Hi all, looking for help for a particular mute. I’m looking for a practice mute where blowing resistance is as close to the open horn as possible. So far I’m seeing the salt shaker a the soft-tone mutes are the closest to this.

I don’t need the mute to be dead quiet, just quieter so I don’t disturb my neighbors in my apartment. Looking for more open/even blow resistance so I can practice with this A LOT without getting fatigued mentally/physically. Thanks

I am a big fan of the Bremner "shhh" line of mutes. IMHO very free blowing and on pitch. Someone I play with is head over heels for the Rejano practice mutes.

I do not have any experience with the Salt shaker mutes, and will say that being able to try a practice mute before you buy it is a real help.

I just picked up one of Ben's Practice Mutes (https://benspracticemute.com/) for tenor, and it plays great. I haven't tried as many practice mutes as I'm sure some here have, but I've spent some time on the Yamaha Silent Brass, Bremner's Sshh, Rejano 1st gen, and Best Brass - I prefer Ben's mute to all of those. The response is more even across the full range, and I feel less back-pressure. Intonation seems generally good and volume reduction is great. They're a bit pricey to get here in the US.

The Salt Shaker mute, while not designed to be a practice mute, can work great to cut down on the sound and is very free blowing with good intonation. I have a customer or two who use them when warming up at gigs etc just to cut some of the sound. Its also great in ins intended role, as a velvet tone/stand in for bucket mute.

If you were to use it as a practice mute of sorts, the removable/adjustable cork system and felt system are great features that let you experiment to get the sound/volume you want.

I've got a Rejano (2nd generation) on the way. Everyone who has one has raved about it to me.

Jim Scott

PS - Sh... mute is pretty good too

I really like the blue Wallace practice mute, though I think they're now made by Voigt. The smaller compact one is nice and convenient for travel, but not quite as enjoyable.

Just by coincidence, my Rejano arrived at my opera rehearsal tonight. I partnered up with a friend on an order to save on shipping.

It's the 2nd generation - softer, more in tune and 3D printed using a softer material that resists cracking when dropped. My first impression is that it's really great - I think it's the best practice mute I've played on. Really quiet, in tune, plays the range (including pedals), lightweight so it doesn't make the horn front heavy. Low profile too, so it should fit in the bell in most cases.

I'm pretty confident in recommending them.

Jim Scott

I am practicing largely with a mute for the last 6-7 years now and have a bit of a collection with multiple options from alto to contrabass (and euphonium).

I got a full set of Ben's Practice Mute last year. In my experience:

- Overall very good response, really pleasant sound (which is important if you are using it a lot), really light and quite small/mostly in the bell

- However there is one downside: At least for me it substantially "shortens" the octaves, high range becomes considerably flat

So I mostly got back to the Sssshhh mutes which I used before. They are considerably heavier - which is tiring especially on a horn that is already unbalanced in itself. They may sound a little more unpleasant and are obviously much larger. But intonation is the best I found in practice mutes until now and also response and playing feel are the very good across the full range.

Also I have started simply using H&B cup mutes. This can be an alternative if it can be a little louder. May feel even more natural/open. However these mutes typically have some (low) notes that do not slot properly. May be better with other cups.

I also have the Softone, but use it almost exclusively as bucket replacement. As a practice mute it is not really good imo.

The regular Wick practice mute is very heavy, the travel mute may be worth a try depending on the instrument.

I own the best brass for tenor and bass, but don't really use it anymore.

Also the Wick EUPHONIUM travel mute is ... bad. Response and sound are somewhat ok. But intonation is so bad - at least on my instrument.

For anyone needing the best practice mute for euph or tuba then Schlipf are the best imho

https://www.tuba-mute.com/

:good: I’ve had one of these for a while, made me give my Best brass one away.

https://onomutes.com/

[quote="Fidbone"]:good: I’ve had one of these for a while, made me give my Best brass one away.

https://onomutes.com/[/quote]

Anyone in the US bought an ONO Mute? Not sure where they are shipped from. Since the De Minimus rule was ended what was the tariff?

[quote="kenkugler"]<QUOTE author="Fidbone" post_id="293536" time="1769782071" user_id="3132">
:good: I’ve had one of these for a while, made me give my Best brass one away.

https://onomutes.com/[/quote]

Anyone in the US bought an ONO Mute? Not sure where they are shipped from. Since the De Minimus rule was ended what was the tariff?
</QUOTE>

They are made and shipped from the Netherlands