Should a pixie mute go all the way into the bell? I just got one and it sticks out about 3". Just wondering whether I should trim the cork a bit. Thanks.
It has to go in at least far enough so you can use a plunger over it, and not so far that you can't grab it to remove.
Those are the practical considerations.
Another of his tips: removed the inner sleeve on the small end. Use a flat edge screwdriver to pry it out a bit and pull it out.
Back in the '70's There was a bone player in the Thad Jones Mel Lewis band by the name of Butterball Jackson (maybe Johnson?). At one of their gigs in a Cleveland bar I was asking him questions about his plunger technique. He pulled me into the men's room and gave me a lesson. He said not to waste my money on a pixie straight mute. Then he showed me what he used. A Stone Lined Trumpet Straight Mute. Boy could he make his axe talk! I used a trumpet straight mute from then on. Even on my small bore 4H it went in far enough! And they are a lot cheaper!
I believe you are referring to Quentin "Butter" Jackson. Great player.
I heard from someone else that they used a "Non-Pareil" trumpet mute which they built up the corks on. The Non-Pareil isn't made any more and if a StoneLine mute wors, great.
Note that you have to play up in the range for this technique. Generally above the bass staff.
Quote from: BGuttman on Dec 15, 2017, 05:35AMI believe you are referring to Quentin "Butter" Jackson. Great player.
You are probably correct on his name. It was long ago and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. But, it was definitely a stone lined mute. When I got back to college and demonstrated it everybody in the section bought them. It fit my 4H fine. I imagine on a bigger horn you might need to build up the corks a little.
I heard from someone else that they used a "Non-Pareil" trumpet mute which they built up the corks on. The Non-Pareil isn't made any more and if a StoneLine mute works, great.
My current favorite small plunger mute is an Stomvi convertible trumpet cup mute with the cup part off. I have a number of Nonpareils and other trumpet straight mutes, and this one cuts them all in terms of projecton and "buzz." I looked online and the current Stomvi adjustable looks like it might be different than this one. Try one...if you can find it...and see.
P.S. The H&B pixie mute does not radically change the pitch of the horn upward...as do the smaller straight mutes like the Nonpareils...and it is much more usable in terms of overall range. It is less...piercing...in sound that the smaller mutes as well, but in a big band/short solo, "piercing" is what you want. Listen to the daddy of them all...Tricky Sam Nanton...with the Ellington band.
As I recall from my own attempts ( successful) to replicate the original Magosy Non-Pareil pixie and straight mutes. Not in the original thick aluminium, but in thinner metal of course. One of the secrets of the originals is the thickness-- and softness of the originals.
Tom Crown Model A trumpet straight mutes are clones of the original Magosy pixie...add your own beefier corks.
ProTec now makes a smaller fitting straight mute that is 60% of the size of a modern straight mute. I measured the volume by filling with water and pouring into a measuring cup. 60% volume and 100% replica of the Magosy straight mute for Ellington gigs. Again, not soft and thick metal, but a great feel and easy to blow softly.
This is a great how-to page, thanks for sharing it!