Mutes

Mutes, as well as simply making your instrument quieter can also change the tone colour produced.

There are various different types of common mutes.

straight Mute The most common mute, it makes the sound quieter, thinner and slightly shrill (some describe it as "nasal").

Cup Mute

This looks like a straight mute with a cap on the end, giving the instrument a softer, muffled sound. Some Cup mutes (such as the Denis Wick) are "adjustable" whereby the distance of the "cup" from the instruments bell can be adjusted to make the sound bigger or smaller.

Harmon Mutes

These are also known as ET mutes, bubble mutes or Wa-Wah Du-all mutes depending upon which manufacturer you choose. With this kind of mute the bell is closed off entirely with the sound coming out of a small hole in the mute only.

This produces a sound like a straight mute with a more "metallic" edge. Adjusting the "pipe" on the bottom of the mute further changes the effect of the mute.

Plunger Mutes

These mutes create the "doo-wah" effects used in Jazz music. This same effect can be made using a hat (known as a Derby mute).

Bucket Mutes

Also known as "Velvet-Tone" mutes these (bucket shaped) mutes contain soft muffling material that makes the instrument sound soft, smooth and velvety.

Stopping Mutes

These are a specialist French horn mute which replace the hand for the traditional "hand-stopping" effect As an added bonus they give an exact semi-tone transposition every time.

Materials

Most mutes are made of aluminium, this produces a brighter sound than wood or fibreglass. Some metal mutes have copper ends making the sound more full.

Makes

The most popular models in the UK probably come from Denis Wick, although Humes and Berg is particularly popular with Jazz musicians and Jo-Ral has a following amongst more orchestral based players.

All these makes are freely available (although the Humes & Berg supply can sometimes be a little sporadic). There are other very good makes available such as Tom Crown and Peter Gane but we generally do not recommend them due to very poor availability.

Yamaha Silent Brass systems

A step on from the traditional mute is the Yamaha "silent brass" system. This consists of an (almost) silent "pick up" mute that is connected to an electronic box of tricks. This feeds the sound back to you through earphones.

A truly fantastic invention, the silent brass system (now available for all brass instruments) has completely revolutionised practice for many city dwellers, players with young families and frequent travellers.

The secret of its popularity is the ability to hear your playing at a normal volume, whilst others only hear a whisper - thus eliminating the resistance from over-blowing which characterises most other practice mutes.

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The internal electronics can also enhance the sound digitally, to mimic the acoustics of a larger room - with a choice of "clean" or "echo enhanced" sound.

You can also play along with your favourite pre-recorded music by plugging in a CD player and use the output jack to connect to an external amplifier or recorder.

The mutes are also available separately - so you can use your system for more than one instrument.

The silent Brass systems comes as a package with everything you need to get started:

• Mute
• Personal studio
• Cables
• Belt loop
• Earphones
• Battery
• Case/bag (PM1 & PM2 only)

An added extra available is the ST5 digital effect System for wind instruments. This device adds a new dimension to the silent brass system.

A range of 32-high resolution digital effects including reverbs, delays, distortion, pitch change, modulation, dynamics and 4 band EQ can be used -up to 6 at a time -to alter and enhance your sound.

50 preset effect programmes are provided, and memory for 50 user programmes lets you store your own creations.

The built-in tuner, metronome with rhythm patterns, and phrase sampler, make the ST5 a powerful practice tool. Inputs for external sources such as recordings allow real-time pitch-change so you can play along with any music.

A case must protect your valuable instrument when being transported and stored, yet should remain lightweight and compact so as to make carrying it around as practical and pleasurable as possible. In addition a case should look and feel good and hopefully have additional space for keeping music and other spares and accessories. Cases and bags can be divided into three main categories. WeÕve listed the popular makes of each sort.

Traditional Cases

Made from wood or moulded plastic frames, these are the cases your new instrument will come in. Designed to fit your specific instrument these are strong and safe - but sometimes a little heavy or cumbersome. WeÕve listed the replacement cases for popular instruments.

Gig Bags

Made from either leather or synthetic material (with heavy padding on the inside), these bags are designed for maximum practicality for players on the move. They are lightweight and compact and can be carried on the shoulder or as a backpack. The drawback is an inherent reduced level of protection (even with the best quality bags).

The most popular gig bags available are the Vincent Bach range. These come in either leather or fabric and offer both quality and value.

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Hybrid case/bags

A number of manufacturers (notably BAM and Pro Tec) offer cases, which combine the protection of a case with the practicality of a bag. These are produced using lightweight moulded foam, which is covered in a fabric or leather outer protection. The result is a lightweight, compact, safe and stylish case.

A word about Colours!

A number of the bags and cases listed come in a variety of colours. We generally only stock bags in black (as this is by far the most popular option), all other colours are to special order.

Valve Oil

To keep valves working properly there is a whole range of oils available. Each player will have their favourite, with popular brands being Besson, Al-Cass and Blue Juice. For rotary valves care should be taken to use a specialist "light" oil (such as Superslick key and rotary oil) - which has a "needle" allowing oil to be applied with precision to difficult spots.

Tuning Slide Grease For valve slides again there are a number of brands. We recommend using a silicone based lubricant, rather than a water based one (such as Vaseline) which can dry up causing slides to seize.

Trombone Slide Cream There are a number of specialist trombone slide lubricant systems available (such as "Superslick" and "Slide-O-Mix") these all revolve around coating the inner slide with silicone and then spraying water onto the surface in fine droplets which act like ball bearings between the outer and inner slide.

Cloths

For the exterior of the instrument lacquer and silver cloths are popular items.