I took my banjo downstairs to practice where I can easily lose myself an hour at a time.

A few days of doing this, I noticed more high-pitch ringing in my ears when in silence. I value my hearing and protect it as much as possible. So I was curious why I had the ringing sensation (didn't put it together quite yet).

The next night, I was practicing and realized how incredibly loud the banjo really is and had a hunch. So I pulled out my trusty decimeter. I was shocked to see 80+ db --consistently.

For anyone unaware, 80 db of sound energy sustained over an hour will cause hearing damage. That's where the additional ringing in my ears was coming from.

Because of this revelation, I immediately fired up my favorite internet search engine and begin the research. I didn't even think there was something called a banjo mute. I was happy to see that a banjo mute isn't a far-fetched concept after all.

A personality trait I have is to research something until I feel I can make the absolute best decision possible. After several hours researching and reading about banjo mutes, my decision was made. The next morning, I ordered Mike's Banjo Mute. And later that morning I was notified that It had shipped that same day.

I eagerly awaiting it's arrival and was rewarded quickly. Putting the mute on the banjo was like nothing I could have anticipated. It is *SO* incredibly quiet, yet all the tones remain open and clean. It's just QUIET! Running over to my wife with banjo in hand, she prepared "the look". I strummed a few chords and ran a couple rolls. The look on her face was wonderful. Confusion and surprise. I proudly showed off Mike's Banjo Mute and she was appropriately impressed. Another marriage saved along with a little of my hearing.

There are few products which I purchase that exceed expectations. Mike's Banjo Mute is one of the few items which as done this.

On a side-note regarding build quality... my father was an industrial mold maker. I grew up around machine shops and high-precision machining (mostly aero-space). The quality of manufacture is great. There was some residual buffing compound in the engraving (yes, it's engraved and polished/buffed), but it's a piece of art. And if you're really worried about the buffing compound in the engraving, it could easily be removed. But I'm going to leave it in, because it's likely part of the tuning and contributes to the quietest mute possible.

If you've been on the fence regarding this mute, this quality item will last generations and will exceed expectations. Just buy one and know you made the best possible choice.