Correct mute for low brass

December 11, 2009 1:17 PM

What type of mute do I need to buy for a King 625 bell-front Euphonium?

When I search the web for "brass mutes" and variations thereof, I find hundreds of possibilities. Would the hive-mind please point me to the correct mute for this instrument? Thanks in advance.

posted by rumsey monument to media & arts (6 answers total)

Mutes are used for various purposes - mostly to produce specific tibre in the instrument but sometimes to just quiet the instrument for practice in close quarters. We need to know what type of mute you are looking for before we can assist you in choosing the proper one.
posted by greekphilosophy at 1:40 PM on December 11, 2009

"sometimes to just quiet the instrument for practice in close quarters"

this one. :)
posted by rumsey monument at 1:49 PM on December 11, 2009

This looks about right. But I always wanted to test out the "Silent Brass" line of practice mutes.
posted by greekphilosophy at 2:16 PM on December 11, 2009

I think you may be screwed by that bell-front, unfortunately.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:39 PM on December 11, 2009

Eek, yeah, just noticed that. But it looks like someone makes the right type of mute that you're looking for. Sadly, the author doesn't mention who...
posted by greekphilosophy at 2:53 PM on December 11, 2009

The keyword you're looking for is "practice mute" -- made by a zillion manufacturers, at different levels of effectiveness. The one made by Best Brass is pretty bell-dimension-agnostic, since it doesn't go very far into the bell flare. It also works really well, at least on trombones.

To really get a good fit on an instrument that unusual, you should probably just call a good dealer and talk to them. Dillon (linked above) is one of the go-to sources on the East coast. Most reputable places have generous return policies, so you can probably buy a few options and return the ones that don't fit well.
posted by range at 8:32 AM on December 12, 2009