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The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/01/2011: 23:02:37
Tell you what, I could play the banjo all day and all night, if I could, but I live in a duplex. I'm a night owl, and would love to be able to play until about 3 AM when I go to sleep.
But I cant! The folks on the other side are asleep right now, and the banjo is LOUD!
I'm looking at my 3 banjos across the room here...but I cant play em! 
Thats a bummer.
Mike
HARDROCK KID - Posted - 03/01/2011: 23:33:02
quote:
Originally posted by The Mighty Ant
Tell you what, I could play the banjo all day and all night, if I could, but I live in a duplex. I'm a night owl, and would love to be able to play until about 3 AM when I go to sleep...But I cant! The folks on the other side are asleep right now, and the banjo is LOUD!!!!I'm looking at my 3 banjos across the room here...but I cant play em!
Thats a bummer.Mike
Mike; Get a mute. Check your music store for an ULTRA banjo mute. They are low cost, molded out of hard rubber, slip over the bridge and they are easy to install or remove, and still allow the tone to come thru but deaden the noise. also you can stuff a cloth, small towel or some socks under the head and put the resonator back on to quiet your banjo down. Sounds like you have the bedrooms in your duplex on an ajoining wall, you may have to go to the other end to play even with a mute......Good Luck.....
Edited by - HARDROCK KID on 03/01/2011 23:35:43
james krewson - Posted - 03/02/2011: 03:29:46
My vote is for Mike's Mute.
They're hand made by a Hangout member (his wife sews the bags!), purty, and you can still hear good even tone even though the volume is nil. I tried an "Ultimate" one and the sound was just muffled and buzzyand the stuff on the inside started coming off after a couple of months. But just my two cents.
Jim
banjohangout.org/classifieds/d...?cid=3113
james krewson - Posted - 03/02/2011: 03:31:18
* for the record I have no affiliation with Mike, I just love my mute.
Docmhc - Posted - 03/02/2011: 04:14:32
Not to knock anyone's preference, the above mentioned mute appears bulky and is rather expensive. Here's a link to the mute I use and it works great. janetdavismusic.com/gt-bm.html
I often set it over just one leg of the bridge for just a little muting. The farther you slip it onto the bridge, the more muting effect you get. Not to mention that it's about half the price.
Don
Poco50 - Posted - 03/02/2011: 04:16:54
My vote goes to "Mike's Banjo Mute", it works great. I like the way the "Ultimate" slides over the bridge better but the sound that comes from the banjo with the "Ultimate" sounds terrible, (of course just my opinion).
Gary....
Karen Kruske - Posted - 03/02/2011: 05:14:51
Got Mike's Banjo Mute and use it most of the time to save my right ear. Love the sound that comes from it and it keeps others around me happier.
Clawnovice - Posted - 03/02/2011: 07:54:18
Simple .... just buy your neighbours a banjo. Better still give them one of yours.
Chammer - Posted - 03/02/2011: 10:00:52
Make a mute like one I made. Take a piece of dowel that will slide loosely under the strings of your banjo, in front of the bridge. Then, wrap it with a layer or so of cloth, tie down the ends and insert it back in place. It really cuts down on the volume. The tighter it fits between the strings and the head, the quieter it is. Remember, the mute fits in front of the bridge, toward the neck.
minstrelmike - Posted - 03/02/2011: 10:32:23
A quarter-inch strip of Velcro across the strings just in front of the bridge works, too.
whyteman - Posted - 03/02/2011: 10:44:31
Start playing accordian or hammered dulcimer. They'll be begging for the banjo.
Don
trick420 - Posted - 03/02/2011: 13:58:15
Or, for instant gratification, stuff a large towel inside so it contacts the head over a large area, especially directly under the bridge. That worked very well for me and makes the banjo quite silent. AND it's free!
Jeff
oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 03/02/2011: 14:41:08
A rolled up table napkin (linen - not paper) between the dowel stick and the head, will do the trick - especially if you put it along the top of the dowel so it is contacting about 6 - 7 inches of head. Makes the banjo very hard to hear over the television the neighbour fell asleep in front of three nights in a row last week.
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/02/2011: 23:06:33
Well, here it is. 24 hours later. Did a lot of playing today...Scruggs and Clawhammer 
But its 2AM again, and here I am staring at my 3 banjos...and cant play em.
I think I will shop around for a mute. Let me ask you this...
Which one is the easiest and quickest to put in place?
pickinchik - Posted - 03/03/2011: 13:52:37
Hey Mike,
I got a $5-$10 violin mute awhile back that works wonderfully well. It just slides right down on top of the bridge. If you move it around some it will really make a difference in sound too. Kinda cool. I would use this and a towel under the head to play while my daughter napped. She never once woke up from it and I got to play for a solid hour or more. Now she doesn't take naps as you can hear from my videos, LOL. I've also added my first video I made. I forgot it was still on at the time. There is no rag or anything under the head just the violin mute. If you add the cloth it really quiets it down. I'm standing in my bathroom at the time of that vid because it was the farthest room away from my sleeping daughter. LOL, I'm hopefully a much better player now but thought u might like to hear it.
Mandy
Edited by - pickinchik on 03/03/2011 13:55:07
fesso - Posted - 03/03/2011: 14:50:47
quote:
...and the banjo is LOUD!
just get yourself some earplugs!
kevinwholmes - Posted - 03/03/2011: 17:05:09
Violin mutes are a great idea. They're cheap and work well. I often use a violin Tourte mute, which is good for making the sound a little softer (probably not enough for this discussion) and a little more mellow, and you can slide it on or off while playing. Here's a video where that is done:
youtube.com/watch?v=ruo8rPCISR8
Earl in name only - Posted - 03/03/2011: 19:06:30
I'm a fan of Janet Davis Music's mute. When we traveled, my wife would always tell me not to play the banjo in motels because she was afraid of disturbing others. The mute solved that problem.
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/03/2011: 20:11:00
quote:
Originally posted by pickinchik
Hey Mike,
I got a $5-$10 violin mute awhile back that works wonderfully well. It just slides right down on top of the bridge. If you move it around some it will really make a difference in sound too. Kinda cool. I would use this and a towel under the head to play while my daughter napped. She never once woke up from it and I got to play for a solid hour or more. Now she doesn't take naps as you can hear from my videos, LOL. I've also added my first video I made. I forgot it was still on at the time. There is no rag or anything under the head just the violin mute. If you add the cloth it really quiets it down. I'm standing in my bathroom at the time of that vid because it was the farthest room away from my sleeping daughter. LOL, I'm hopefully a much better player now but thought u might like to hear it.
Mandy
Hey there Mandy..
Thank you so much for that demonstration. I think I'll try and find $5.OO or $10.00 violin mute.
And GOOD JOB with Wildwood Flower. I enjoyed it. I have a whole slew of songs I play, but never tried that great old Carter Family song.
Sooo, you inspired me to work up a clawhammer arangement of Wildwood Flower....which I just did in the last 20 minutes or so.
Thanks!
Mike
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/03/2011: 20:34:56
quote:
Originally posted by kevinwholmes
Violin mutes are a great idea. They're cheap and work well. I often use a violin Tourte mute, which is good for making the sound a little softer (probably not enough for this discussion) and a little more mellow, and you can slide it on or off while playing. Here's a video where that is done:
youtube.com/watch?v=ruo8rPCISR8
Kevin, thank you for demonstrating your mute, but more than that thank you for playing that beautuful revolutionary war era song "Chester". I enjoyed that IMMENSELY...the reason being, I love old old songs. The older the better. Hearing, and even better playing, very old songs sort of takes me back to those by-gone times. I feel like I am experiencing some small part of those days.
And you played it very beautifully. And I *believe* (could be wrong) that I noticed you are missing the middle finger of your picking hand.
If so, may hat is off' to you, sir. Bravo.
Mike
Edited by - The Mighty Ant on 03/03/2011 20:35:42
Jim Yates - Posted - 03/03/2011: 22:15:38
Here's what I use for a banjo mute. About $1 at the local hardware store. You'll want two of 'em.
Edited by - Jim Yates on 03/03/2011 22:20:01
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/03/2011: 22:32:01
Jim...I have some of those around here somewhere.
EXACTLY how do you use them? Where to you clamp them...in which direction are they pointed when installed...etc etc.
Thanks!
Jim Yates - Posted - 03/04/2011: 08:23:43
I clamp 'em on the ends of the bridge, with one facing each direction. It's hard to explain. I'll take a picture and post it.
There's also the option of stuffing something between the head and dowel stick or coordinating rods. Pete Seeger said in his book,"A hankerchief is too small and a bath towel is too big, but a diaper is just right." (I shouldn't use quotation marks since I'm quoting from memory, but it's close) I use a pair of socks; my friend, Ted, uses a kitchen sponge. This is much easier if you have an open back banjo.
pickinchik - Posted - 03/04/2011: 09:14:32
quote:
Originally posted by The Mighty Ant
quote:
Originally posted by pickinchik
Hey Mike,
I got a $5-$10 violin mute awhile back that works wonderfully well. It just slides right down on top of the bridge. If you move it around some it will really make a difference in sound too. Kinda cool. I would use this and a towel under the head to play while my daughter napped. She never once woke up from it and I got to play for a solid hour or more. Now she doesn't take naps as you can hear from my videos, LOL. I've also added my first video I made. I forgot it was still on at the time. There is no rag or anything under the head just the violin mute. If you add the cloth it really quiets it down. I'm standing in my bathroom at the time of that vid because it was the farthest room away from my sleeping daughter. LOL, I'm hopefully a much better player now but thought u might like to hear it.
Mandy
Hey there Mandy..
Thank you so much for that demonstration. I think I'll try and find $5.OO or $10.00 violin mute.
And GOOD JOB with Wildwood Flower. I enjoyed it. I have a whole slew of songs I play, but never tried that great old Carter Family song.
Sooo, you inspired me to work up a clawhammer arangement of Wildwood Flower....which I just did in the last 20 minutes or so.
Thanks!
Mike
Hey Mike, don't judge me on that one please. I am hopefully much better now, LOL. That was just the only vid with a mute on. LOL Hope it works out for you. I'm really quite sure it will because of how much it worked for me when I needed it.
Mandy
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/04/2011: 12:00:01
Jim Yates...
I fumbled around in my tool box and found my little electrical clips. (at least thats what I have always called them)
They are indentical to yours.
I clamped them to the 2 ends of the bridge...
...and it worked! I would estimate it cut the volume about 50%
I think if, when its really late and they are all sleeping, if I go back in the kitchen, I should be able to dig in as much as I want and not wake anyone up.
Thanks!
Jim Yates - Posted - 03/15/2011: 23:54:11
Some options for muting a banjo: Two types of electrical (alligator) clips, two fridge magnets*, one on the inside and one on the outside, socks under the coordinator rods or dowel stick
*These are Semex magnets that I picked up when we played for some cattle farmers in Prince Edward County. The Semex company supplies bull sperm for artificial insemination. "Save Your Bull"
Edited by - Jim Yates on 03/15/2011 23:56:51
The Mighty Ant - Posted - 03/16/2011: 13:04:56
Jim...
I actually found a couple of LARGER alligator clips. I tried em out and they work even better!
The little ones cut the sound about 50%
These larger ones cut it about 75%
