Accessories Saxophone Mutes 101

[Tommy Ng]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPtU3pTQn6g

Is it really that effective??

 

[milandro]

yes and no.

It is very helpful if you are able to play quietly (many beginners find that very difficult to do that) . If you play softly (and in order to do so use the headphones .......unlike the guy in the video, because you will hear yourself better and won't play harder than needed in order to hear yourself!) the sound will be very contained indeed.

The Vibes mute , as opposed to the E-sax mute (the first is a Chinese product the second ,the " original" mute is a Japanese product. Vibes also developed an implement which , put into the bell of your saxophone , will improve response of the low notes.

the two mutes are practically the same with only minor differences . The use of the stand is much recommended

 

[dorono]

Tommy I had a decibal meter with me when I tried the e-sax. It was on an iphone but it is reputed to be to reasonably accurate.

The back ground noise in the shop was about about 60db - I played the saxophone without the mute and it was at around 90-100db (including background noise). Playing with the sax inside the mute it was at about 70db. So the mute cut out about 25db.
Apparently 'a quiet bedroom' (quoting the decibel meter manual) is 40db and an open office is about 65db.

I'm not sure what conclusion can be drawn from this as sound is measure on a logarithmic scale but at 70 db it would be like two people holding a conversation at 1m apart.

I hypothesie therefore that if you were somewhere adjacent (e.g. in another room in your house) in a totally quiet room and someone in the room where you normally practise was holding a conversation then would you be able to hear them? If not then the mute would give total sound proofing.

I'd suggest that in the average house the level of sound would be reduced noticeably but it would still be audible unless the person in the other room had some back ground noise (e.g. television). However for neighbours, though an adjoining semi detached wall, it would probably reduce the sound to close to inaudible.

Steve

Wow, this seems really cool, as the issue isn't so much annoying my wife, who's really cool and probably watching the TV in the next room anyhow, but getting noise complaints from neighbors in my apartment. Any solution that lets you get rid of noise complaints is good in my book. I may have to go out and get these things!

 

[ralphy1976]

i have just received and tested my saxophone mute from those guys :

http://www.sax.co.uk/acatalog/Lebayle_Sax_Mute.html

which consist of 3 parts : 1 in the mouthpiece, when in the neck and one in the horn.

it does what it says on the tin and whilst i think allowing you to blow at full strength. i did not feel that it was affecting the note pitch.

i can really comment on how effective it is over, for instance and hour, as my sax becomes very humid when i play and hitting the right pitch is proving harder and harder, however right off the bat (ie on a dry instrument) this thing was great.

I was even able to hit a G from the start (problem note for me)

if you live in a flat, try it, it is worth it.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Ralphy!

Thank you for providing a review of the mute. I have often wondered what it sounds like when I have seen it - I can blow freely where I am, so not of any actual use, but to have equipment reviews available on the Forum. It must be a challenge muting a sax, considering the number of holes they possess. Trumpet & Trombone is so much easier!

Kind regards
Tom

 

[ralphy1976]

i agree with you : this mute is made of 3 pieces only and you can feel when you blow that you need to put a bit more effort into your blowing.

although it looks a bit flimsy, it is well put together.

is it worth the price based? no, it is far too expensive for what you get, but i am pretty sure that you pay the patent and also the fact that there are not many mutes available on the market.

the alternative is the 300 GBP "shoe Box"

 

[nakedlunch]

I bought one a year ago. Although it seemed to have some effect I could not be bothered with it after a while and resorted in the end to just using a cloth in the bell! This seems effective enough as long as you don't mind missing a couple of bottom notes. Having said that, I have just dug out the 3 piece mute from Lebayle. I will try it again and see if it betters the cloth in the bell.

 

[Rock Lobster]

I bought one a year ago. Although it seemed to have some effect I could not be bothered with it after a while and resorted in the end to just using a cloth in the bell! This seems effective enough as long as you don't mind missing a couple of bottom notes. Having said that, I have just dug out the 3 piece mute from Lebayle. I will try it again and see if it betters the cloth in the bell.

Naked,

I know i will be the only one who wont know but who is the guy in the photo with you?

 

[nakedlunch]

Naked,

I know i will be the only one who wont know but who is the guy in the photo with you?

Hi there,

It is the mighty Ornette Coleman - it was taken at the aftershow party of his Meltdown gig at the Southbank 2009.
He was a very gregarious and kind man, especially considering he had just performed for 2 hours at the age of 80.

 

[nakedlunch]

I have just tried out both the lebayle mute and an ordinary cloth. Although it is difficult to get an exact reflection of how much noise reduction they both give, I have come to the conclusion that the cloth down the bell is better than the lebayle system. The 3rd section of the lebayle - the one you stick down the bell - hardly makes a difference at all! The two smaller mutes, though, do give a little resistance and slightly dampen the sound. It may be aan idea therefore to use the two smaller mutes and then simply replace the 3rd one with a cloth! I may do this now on.

 

[RichardSX90]

I saw some interesting news from Justin Chune on another thread.
Many people need to find good methods of practising quietly to avoid annoying the neighbours.
This idea looks great, and relatively inexpensive compared to buying booths, building work, etc.
I thought that it needs its own thread. Justin and Pete - I hope you don't mind.

__________________________________________________________
In the summer edition of the CASS magazine, John Playfair came up with a novel way of muting a clarinet that should work for saxophone too. It requires a separate mouthpiece with a hole drilled in the side. His best results were obtained with a hole 0.5mm in diameter, 3.15 cm down from the tip and about 3.5mm above the top of the ligature, depending exactly where this is placed.

With this arrangement, playing as if a normal mezzo forte gives a solid pianissimo. The secret seems to be not to try and play softly.

Experiment anyone?

Jim.

 

[aldevis]

I will investigate the issue!

I suspect that 3.15 cm means EXACTLY 3.15 cm. There are few node issues in a mouthpiece and what works in a clarinet might not work on a saxophone. 0.5 mm is a really small hole, though.

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

I will investigate the issue!

I suspect that 3.15 cm means EXACTLY 3.15 cm. There are few node issues in a mouthpiece and what works in a clarinet might not work on a saxophone. 0.5 mm is a really small hole, though.

Be very grateful if you would let us know what you find out. I dont mind drilling a mouthpiece, but I am uncertain from the description about just where to drill it. Good luck
Mike

 

[PaulM]

Thankfully I don't have to play quietly unless it's marked p on the score, but I'll be following this thread with interest.

In another interest of mine I often drill holes of around 0.5mm. I use HSS drill bits as they are relatively cheap. Unless you have a very steady hand, or a precision drill press don't use tungsten carbide bits. They will not tolerate much side to side movement before snapping and they cost a king's ransom by comparison.

If anyone has some unwanted mouthpieces and gives this a go, please let us know what the result was.

 

[RichardSX90]

I will investigate the issue!

Excellent! Thanks for your help.

 

[kevgermany]

I will investigate the issue!

I suspect that 3.15 cm means EXACTLY 3.15 cm. There are few node issues in a mouthpiece and what works in a clarinet might not work on a saxophone. 0.5 mm is a really small hole, though.

If that's the case, it'll vary from mouthpiece to mouthpiece, and even more from alto to tenor etc.

 

[Andante cantabile]

His best results were obtained with a hole 0.5mm in diameter, 3.15 cm down from the tip and about 3.5mm above the top of the ligature, depending exactly where this is placed.

Roughly how many attempts did he make before he ran out of mouthpieces and/or cash?

 

[RichardSX90]

Roughly how many attempts did he make before he ran out of mouthpieces and/or cash?

Good point.
Perhaps an old mouthpiece could be drilled again after repairing the existing hole with epoxy filler.

 

[Justin Chune]

The information from John Playfair came in the form of a letter to the editor and contained no technical drawings, unfortunately. If the idea could be made to work for saxophones, a modified Yamaha 4C, for practice, wouldn't break the bank.

With the hole stopped up his mouthpiece is back to normal.

Y'all get drilling.

Jim.

 

[aldevis]

The information from John Playfair came in the form of a letter to the editor and contained no technical drawings, unfortunately. If the idea could be made to work for saxophones, a modified Yamaha 4C, for practice, wouldn't break the bank.

With the hole stopped up his mouthpiece is back to normal.

Y'all get drilling.

Jim.

I will check his prototype this afternoon. I will report all the details Mr Playfair will allow me to disclose.
I had few clarinet barrels rebored by him. He is a very precise person, so I would wait before using a Black&Decker on a 1960 Florida Link.

Once I tried his prototype of a double-vent speaker key on a clarinet: one of the most balanced instruments I've ever tried.