Mute bumper strip / flock tape

squirrel

squirrel

Member
Has anyone managed to locate a supplier for replacement bumper strip for the top of mutes?

The music supplier we've managed to find that has it, prices it in the same lofty stratosphere as unicorn tears, or maybe printer ink. I can't believe it's not possible to source via the usual online retailers that sell everything else under the sun.

The only thing I've managed to find that's approximately the right width and thickness is this Flock tape but it's only available in green :/
 
squirrel

squirrel

Member
Lol, yeah, that's how I found that one (with a lot of false starts). However, most of the self adhesive felt tapes are several mil thick rather than the very thin original.
The green one I linked to above is the only thing I've found after a *lot* of searching, that's 10mm wide and less than 1mm thick. It's green though...
 
GJG

GJG

Well-Known Member
Is there a particular reason you want to replace it? The first thing I do with a new Wick straight mute is remove the tape. To my ears the mute sounds better without it, and a little care when inserting/removing the mute will avoid the risk of scratches.
 
squirrel

squirrel

Member
Mine are fine at the moment, it's some of the band ones that need a little attention, lost corks and the strip gone

Onstage nerves can make people have little slip-ups and the clangs in a quiet section can spoil a performance
 
Tom-King

Tom-King

Well-Known Member
I dont find that those prevent the little "ting" noises when mutes are inserted anyway - yes, nerves can make people have little slip-ups but it's going to be a niggly complaint rather than something that costs valuable placings.

Corks are easily and cheaply replaced - you can buy sheets of cork and then just cut down to the appropriate size pieces and adjust for intonation (you'll know they're too thick if the F# below the staff doesn't slot/speak properly - it will improve if you take a little material off the corks with a scalpel/sandpaper/file)
 
GJG

GJG

Well-Known Member
Problem is, to do it properly you'd need to find a material source that wasn't a straight-line strip, but more of a sheet. If you carefully remove the felt strip from a Wick mute and lay it flat, you'll find it's not a rectangle, but more of an arc, because the top of the mute is conical, not cylindrical. So you'd have to use an existing piece as a template to cut new pieces.

I realise that might constitute being overly fussy about the aesthetic finish, and some people might be perfectly happy with a less than perfect end result, so long as it fulfils the aim of protecting the bell from scratches and clanging sounds.
 
I

iffytboner

Member
GJG said:
Problem is, to do it properly you'd need to find a material source that wasn't a straight-line strip, but more of a sheet. If you carefully remove the felt strip from a Wick mute and lay it flat, you'll find it's not a rectangle, but more of an arc, because the top of the mute is conical, not cylindrical. So you'd have to use an existing piece as a template to cut new pieces.

I realise that might constitute being overly fussy about the aesthetic finish, and some people might be perfectly happy with a less than perfect end result, so long as it fulfils the aim of protecting the bell from scratches and clanging sounds.
Click to expand...
If I was going to do it, I would tape it upwards rather than round the mute so it can fold over the rim to reduce noise and scratching. It would be relatively easy to make it pretty with a craft scalpel or similar
 
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