Excellent, modulo some fundamental limitations
I've recently returned to life in an apartment, so something like this mute is a must. And… it's a pretty decent device. Here's how it works: the mute plugs into a receiver (which processes the audio coming through the mute), which headphones can then be connected to. The receiver itself runs on two AA batteries (which is *fantastic*, as far as i'm concerned, in this era of "disposable" units with non-replaceable rechargeable batteries. I love that i can use my own batteries, and even rechargeable AAs work great!), and has two reverb settings, one that makes the audio coming through the headphones sound like playing in a practice room, and one that sounds more like playing in a large hall. Oh, and the receiver does have a belt clip, so one can move around while playing.
Pros:
The mute is lightweight, seals well (and stays in!), and the audio processing is sincerely impressive: when playing on the lower reverb setting it sounds so much like actually playing in a small practice room (something i've done for *many* years) that on more than one occasion i've removed my headphones just to make sure that what i'm hearing truly is coming through the headphones and not straight out of the bell.
Cons:
Oof, though, it's still a mute, and as a result, notes are just… all over the place. Most everything one plays is out of tune (is, in fact, sharp, but *not* a consistent amount across notes), and it's noticeable. I honestly get confused sometimes about whether i've missed a note in a scale or a passage, because my horn just doesn't sound the same with this mute in (and i know intimately what it "should" sound like). Further, while i'm sure that they've put great effort into making this mute *more* free-blowing (as they say in their marketing), having and obstruction in the bell will be noticed; it simply can't be helped. Physics is physics. I think both of these issues are, unfortunately, fundamental limitations of playing with a mute (of any kind!) in.
Still, if you live in a space where keeping things more quiet is important (note that of course the mute isn't totally silent; sound does still come out of the bell, just less [and hopefully not so much that it annoys the neighbors]), i think you'd be hard-pressed to beat this system. I definitely do plan to make much use of it in the coming months!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
