Philly" C
Bach 239 Eb/D
DEG Signature 2000 Bb/A picc
Yamaha YTR-9835 Bb/A picc
Yamaha Bobby Shew flugel
Yamaha Neo cornet
I purposefully add a fuzzy texture to the mute.
3d printing a perfectly smooth model with no heat bubbles or z seams showing is very difficult, and not worth the effort. The fuzzy mutes look better than the smooth versions.
If I sold the STL then it wouldn't be a business for very long. There's already someone who's copied my mute and trying to sell them, without me selling the STL
I have one of Ewan's picc practice mutes. Really can't sing enough praises about it. Response, resistance & pitch are the best of any picc practice mute I've tried, and I've tried probably everything available on the market.
The texture is ideal. Easy to grab and control the mute. And I think it looks great!
Ya can't beat the price, either. In a day when a lot of mutes are pushing $100 +, $45 is a bargain. Considering how well it plays, it's a steal at $45.
The price of a 3-D printer, materials and even more the time to design, print, test, adjust, reprint...I'm happy to support a small business instead of trying to do it myself. Ewan's customer service is top-shelf, too. _________________ Tim Wendt
Joined: 16 Feb 2019 Posts: 354 Location: Rochester, NY
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 1:15 pm Post subject:
Follow-up question about this mute---I'm thinking of finding something approximating a "whisper mute" for piccolo. Would the Divitt work? This is for on-stage performance, not practice (Maslanka, "A Child's Garden of Dreams", mvt. 4). _________________ Yamaha YTR6345HGS Bb
Bach "Philly" C
Bach 239 Eb/D
DEG Signature 2000 Bb/A picc
Yamaha YTR-9835 Bb/A picc
Yamaha Bobby Shew flugel
Yamaha Neo cornet
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