Best Brass practice mute

[Savio]

Is there a way to make the "Best Brass" practice mute better? Like make some holes in it some places? It feels like its to much resistance, and intonation is not easy either. But that could be just me.....
Anyway, somebody tried to make it better?

Leif

[harrisonreed]

I cut a hole in the bottom. Didn't do anything. Resistance felt the same, same intonation issues, and the only change was an annoying air hiss out of the hole.

[Vegasbound]

Always considered the best brass more a warm up mute than practice mute, What's the difference? Well to me I used the best brass just prior to going on stage or in the pit for a couple of minutes as it was lightweight and fighted in the bell in the case

And yes there have been times when I forgot it was in there

[Crazy4Tbone86]

There are pros and cons to the Best Brass practice mute. For example, most people assume you simply store it in the bell in your case/gig bag. For some cases/bags it works. However, I have seen some situations where the case has padding facing the middle of the bell.....these people force the trombone + mute in the case. It shifts the entire horn and sometimes they end up bending their F-attachment tubing.

In terms of resistance, I have not found any "practice mutes" to be near the natural resistance of an open horn. They all increase the resistance and I would rate Best Brass in about the middle of the pack. The Yamaha Silent Brass system has considerably less resistance, but it is costly and not as compact. The intonation on the Best Brass mutes is acceptable.......you just need to accept that the mute will shift you about 25-35 cents sharp.

The one thing that I find a huge plus for the best brass mutes is their repairability. I have removed dents from many mutes and the Best Brass repair much better than most.

[euphobone]

There are pros and cons to the Best Brass practice mute. For example, most people assume you simply store it in the bell in your case/gig bag. For some cases/bags it works. However, I have seen some situations where the case has padding facing the middle of the bell.....these people force the trombone + mute in the case. It shifts the entire horn and sometimes they end up bending their F-attachment tubing.

In terms of resistance, I have not found any "practice mutes" to be near the natural resistance of an open horn. They all increase the resistance and I would rate Best Brass in about the middle of the pack. The Yamaha Silent Brass system has considerably less resistance, but it is costly and not as compact. The intonation on the Best Brass mutes is acceptable.......you just need to accept that the mute will shift you about 25-35 cents sharp.

The one thing that I find a huge plus for the best brass mutes is their repairability. I have removed dents from many mutes and the Best Brass repair much better than most.

What would it cost to remove dents from one? I have a Euphonium best brass that needs some dent work. Is this something my local repair shop can do?

[Crazy4Tbone86]

The tools used to remove brass instrument dents are the same tools used to remove mute dents. The dents that are fixable on a Best Brass mute are the ones down at the wide end (by the label). If you get a dent up near the hole, it is much more complicated to fix because of how those mutes are designed.

I think there should be plenty of shops down in the Lone Star state that would remove those dents. I would start with some of your local shops. Most shops here in the mid-Atlantic charge between $60 - $75 per hour for dent work. Most of the dents I have removed from mutes have taken me about 15 minutes....usually 30 minutes tops. Some shops have minimum labor costs, so it is good to ask about labor charges in advance.

[Burgerbob]

RE: intonation problems

any practice mute is making the trombone a bit shorter. The Best Brass (I have owned 2) make the instrument significantly shorter, which squashes the octaves.

Solution? Use something like the Yamaha Silent Brass (the old one is best), because it's quite large and has quite good intonation, or just use the Best Brass as sparingly as possible.

[euphobone]

The tools used to remove brass instrument dents are the same tools used to remove mute dents. The dents that are fixable on a Best Brass mute are the ones down at the wide end (by the label). If you get a dent up near the hole, it is much more complicated to fix because of how those mutes are designed.

I think there should be plenty of shops down in the Lone Star state that would remove those dents. I would start with some of your local shops. Most shops here in the mid-Atlantic charge between $60 - $75 per hour for dent work. Most of the dents I have removed from mutes have taken me about 15 minutes....usually 30 minutes tops. Some shops have minimum labor costs, so it is good to ask about labor charges in advance.

Thanks! I figured as much after I thought about my own question. Thank you for your thorough response!

[Savio]

I ended up taking away some of the black soft stuff that holds the mute inside the bell. Made one line like the two others thats allready there. It made it a tiny bit more noisy but better to blow.

Leif

[bryceminnell]

Sshh practice mutes are great. Intonation is good, you can play through all registers. Highly recommended! https://www.sshhmute.com/