I am absolutely pickled tink!
This is much, much better than taping down the window.
Worked well on my Burke first time out, easily adjustable from just a whisper to moderately quiet. No sticky residue.
The only problem…and it is only a small one, is that it does take more air pressure.
I’ve been tinkering around with John’s mute, and really love it. I would just caution owner’s of wooden whistles to stay away from it though. That thin edge of the ramp is too darned delicate and can easily be damaged by the mute. Stick with a cheapie whistle, or at least a good one with a metal ramp, and you’ll love this thingie. Good inspiration John!
I too have been tinkering around… I find that a 2-inch length of rubber band, 1/8 inch wide (the original width of the rubber band), inserted into the window in the same fashion as John’s mute, seems to accomplish quieting with comparable results to John’s mute. The whistle being tested is a Dixon non-tunable ABS plastic model. I also find that the mute must be placed to one side of the window, and needs to have about 1/2-inch protuding from the window, all consistent with John’s findings. It actually seems to stay in place a little better than John’s mute, I suppose because the rubber is not as slippery as the plastic. I would also imagine that the rubber would not be as damaging to a delicate wood edge as the plastic. Just a variation that those inclined may want to try…
Thank you again John for a wonderful idea! A stroke of genius!
You can actually use anything that will obstruct 1/3-1/2 (or so) of the wind aimed at the blade from the windway; SOME people even use cigarette butts for this on Low Whistles. (If you’re going for the Eddie Van Halen look, keep the cigarette attached and lit, otherwise just use the butt.)
I however don’t smoke, so I just used something boring like a bit of rolled up paper towel or the like.
Always good to see new ideas for this though, it’s great to have a bunch of different things you can use to improvise a mute in a pinch - like when you’re trying to get some late night practice in a bad neighborhood (like where I grew up):
“YO! MacGuyver that whistle, fo I cap yo a** music boy.” 
Loren
[ This Message was edited by: Loren on 2002-08-28 17:23 ]
Thanks for the excellent pics tkelly! Now I get it..
For us visual learners this is super…thanks again. And thanks scissors for the fantastic idea…
You’re welcome, Moonlight. I’m a visual learner too – especially with something like this that seems difficult to explain but so easy once you see it.
Tery
bored as hell, so thought of this whacky:
electric whistle with volume control.
Okay, first I’d like to apologize to John and everyone for the delay in my review. Been hosting a local session and dealing with three nervous breakdowns (including one of my own!) but I do have pics and sounds for you all today.
Here is the mute inserted in a green top Generation D:
As you can see, you should push the mute all the way to one side. When trimming the mute, take care to have at least one edge very straight so no air leaks out.
There is a third pic if you want to look at it: http://www.rit.edu/~eeg6662/mute/mute3.jpg
Sound files:
http://www.rit.edu/~eeg6662/mute/mute_Scale_PeatFireFlame.mp3 (287 KB) - This file is a scale and then the tune “Peat Fire Flame”, with the mute inserted both times.
http://www.rit.edu/~eeg6662/mute/mute_OffToCA.mp3 (388 KB) - This one is the tune “Off to California”: first with the mute in and then with it out, for comparison. I didn’t change settings or position between recording the two versions.
Questions, comments, requests for elaboration welcome, but I am hosting a guest this weekend so won’t be on all that much. I will try to answer anything posed to me though.
Oh yeah, I did want to point out one thing - the plastic ties have ridges on them in an X pattern, for increased friction I imagine. This friction applies to the fipple blade too, so be very careful pulling it in and out so you don’t damage your whistle.
–Beth
What about a small piece of soft plastitak (the white elastic rubbery stuff used to tack posters to walls, etc.) to cover and mute the blade of soft plastic mouthpieces. If the muting works, it should protect the blade from damage. I’m at work but I’ll try it when I get home and report, unless someone can do it in the meantime.
