Posted by Joe S. on September 27, 1999 at 07:57:24:
In Reply to: Help how can I build a tuba mute posted by Paul on September 26, 1999 at 23:55:51:
I am certain that if you are considering building your own mute that you probably do not want to pay the steep price for an electronic practice mute product called "Silent Brass" and made by Yamaha. (pssst: I sell them heavily discounted, but they are still expensive.)
Another company, Humes & Berg, that makes all of the funky white mutes with red ends probably makes a tuba practice mute. (ALL of the air/sound goes INTO the mute, through some sound-deadening junk (wadded up cloth, batting, or something like that), and out a small hole in the end of the mute.) With ANY practice mute device, you will feel a good bit more resistance than under normal playing conditions.
I assume that your time is valuable, and although it might be a fun project to design and construct a practice mute, it would be quicker and easier to buy the Yamaha thing or the Humes & Berg thing from me or someone else who sells these items at a very low mark-up.
Anytime ANYone offers ANYthing for sale on this BBS, high school boys start posting anonymously accusing whomever of being a cheat or a crook. Please e-mail me privately if you are interested in purchasing a mute. Otherwise, I'm sure that someone who has made one at home will post and tell you how they did it and how much success they had with their finished product. I will tell you than in general, an acoustical (non-electronic) practice mute for ANY brass instrument has to have a cork all the way around it in order to force ALL of sound INTO the mute, and you will need either one or several muffled escape passages for the sound near the top end of the practice mute. (You might be able to convert a "dog" regular straight mute into an OK practice mute, if one is available.)
If you procede with your project, I'm sure than many would be interested in seeing a picture of it posted here when you are done, alone with your self-evaluation of your endeavor.