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wormbower - Posted - 06/23/2007: 21:36:11
In another thread someone mentioned practicing with a mute. I'd love to use a mute--not half as much as my family would--but the ones I've tried have killed the tone so much that I can't stand to use them. I actually like the way my fiddle sounds; I just don't want it to be so loud. Any recommendations for mutes that cut volume without killing the tone?
Paul
BanjoBrad - Posted - 06/23/2007: 22:10:53
Paul-
Try a couple of wooden clothespins on the bridge, each side below the strings. You might (this is a banjo trick I read about somewhere) try weaving a bit of cloth or maybe a leather shoestring between the strings behind the bridge. I haven't tried the second one, but may myself.
Banjo Brad
www.PricklyPearMusic.net
ezFolk Page
Twelvefret - Posted - 06/23/2007: 22:40:26
I have two types of mutes. The big one cover the entire bridge so that you can practice in a hotel room. The other smaller mutes are for playing in ensembles. Both are made of rubber and costs less than a dollar. Go to Shar Music and search on mute.
chuck
Rachel Streich - Posted - 06/23/2007: 22:53:28
When I first started learning to play, I had an ebony mute that fit onto the bridge. It cut out a lot of the high end and quieted the fiddle down but without totally killing the tone. Unfortunately I lost it a few years ago 
and I ended up replacing it with a heavy brass one which really quiets the fiddle WAY down (a necessary thing for an apartment dweller like me with thin walls). I'm not real crazy about the sound of the fiddle with the brass mute on it but I've gotten quite used to practicing with it, so it doesn't bother me any more.
I haven't tried clothespins on the bridge or the cloth or leather shoestrings woven into the strings behind the bridge yet. Maybe I'll give those ideaa a try and see if either one of those quiets the fiddle down enough to not be a problem for my neighbors.
SlowPockets - Posted - 06/24/2007: 00:09:25
I use a littleTourte mute when I just want to cut down the tone a little at a jam, when I'm playing in the evening or really hard at home I'll use an Ultra mute. Usually I just try to play without them if I can because I noticed that when I play with them on all the time I lose any sense of dynamics. Everything I play is at maximum volume without the mute on. If I can get away with it I try not to use one and adjust my volume by lightening up my bow hand.
I've heard a lot of old timers mention using the clothes pins before, my problem is finding one. Plus they would seem kind of bulky to me. A local guy showed me you can take a rubber band and hook one side in to the slot near the foot of your bridge, then pull it up and across your strings hooking it into the slot on the opposite side. That takes the bte off and mellows the tone a little.
Dick Hauser - Posted - 06/25/2007: 23:24:37
All muting devices eliminate high frequencies and affect the tone. The electric "silent" fiddles actually enhance your tone. Drop by a music store and give one a try. I really like my Yamaha.
gulfguy
fiddlingurl - Posted - 06/27/2007: 22:21:26
i use a mute but i don't no where u can get them from
Katie
"that's a hot lick right there..."
valleyboy - Posted - 06/28/2007: 13:17:31
I've used clothespins on my banjo bridge... it really makes a difference, the extra mass mutes it some (almost like palm-muting) but it also gives the banjo a neat "music box" tone. A neat sound effect. I've never tried on my fiddle, but I wil ltonight and try to remember to report my findings...
----------------------------
Nothing beats personal instruction. Banjo Lessons in the Harrisonburg, VA area.
Hensley's Bluegrass Music.
http://www.bluegrasslessons.com
webmaster@bluegrasslessons.com
valleyboy - Posted - 06/29/2007: 08:51:35
I tried out the clothespins, and it took a bit of playing around to get them just right, but it does cut the volume (and the tone). I can't compare that to any other mute, in terms of how much it cuts the volume/tone, but it made it more bearable for my wife in the other room, lol. I added a hankerchief weaved through the strings behind the bridge which seemed to add a touch more mutting. Looked funny, but it's free. All that being said, taking it all off brought back the tone, which really made it stand out more to me.
----------------------------
Nothing beats personal instruction. Banjo Lessons in the Harrisonburg, VA area.
Hensley's Bluegrass Music.
http://www.bluegrasslessons.com
webmaster@bluegrasslessons.com
