Mandolin Mutes?

[Miltown]

Simple question: anyone know of anything like a mandolin mute? I have a mute for my fiddle, and I'd like something similar for my mandolin. I've noticed that my practice (picking technique) is hindered by lowering volume so as to not disturb other people in my household.

If you've ever seen a mandolin mute, or have ideas about how to fashion a homemade one, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

[Jacob]

Felt ukulele picks might be worth a try.

[John Kelly]

A bit of foam rubber pushed between the soundboard and the strings up near the bridge can act as a damper on the strings, just like palm muting. You can experiment with various thicknesses to see how much damping you want. Gretch used to have a mute on some of their guitars which was activated by a small lever at the bridge.

[MontanaMatt]

I have a few violin mutes and the all rely on seating on the bridge with a wedge angle and the taper of the violin bridge. I can’t envision a mute that will fit onto a square shouldered mandolin bridge universally like that…
The principal is to add a bunch of weight to the bridge to inhibit vibration amplitude, so see what you can clamp on.
The string damping foam block suggested earlier seems safest.

[Simon DS]

Old bicycle inner tube.
Cut it with scissors to 12"X 3/8" and weave it round the strings right next to the bridge?
You can also cut different shapes of rubber (washers etc.) using a scalpel blade and a piece of steel clamped onto the rubber.
Another, a bit more permanent is to cut a tiny strip of rubber and place it under the bridge or between strings and bridge, but tone and intonation can change.

Or fill the mando with a towel?
Most effective technique is to buy the neighbour a bottle of wine or something.

[Ray(T)]

Aerosol foam?

[Jim Garber]

You can clamp a spring clothespin on the bridge but it might not quiet it enough. I think jamming a piece of foam as suggested above it the most sensible.

The most quieting violin mute is that heavy metal one but playing with one on doesn't really help in working on tone. Not sure it matters as much on a mandolin.

More expensive but best would be headphones into an electric solidbody 8 string.

[Louise NM]

For a violin, a decent emergency mute is a dollar bill (a fifty works too, if you can convince someone to give you one!) folded in eighths and woven through the strings just behind the bridge. The same idea would quiet a mandolin too.

[mandroid]

Violin mutes add mass to the bridge ..

resting the palm of ones right hand on the bridge has seemed effective IMO.

[Pittsburgh Bill]

I have been down this road as my usually tolerant wife finds it difficult to listen to the same tune being practiced at nauseum. I tried many of the prior mentioned suggestions to no avail.
Finally I purchased a solid body EM8. It not only solved the problem of muting me when unplugged, it also is now opening up the world of electrics to me when plugged in. No, it will never replace the sound of acoustics that I love, but it does present a new dimension of musical possibilities that I could not duplicate on an acoustic.
Not exactly thinking outside the box, but perhaps an avenue you may want to investigate.