Quiet Practice?

[M Hollen]

Hey, does anyone have any ideas for a means to practice quietly? The thing is, my prime practice time is either during my lunch hour at work (I live in a cubicle) or at home after everyone is in bed.

Work is the big one. A mando is too loud no matter how softly I play.

Any input is appreciated.
Thanks

[stratman62]

solid body electric unplugged

[man dough nollij]

I second the solid body electric. You can use an Amplug and headphones so that you can hear yourself.

[AlanN]

Stuff a soft rag (cut-up flannel shirt) between the mand top and strings up against the bridge. That should muffle. Your cube mates are lucky - at least it ain't a 5 banger...

[man dough nollij]

Just play bagpipes for a week or so. When you switch back to the mando, your coworkers will thank you. ~:>

[EdSherry]

You can try plugging the soundhole(s) and putting some sort of heavy clamp on the bridge to dampen the bridge vibrations and thus the instrument's volume. But playing in a cubicle is difficult. Is there a break room (or similar) at your work that you might be able to use?

[Mike Scott]

I second man dough nollij' suggestion. I even have a door on my office and people say they can hear me. Not good because I stink! (at least at playing the mando).

[delsbrother]

While I often use emando to practice at home at night without disturbing others, I doubt even an emando could go totally unnoticed in a cubicle farm. Most emandos still have some sort of body resonance.

[Erik Gran]

Go an idea that may work: Buy the cheapest of plywood mandos, fill it with something that mutes the sound, like cotton, styrofoam or maybe polyurethane foam. That way you should get less body resonance than with a solidbody. Only trouble I see is that you want some sound to hear what you play, so you may need some kind of pickup and headphones to get that. I've once seen a guitar that was treated that way, filled with foam to make it feedback proof, and also covered with some flossy fabric, it definitely lacked unplugged sound! This was at a parade, and done mainly as a joke!

[Lee Callicutt]

I grab a few quiet minutes of playing at work by not using a pick, and instead bracing my thumb against the first joint of my index finger and using the nail of my index finger as if it were a pick, striking perpendicular to the string. I also play around with a thumb/index finger picking style which can be a lot of fun but also very quiet compared to a pick.

[Jim Kirkland]

I took a neck off a busted beyond repair mando. Took a maple board, attached the neck with screws, attached a tailpiece, strung up, set proper bridge. Had something that I could carry around to job sites and practice on without taking a nice mando with me. Pretty quiet, I didn't do it for quiet, I did it for ease and not leaving something nice laying around while I was doing a job.

[greg_tsam]

I would play in my car at lunch when I had a desk job. Cruised around to the nearest underpass or shady tree and I was in business. Eventually people at the office started asking me to play something for them... Once. lol.

[mandroid]

Risa 'sticks' have a headphone plug, in them, don't they?

or would that be a stethoscope plug in?

[gregjones]

I bought a Mandocaster and a set of amplified headphones.

I looked at some of the "mini" amps that have a headphone jack but decided they would be just something else plus another cable to carry around. I have no desire to play amplified, just quiet in the room.

The combo works great, at least the wife doesn't complain when she's watching TV.

[MandoJam]

Use the quiet times to learn new tunes by playing with your thumb and then bring the pick out on the weekends.

[farmerjones]

i've got a fifty dollar Rouge for lending and camping etc. i'm gonna try to fill it up with string or yarn or corded rags. A couple clothespins on the bridge really dampens it down too.

i've seen a fretted neck with tuning pegs and a wooden bock body, but i can remember where?

[man dough nollij]

I wonder what would happen if you put a balloon in the soundhole, and blew it up... I'd try it, but I don't happen to have a balloon handy.

[bgjunkie]

I'm another that doesn't use a pick when at work. Like mandojam, I work on learning the tune (left hand stuff) and then work on the right hand stuff (picking cleanly, tone, speed) at home. It definately makes the time spent at home more productive when I already have the tune under my fingers.

[Mattg]

This topic was in a thread called My Mandobird (unplugged) awhile back. Anyway, this is my rig. By attaching an MP3 player to a mini amp, I can listen to a song and hear my mandolin at the same time. lot's of fun and very quite.

36871

[mando.player]

This looks like an interesting product (http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/MOE.htm). It's a mini amp attached to a strap. The instrument cord is imbedded in the strap. It's also got a headphone jack. No input for a CD/MP3 player though.

I travel a bit for work and I usually take along my Mann EM-5 to play at the hotel. I'm thinking this might do the trick. Matt's setup might work for him, but that's too many cords for me :)

[M Hollen]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Think I might try the mini amp with an emando. Although the yarn and balloon suggestion is very intriguing. :grin:

[earthsave]

For my banjo, I just weave a rubber band through the strings. Havent tried with mando yet, but it should damp the string vibrations just as well.

[Pete Martin]

Stuff a soft rag (cut-up flannel shirt) between the mand top and strings up against the bridge. That should muffle.

This works very well!!! I do this often.

[mandroid]

Violin Mutes add mass to the bridge to quiet them down, as do some banjo mutes.

I'm told the best mutes were a small brass tank of Mercury that by the nature of it,

was Both heavy and a liquid to stop transmitting sustained vibrations .

[gregjones]

Matt's setup might work for him, but that's too many cords for me :)

That's why I went with the amplified headphones.

http://www.csnsupply.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=HM1038&refid=FR4-HM1038

[Bobbie Dier]

I wonder what would happen if you put a balloon in the soundhole, and blew it up... I'd try it, but I don't happen to have a balloon handy.

I want to watch you do that. :))

[Mattg]

This looks like an interesting product (http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/MOE.htm). It's a mini amp attached to a strap. The instrument cord is imbedded in the strap. It's also got a headphone jack. No input for a CD/MP3 player though.

I travel a bit for work and I usually take along my Mann EM-5 to play at the hotel. I'm thinking this might do the trick. Matt's setup might work for him, but that's too many cords for me :)

I can get this rig down to one chord, the mini amp has a 1/4" jack and plugs right into the mando or guitar. I really like being able to plug in the MP3 player though. Still, I'm going to check out those self amping headphones. My son also needs a quite practice mode for his Strat.

The mini amp and a set of earbuds makes for compact kit. I too travel with my mando for hotel room practice and amusement.