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https://www.lasse-ullven.com/309-christ ... ture-mutes

I had never heard about these mutes before, until Lindberg did his recital in April. He used them extensively throughout his recital, especially on the Nutcracker Suite. They sounded so good, and I was going nuts trying to figure out what they were. Finally found them on Facebook a few months ago, and they are now out. Just ordered a set.

Anyone who has ever had their Harmon fall out with the stem out will immediately see the attraction. Anyone who has gotten sick of holding and operating the Harmon that extends way out last the bell will also notice that this one is nearly FLUSH with the rim.

There is a short demo video. It's pretty good, but doesn't do them justice, especially after hearing them used live.

I've once tried an Ullven harmon which was such a treat to play. No intonation trouble, quick response, no need to hold it with one hand... So definitely recommend those. Always wanted to get one of my own, but on the other hand I rarely need a harmon at all. But maybe I'm going to get one anyway at some point.

Oh wow, definitely an interesting take on the cup mute. It reminds me of when the Jo-Ral cup mutes first came out.. in like the late 1990s and people would take the cup off and use it as a straight mute as well. One less mute to bring.

Since I live in Sweden, I decided to order the two Lindberg mutes and I can report that so far they are very good. I will do more playing with them but my first impressions are very positive.

The cup has a very rich sound, like a cup should be and intonation is good. The straight version with the cup part turned around is very piercing or pointed. Remove the plate and it becomes a softer straight mute sound.

The harmon is really nice and you can get subtle variations of sound and overtones by changing the distance between your fingers. As with the cup, intonation is much better than what I’ve experienced before and the distance from the bell is a plus.

Are there any negatives? They are a bit pricey but they are hand made and feel solid, definitely worth the price if you’re into mutes. Ironically, they look very nice so I need to find a better way to protect them in my mute bag so they don’t end up looking like my old mutes.

Shipping to the US was surprisingly fast. I need to spend more time on both, but initial impressions are good and align with comments above.

The one quirk I ran across for the straight/cup mute is the response for E-F below the bass clef staff. I have a piece in an upcoming concert with a local orchestra with muted notes in this range. My copper bottom Jo-Ral straight mute handles these fine, but on the Ullven mute, it feels like I'm between partials on those notes... very odd. I'd go so far as to say that notes below 1st line bass clef G are unplayable (could just be the one I have... not sure if it is characteristic of all of them). Quick checks of tone and intonation seem very good for the rest of the range.

You guys are lucky. Mine has been in transit for 43 days....

But my address is APO, so...


Just curious, did they ship FedEx or PostNord?

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 4:03 pm Just curious, did they ship FedEx or PostNord?

PostNord for me

muschem wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 12:26 pm The one quirk I ran across for the straight/cup mute is the response for E-F below the bass clef staff. I have a piece in an upcoming concert with a local orchestra with muted notes in this range. My copper bottom Jo-Ral straight mute handles these fine, but on the Ullven mute, it feels like I'm between partials on those notes... very odd. I'd go so far as to say that notes below 1st line bass clef G are unplayable (could just be the one I have... not sure if it is characteristic of all of them). Quick checks of tone and intonation seem very good for the rest of the range.

I encountered the same problem, G below the staff was iffy and F/E were unplayable. Then I remembered that Christian Lindberg said that the corks were thicker than needed so that the mutes could fit various bell sizes. He went on to say that he had trimmed down the corks and preferred that sound. So.. I took a file to the corks and trimmed off a bit, the F was better. I trimmed a bit more and the F was fine without the cup but still a tad squirrelly with the cup. After a bit more trimming, both the F and E were fine.

johntarr wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 7:21 am

muschem wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 12:26 pm The one quirk I ran across for the straight/cup mute is the response for E-F below the bass clef staff. I have a piece in an upcoming concert with a local orchestra with muted notes in this range. My copper bottom Jo-Ral straight mute handles these fine, but on the Ullven mute, it feels like I'm between partials on those notes... very odd. I'd go so far as to say that notes below 1st line bass clef G are unplayable (could just be the one I have... not sure if it is characteristic of all of them). Quick checks of tone and intonation seem very good for the rest of the range.

I encountered the same problem, G below the staff was iffy and F/E were unplayable. Then I remembered that Christian Lindberg said that the corks were thicker than needed so that the mutes could fit various bell sizes. He went on to say that he had trimmed down the corks and preferred that sound. So.. I took a file to the corks and trimmed off a bit, the F was better. I trimmed a bit more and the F was fine without the cup but still a tad squirrelly with the cup. After a bit more trimming, both the F and E were fine.

Thanks for the tip! I’ll give that a try.

I finally got my set. Took almost a year for me to get these, including bugging Lasse last April and trying to figure out who made them before that.

These are hands down the best mutes I've ever used. The cup mute in particular actually makes you want to play something with a cup mute. That's a first for me. Straight and "soft" configurations of that same "triple plate" mute are beautifully in tune, and crisp. I can still see the need for a good Tom Crown aluminum and copper straight mute -- they each sound different. I don't see the need for a different cup or "soft" mute.

The Harmon style mute is perfect. I can use the cup while wearing my wedding ring -- can't do that on the jo-ral. It fits in flush with the bell, so I'm not holding it a mile away from my face. The mute is in tune, with the cup in, with it extended, without the stem both with/without the felt, with the optional metal inserts. The thing is unbelievably good. So many different sounds. Works on my large bore and 3B. Stays in place without holding it.

I think I could show up to most any gig with these two and a plunger, and be prepared for almost any situation. I'm already thinking up ideas of pieces to arrange that can use these mutes.

Seems I'll have to get my hands on a cup mute then. I have an Ullven harmon since 6 months and it's easily one of the best mutes I have, maybe the best.

Specifically that Lindberg "Triple Straight Plate" one. It's great! I haven't tried the normal cup mute from Ullven, but in the videos it sounds great.

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:57 am Specifically that Lindberg "Triple Straight Plate" one. It's great! I haven't tried the normal cup mute from Ullven, but in the videos it sounds great.

That's the Christian Lindberg model, right? Do I understand correctly that you can use this one as a normal straight, a soft straight and a more cup mute like mute? I don't really get this from the website

EriKon wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:42 am

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:57 am Specifically that Lindberg "Triple Straight Plate" one. It's great! I haven't tried the normal cup mute from Ullven, but in the videos it sounds great.

That's the Christian Lindberg model, right? Do I understand correctly that you can use this one as a normal straight, a soft straight and a more cup mute like mute? I don't really get this from the website

Correct. The plate is reversible and adjustable, so it's an adjustable cup mute, and with the plate reversed and pushed all the way up it's a straight mute with a nice sharp attack, and if you take the the plate off completely it's a softer/smoother straight mute.

I needed to shave the corks down a bit.

So I had a lot of time to check out the Harmon style mute today, after I shaved the corks down a bit. I love it! Some interesting things about it:

1. As far as I can tell, there are no bad notes on this thing as long as you have one of the four included stems in it. With the cup stem in, I was playing the whole F trigger range down to low C below the staff, and pedals, although the pedals are almost all bass frequencies. And up to high F. Didn't notice any intonation quirks either. The same goes for the three silver stems that don't have a cup attached. These each act like a sort of "EQ" setting, and the longer ones vary the sound depending on how much you leave outside of the mute. My favorite is the shortest stem, about half way out. It sounds like the classic Harmon trumpet mute sound. Rainy days in New York.

2. Without any stems in, the sound is interesting, but I physically cannot play a low A in the staff. Bb and Ab around it are also dubious. I'm not sure if shaving off more cork will fix it, but with how many other sounds I can get, all of which are more interesting than this one, I don't think I care. Were any of you other owners able to get these notes working with the mute set up this way?

I also got working on the straight mute. Shaved the corks down a bit. The only thing I was missing was low D through C, in the trigger range, and only with the plate in "straight mute" mode. Which I might be able to get if I shave a bit more, but again, I'm not sure how much I'd need to play down here. Only seen that on bass parts. Anybody think it's even worth it to try?

I played through "A Time For Love" with the short stem harmon and it was like a whole new experience for me. A whole new piece. I've basically just put up with mutes up until now, and only ever liked the Tom Crown straight for the rare, cool muted line in classical music, and the stonelined plunger for the "weird music". This is new and fun.

Just from looking at the website descriptions, I'm guessing this

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 1:34 am 2. Without any stems in, the sound is interesting, but I physically cannot play a low A in the staff. Bb and Ab around it are also dubious. I'm not sure if shaving off more cork will fix it, but with how many other sounds I can get, all of which are more interesting than this one, I don't think I care. Were any of you other owners able to get these notes working with the mute set up this way?

is why this 'stemless special' exists: https://www.lasse-ullven.com/310-funky-bop-mute