Yamaha Silent Brass mutes, question for brass players

[haydenmuhl]

I'm picking up my French horn again after almost ten years away from it. Big difference now is having roommates and no access to a practice room. I'm considering getting a Silent Brass mute out of consideration, but I have some questions before I buy.

I've found two different listings on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-SB3-9-Sile ... B0002F54R2
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JQ ... E7ZMP7NFZ3

One is just the mute, and the other is the mute with a bunch of accessories. IIRC, you plug a pair of headphones into the mute to hear yourself. Do you need all the other stuff, or will I be okay just buying the mute?

[horndude77]

If you just want a practice mute there are other options worth looking at:

http://www.deniswick.com/all-products/i ... ctice-mute
http://www.ionbalu.com/Balu_horn_mutes_ ... world.html
http://bremnermusic.com/
DIY: http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/Ren ... 0Mute.html

I've only every used the silent brass so I can't speak for the others. It was a gift and it works well enough, but it's big and bulky and I don't use the audio output enough to make it worth it. To answer your question: it will not work with only headphones---you need the amplifier. So if I were buying again I'd try out some others. The home-made solution is interesting. It reminds me of the quick and dirty stop mute: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Horn/Techn ... ped_muting.

[haydenmuhl]

If you just want a practice mute there are other options worth looking at:

I'm aware of the traditional practice mutes available, but I remember trying the Silent Brass at a music store once, and it completely damped the sound of my horn. I have a roommate that is very sensitive to sound, and I can only practice at certain times of the day. I think the Silent Brass would let me practice whenever I want. I don't think a normal practice mute would reduce the volume enough.

I would need to try it out again, of course.

Plus, it's a spiffy gadget, and I have disposable income, now.

[jemiller226]

You may have already pulled the trigger on this, but from my experience with the (trombone) one I borrowed, I wouldn't buy one. The reasons are that the sound you get through the headphones isn't terribly true to what the open horn sounds like, and that's makes it useless when you're trying to work on tone quality; and that the mute is heavy. I could only stand to play with it for 15 minutes or so before my left wrist (the weight-bearing joint for trombone players) got too sore to continue holding the horn up. That might not be as much of an issue for a horn player given the location of the bell, but it's something you should be aware of.

Definitely see if you can find one to try out before you spring for the purchase.