Soulo SM5905 Bass Trombone Bucket Mute

This is the best straight mute I've played on. Intonation is great, it is free blowing and sounds great! Definitely worth it.....

I have a number of mutes for my trumpets including the Denis Wick adjustable cup mute. None of them had quite the sound I wanted for a new piece and I decided to try this Soulo adjustable cup mute. I was pleasantly surprised.In a month of practicing and performing with it, this is what I noticed:1) It is much lighter than the Denis Wick mute which made it easier to grab and insert. It was also easier to hold the trumpet up while it was in. In fact, as I think about it, it is probably the lightest mute I have which might make it good for a younger player.2) The cup was easier to slide than the Denis Wick. Both have a felt cloth surface for the slide but the Wick mute surface grabs the metal surface more firmly making it harder to change the tone. This one slides so easily I could change the sound while playing. It was that easy to move.3) The tone is much softer than the Wick due (I assume) to the fiber composition of the Soulo. None of my other mutes (cup, Crown straight, Harmon, Bach straight, Wick sliding) had quite this sound which was light and almost airy. It was perfect for my need in this piece. With the cup off, the Soulo is a passable straight mute although it lacked the brightness and cutting power of a metal straight mute. With this cup almost touching the bell, the tone reminds me of a bucket mute.4) The sound through the register was a bit more even than the Wick. With the Wick, I notice that some notes were more present than others. While the Soulo had a little bit of this, it was nowhere near as pronounced.I can't think of a negative about the Soulo based on my experience with it over the past month. It is fiber and so I imagine that banging around in my mute bag over time, it will be less robust than the others. But I don't know that for a fact.

Recently, I purchased a new Soulo adjustable cup mute. I like the Soulo cup mute very much! It produces a nice bright tone (when the mute is as open as possible) and, of course, a good "cupier" tone when it's as closed tight as possible. I find the pitch to be accurate in all octaves without adjustment, whether the slide-able cup is in, out, or midway. BTW, the pitch is good and the timbre remains the same all the way down to lowest F#. I compared the Soulo to my Denis Wick adjustable cup (which also maintains good pitch and the same core tone in all ranges). The Wick model produces a little more "ahh" in the timbre, the Soulo a bit more "ay" (as in hay) to my ear. I figure that's because the Soulo cup is made of hardened fiber and the Wick cup is aluminum (I think) of a sturdy thickness. I like both of the former cups over my (old) Humes&Berg stone-lined and Ray Robinson cups, neither of which are adjustable, of course, and both of which get stuffy and lose the pitch center below low C unless one files the corks to find a perfect fit, and even then the tone and pitch is funkier by degrees below low C. On the other hand, the H&B cup still is the most commonly used cup in a big band or swing band context; maybe that's because tpt players have simply kept that cup in their bag or case forever! Remember these are merely my own perceptions. All 4 of these models produce somewhat different timbres, and, well, each to his own and each is right in a given situation. With the adjustable cup models, one can obtain myriad timbres by sliding the cup in or out, all the way in, for instance, for a particular and moody color when close-miked. (There's no end to this. Find and watch a video of the old Duke Ellington band and study the mutes the tpt section used for different colors; it's instructive!) But I'm switching my Wick out of my case in favor of the new Soulo for now as my "steady eddie".

Selecting the mute based on sound is said to be a very personal thing. For me, they all sound quite similar. Sound was not a deciding factor.You might want to consider two other factors: weight and ease of handling.EASE OF HANDLING - In general, the mutes are a little too fat to be able to grasp securely with one hand. It leads to concern about dropping the mute, especially about dropping the mute and denting the trombone’s slide.Soulo – For safe handling, I liked this mute best of the group, because its base has a round ring on the bottom that facilitates grasping.Yamaha – This mute has an indentation in the bottom that facilitates handling. Grasping is almost as secure as the Soulo. All four mutes needed some finishing polishing to eliminate abrasive or sharp edges; the Yamaha was a little better that the others in this regard.Lot Fancy – This mute is rather fat and awkward to handle. This mute was the least expensive.Jo-Ral 1B – This mute was the fattest of the group and most awkward to grasp.WEIGHT - All of the mutes claim to be light-weight. This is important to a trombonist because the mute adds weight which tends to temp the right hand to help to support the front-end weight. The Jo-Ral 1B was the heaviest mute. Below are the actual weights and the costs when I purchased the mutes.Lot Fancy = 146g, 5.1oz = $29.70Jo-Ral 1B = 301g, 10.6oz = $82.67Soulo = 151g, 5.4oz = $69.95Yamaha = 153g, 5.4oz = $49.04CONCLUSIONI selected and kept the Soulo. I used a polishing cloth to eliminate the rough edges, but all four mutes need improvement in that aspect.

Great mute, no resistance and very easy to fit. Not quite the same sound as the traditionally favoured Humes & Berg bucket, so more suited to solo work rather than sectional. However, you get a tremendously satisfying sound that mics up beautifully. Just as a pointer, I work as a full time pro jazz musician and firmly believe that the old favourites are favourites for a reason. This mute is worth buying. I play on a Taylor trumpet with a very large 133mm bell which is right on the stated limit for this bucket and it fits fine. No negatives as yet.

Try and enjoy, Great adjustable mute, Thanks

Love this item. Works perfectly and sounds ace.

Very musical sound. Very straight loud projection. Doesn't snarl as much a Denis Wick though.

It doesn't really sound like a harmon, it has its own sound but it plays so nice it makes you forget you paid $160 for a mute. Projection is great too, you don't need a mic like a regular harmon.Update: The foam is falling apart. $160 mute and the foam is falling apart from the handful of times in less than a year I've inserted it into a bell.