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Thread: Mandolin Mute?

  1. #26
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Me, musing out loud ...

    A banjo mute slides under the strings to clamp onto the bridge from the side. This probably wouldn't work well for a conventional adjustable bridge although I am not sure on that point. But it does suggest that one could have a fixed bridge made which could accomodate a banjo-style mute more securely. Might be worth a try. Hmmm. I have a mandolin with a fixed Murphy-style bridge. Maybe I can work on the idea a bit.
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  3. #27
    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by DHopkins View Post
    Play a banjo for a week. He'll beg you to go back to the mandolin.
    😂😂😂😂

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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Busman View Post
    I occasionally do that if I just want to play quietly for a short period of time, but I find it limits my hand/wrist motion too much for picking well.
    I let my wrist/arm mute the strings just in front of the bridge. Just past the wrist joint about where you would take your blood pressure. It allows hand/wrist pretty fair freedom vs muting with any part of the hand. Puts pick out over the fb edge but it's muted anyway

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  6. #29
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    An elastic classical guitar capo, which tend to be inexpensive, wrapped around the bridge and touching the strings lowers the volume substantially. Maybe not enough, but I’ve done this on my banjo to good effect on a few occasions.
    Chuck

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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Also, I can’t pull volume out of a Dawg or Golden Gate style pick, so classical capo + my Golden Gate may actually work well for me...not so well for those who love/use those picks...
    Chuck

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  10. #31

    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Sherry, I have invented, and patented a device that attaches to the mando. bridge. I advertise it as a 'bridge cover'. Use it to rest for your hand, etc....it does mute the tone a little. I had it in the classified sec. for a while...I think the fact that when you add mass to the bridge, it softens the tone a little, is a turn off for some. This may be what your looking for. If you're interested I'll be glad to send you one. Thanks, Willy HuTcH

  11. #32

    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Sherry, I have invented, and patented a device that attaches to the mando. bridge. I advertise it as a 'bridge cover'. Use it to rest for your hand, etc....it does mute the tone a little. I had it in the classified sec. for a while...I think the fact that when you add mass to the bridge, it softens the tone a little, is a turn off for some. This may be what your looking for. If you're interested I'll be glad to send you one. Thanks, Willy HuTcH

  12. #33
    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    That's an enticing offer, Willy. I'm looking for total silence in this thread. The responses don't offer much hope.

  13. #34
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Oh. Total Silence, eh? Have you tried wire cutters?
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

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  14. #35
    Registered User Kevin Stueve's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by HonketyHank View Post
    Me, musing out loud ...

    A banjo mute slides under the strings to clamp onto the bridge from the side. This probably wouldn't work well for a conventional adjustable bridge although I am not sure on that point. But it does suggest that one could have a fixed bridge made which could accomodate a banjo-style mute more securely. Might be worth a try. Hmmm. I have a mandolin with a fixed Murphy-style bridge. Maybe I can work on the idea a bit.
    under the string?
    Click image for larger version. 

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  15. #36
    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by HonketyHank View Post
    Oh. Total Silence, eh? Have you tried wire cutters?
    Henry, that sounds kind of mean! Was it meant to be? Maybe you think I'm asking the impossible. I honestly don't know what I don't know.

    And I know you're not being mean. I just get frustrated by my ignorance.
    Last edited by Sherry Cadenhead; Jan-26-2018 at 12:33am.

  16. #37
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Opened mouth before engaging brain. Sorry. S'posed to humorous but shoulda put in a smiley face or something.
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

    My website and blog: honketyhank.com

  17. #38
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Sherry, I'd say first try to lower your volume with picking technique, progressively making the sound of your playing as quiet and consistent between strings as possible, so even someone 10 feet away in the same room has trouble hearing it. It's a useful exercise, one which I recommend to my students and jamming friends (especially banjo, but also guitar, dobro, fiddle, bass and mandolin) so they can learn the important lesson of how to dynamically control their volume in bands and jams.

    That takes time to perfect though and if you don't have time at this point in your playing, a mute may be the answer.

    I've found a common and very simple rubber hose, coursed between the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge, and pressed up against the bridge, to be an easy and effective mute... For an extreme example, here's a picture of a hose that I have recently had on my bass as I'm learning to play it (my bass is a hot-rodded Alcoa aluminum bass, some of the parts are hard to recognize so I've labeled them):

    Click image for larger version. 

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    When it has been slid up against the bridge this makes a very effective mute. Of course you'd want a more flexible and much smaller size hose on a mandolin. If you have trouble with overtones, this will also mute those even when the hose is not against the bridge.
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sherry Cadenhead View Post
    The responses don't offer much hope.
    Always hard to tell what someone is looking for in a few words but here is muting done with the attachment you already have. It took me a few days to do this on purpose after accidentally doing it one night practicing. But.. if you are just learning it might be a hindrance to the process.

    fwiw: wrist mute.mp3

  19. #40
    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sherry Cadenhead View Post
    That's an enticing offer, Willy. I'm looking for total silence in this thread. The responses don't offer much hope.
    How will you hear what you're doing in total silence?

  20. #41
    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianWilliam View Post
    How will you hear what you're doing in total silence?
    Brian, this is a good question. I'm thinking playing silently, but on actual strings, would be good hand/finger/muscle training - and better than air mando. This type of practice would supplement, not replace, my regular practice and playing. My husband feels I'm obsessed with playing my mandolin, which I am. He'll roll his eyes (at best) when I first bring my mandolin into the living room, but if I can noodle around silently, or at least quietly, maybe he'll get used to the idea.

  21. #42
    Worlds ok-ist mando playr Zach Wilson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Play during commercial breaks. Play quietly in a near by room. Just keep playing and you will grow musically and eventually sound better. Then he'll love your "obsession". It's better to be able to hear your practice though. Don't play your instrument in total silence.

    Just my two cents. 🤓

  22. #43
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sherry Cadenhead View Post
    ...
    My husband feels I'm obsessed with playing my mandolin, ... He'll roll his eyes (at best) when I first bring my mandolin into the living room.
    ...
    I've been around that with raising one of my sons, he's grown and married now and happily we can joke about it. While he did play piano for a while while young, he simply has never had making music in his heart. Funny, he coined the term "future firewood" for our instruments and we still joke about it. He does enjoy listening to specific genre of music, and his wife is musical so he must enjoy her music. But it was actually a serious concern when he was young.

    This was tough, because my wife and I basically met and have grown a big part of our relationship around the music we do. In our case we tried not to expose our son to our music since he made it clear he didn't like it. It was a matter of keeping the home relatively happy, providing a loving environment for both of our sons, in particular this son who didn't like our music.

    Both my wife and I found places or ways to play that didn't impact our son or impact his schedule. For me, I started taking an instrument to work and would play there during breaks. My wife and I would attend more local jams away from the house. If my wife and I had gigs, we would practice when he was doing homework in his room or when he was away, and we wouldn't bother him about them unless he really wanted to attend, which eventually did happen every once in a while.

    Basically, it was clear we weren't going to change this in our son, nor were we going to stop our music, so we found ways to work around this problem when we were around him.
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


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  23. #44
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    I assume that you live in a very small apartment? Is it only one room? Can't you possibly go into a bedroom or closet?

    What it sounds like you want is one of these?



    I am not sure, but I imagine you could remove two of the strings and have play just the four. Maybe not ideal but you would not have any sound. I wish they made one with 8 strings and a mandolin fretboard and with the width of a mandolin neck but I don't think so. For $30, not so bad.

    More expensive but this might work too is this Risa uke. You could plug earphones and get some Aquila strings that are tuned to GDAE. I think the concert is close to mandolin scale.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Jim

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  24. #45
    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Thanks, Don, for sharing your experience. And, no, Jim, I don't live in a one room apartment. I practice 5 days or nights a week in my home office for an hour or so. The other 2 days I have a lesson or jam session. I just thought it would be nice to work on some right and left hand stuff while sitting in the family room with my husband some evenings. Lots of suggestions here, which I appreciate and will try.

  25. #46
    Registered User Louise NM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    Would gauze, a sock, or something else stuffed between the strings and the fingerboard do it? If it was up at the end of the fingerboard it shouldn't get in your way.

  26. #47
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    Default Re: Mandolin Mute?

    In a situation where you just don’t want to disturb someone in the next room you can roll a flannel cloth to the right size and stick it under the strings by the bridge, then give it a turn to fix it in place. Good for hotel or late night downstairs practicing, but wouldn’t stop it being annoying in the same room.
    Eoin



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