MUTE RESTORATIONS

My love of vintage mutes started when I was a student and one of my teachers would bring some Shastock TonalColor Cup Mutes, Shastock Solotone Mutes, and Ray Robinson Cup Mutes for us to use for the runs of whatever show we were playing at the time. I blame him for my obsession with trumpet gear! I've had a number of vintage mutes over the years and just played them in the condition they were in. Some were ok and some where held together with tape or whatever glue I had on hand when they fell apart during a performance such was my old Humes & Berg fiber pixie straight I used on the Bullets Over Broadway tour. I decided when I got home from that show I wanted to try and do some restorations to bring these mutes back to life. I started off with buying a large amount of mutes from various places and I lucked into some VERY large lots of Shastock and more that needed some attention. With my subjects in hand I set off on this journey which has included a lot of learning, research, and investment of both time and MONEY in equipment to do the best job possible on these. My clients have included players and collectors from all over the world including those at the Kennedy Center, US Army Blues, Airmen of Note, NYC Broadway pits, and many more who have continued to be repeat clients. I have shown some pictures below but I invite you to check out my Instagram at @JoshuaWagnerTrumpet for the most recent restoration pictures and more from my trumpet and teaching life!

Restorations:
Full Restoration: Includes stripping, repair, reassembly, seam sealing, polishing of brass where applicable, masking of brass and wood to be left unpainted, painting, new reproduction labels applied, clear coat, new felt if applicable, new cork, velvet Crown Royal Bag for storage, return shipping.

Functional Restorations: Includes sealing leaks, repairing as needed, new cork, reproduction label is original is missing or replacement of the original is requested. This preserves the vintage "aged" look of the mute if desired but brings it back to playability. In some cases the condition of the mute may not allow for this service to be utilized but require the full restoration. Generally if your mute is missing a lot of paint, leaking from multiple seam locations, and/or has cracks in the material a full restoration will be required. Missing pieces that need to be fabricated or used from my stock of parts will be an extra charge and that estimate will be given before work commences.

Felt Replacement: Includes the removal old felt and replacement with a new piece of hand-cut sheet felt. This can also be done in the case of newer Ray Robinson Cup Mutes and Stone Lined Mic-A-Mutes where spray flocking was utilized.

Trade-In Allowances
With both restored mutes and services for restorations, considerations will be given toward a trade-in allowance for SELECT mutes of interest to my collection or from the list I have of what clients are looking for.

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The Process

So what do you really get for your money? That can vary by the individual mute or specimen. Here is a general list (with pictures to follow later to help illustrate the different steps):

Measure and record thickness and locations of original cork.
Remove old cork.
Measure location of old label (or what’s left of old label) for later replacement. Original labels are saved when possible.
Measure thickness of any bands of color and how far it goes up the side of the mute (how far black, red, etc. come up the side of the mute from the bottom).
Strip old paint - can take anywhere from 1-4 days depending on age, brand, “custom” work by previous owners, and type of mute and is VERY messy. I have separate stands for this vs repair/painting. This includes using dental cleaning equipment to get into seams. I use an environmentally safe stripper vs sanding or using a wire wheel on a grinder. It's very messy but much better for the integrity of the mute materials under the paint.
Clean/scrub mute surfaces to remove any remaining stripper. Again, dental cleaning equipment is used when needed to get into seams and crevices. If this isn't done properly the paint will not adhere properly or will fail in time.
Some disassembly can be required during this part of the process depending on the mute. Often I have to remove cups or other parts to fully strip. This usually requires a heat gun.
I then take inventory of any needed parts and often referenced from mutes I have in my current collection or have worked on before and taken measurements or pictures in terms of dimensions and construction. Often times the wood on a Solotone or other mute is too far damaged to be saved so it has to be replaced.
I have the ability to fabricate new wood resonator panels in the same way the originals were made which is done with maple glued in multiple pieces crossing grain layers essentially making my own high quality plywood like the originals would have been. The thickness varies depending on the brand of mute, year, etc. Another note is some later Ray Robinson cups had fiber bottoms instead of the earlier and original versions that had wood. I will remove the fiber bottom and remake the bottom in wood to be like the originals. It really makes a difference.
In the case of mutes with missing brass or cardboard tubes a new tube can be fabricated. For Solotone mutes of any era I use a replacement brass tube since that was how they were originally constructed. Later production Shastock Solotone mutes produced by MICRO changed to cardboard tubes which were cheaper but impacted playing and replacing with a brass tube like the originals really helps how they play. However, for a Ray Robinson Mel-O-Wah or Shastock Charlie Spivak Whispa they ALWAYS came with a cardboard tube and sourcing pre-made tubes of the right dimensions hasn't been successful. Instead I make a new cardboard tube starting with a piece of brass tube stock that has an outside dimension the same size as the inside dimension of an original tube as a mandrel. I then build it up to the thickness needed doing multiple layers in strips at an angle much like you would find in a regular cardboard tube but it’s a much thinner type of material. I tend to keep an original from different mute varieties to use as a reference.
Once this is done I check seams and for shape deformities. I seal up seams and fill holes and large cracks that may have developed over the years with a durable, flexible, and paintable “substance” that took a bit of trial and error to find. Finding one that didn’t react to my paint was a bit of work. Deformities in the fiber boards usually takes persuasion and reshaping via a heat gun with a gentle and slow process.
Next is polishing any brass that may exist. Except for the earliest versions, Shastock painted over brass parts to save money but I like to strip, polish, and clear over the brass to make it stand out. Sometimes I also find aluminum or steel rings on mutes that would have been painted over. For steel it still has to be painted so I will use a paint that nods to the steel color but will keep it from rusting over time. Clear coat alone just doesn’t cut it.
Depending on the type or color I may need to stain the wood panels, like Shastock mutes. Originally the wood was only stained on the black versions. On white mutes the wood gets painted back over - they were ALWAYS done like this even back in the early days. Eventually both colors had their wood painted which saved on labor costs.
Stained wood and brass are masked for painting.
Primer and paint. Mutes with multiple colors like a Humes & Berg or Ray Robinson have to be painted in a certain order, masked, and the next color painted. The Ray Robinson cups for instance I end up painting the white tip, masking the tip, painting the black bottom and cone, masking the cone and bottom, painting the white cup, touching up the inside of the cup and cup edge in black. This process can take a 1-2 weeks depending on temp, how many colors, and sometimes "unforeseen" problems that arise.
Unmask wood and brass and apply clear coat for durability and better protection.
If the mute has felt in the cup the felt has to be cut by hand and glued. That was the old way so even mutes in the later eras that used spray felt are restored with the original-style sheet felt. The change again was to save on labor costs and not to improve playability.
Corks are cut by hand. I have basic templates I’ve made out of wood to cut around for many of the different mutes but also a drawer FULL of cork templates for Harmon-style (with different eras requiring different templates), Solotone, trombone vs trumpet versions, etc. Sometimes I have to make new templates if there is a big enough difference. I create a new template, label, date, and saved for later projects.
Labels are printed and cut by hand (usually already done and in baggies during the winter when I can’t paint as much due to temperatures). Sometimes I have to create a replacement label from scratch either from pictures or from measurements I took earlier in the process. I try to save the original labels when I can but my reproduction labels have become MUCH more accurate as I’ve decided to do the design work myself.
Each mute gets a crown royal bag for shipping.

This process can vary for certain mutes like a Spivak Whispa Mute which requires assembly during the painting process due to how they are assembled. Also LOTS of felt needs to be installed both during assembly and after full assembly and painting. Doing so many of them I’ve learned the most efficient order for all of this but it still takes a LOT of time to do it right. Because I do this around the rest of my schedule I discourage people who are in a hurry to send mutes to me. I get it done as quick as I can. It could be 2 months, it could be 6. I don't send them back until I'm satisfied with how they turned out. If I'm satisfied then I KNOW you will be too!

Testimonials

Gallery of Restored Mutes

Audio-Visual Samples

This is a very early version of the Ray Robinson Cup Mute. Each one of these early ones are slightly different. I have another with tabs but the cup shape is more contoured on this one. It was a huge challenge to do this right but it turned out well.

Some of the details of this mute include a non-riveted cone, maple bottom resonator, felt-covered tabs on the cup to help with finding the right distance between the edge of the cup and the bell, hand-cut felt lining the cup, and high-quality natural cork.

Everything gets stripped down, seams sealed, hand brushed with oil-based paint and polyurethane. The mute labels have been reproduced to match the originals. Hear this mute in action above playing Shiny Stockings!

Vintage Chicago-era Humes & Berg New Stone Lined Cup Mute. Different materials from the current cups and use of split-rivets. Everything gets stripped down, seams sealed, hand brushed with oil-based paint and polyurethane. The mute labels have been reproduced to match the originals. Hear this mute in action above playing Shiny Stockings!

Here is a recent addition to my collection. It's a 1950's Ullven Dizzy Gillespie Model adjustable cup mute. These are copper with chrome plating and are pretty rare. the edge of the cup that makes contact with the body is covered in a wool felt and the edge of the cup has a clear plastic ring around it. The bottom is stamped "Made in Sweden" and has the original Ullven Dizzy Gillespie stickers on the body and the cup. It wasn't in bad shape when I got it but a mute this old is likely to have some pitting in the chrome and the corks were mostly gone so this was cleaned, polished, and re-corked. I think it sounds pretty good!

Here is a vintage Shastock Tonal Color Cup mute. These are a composite material and have a maple bottom resonator. The cups are made of tin and are very fragile. You can see the work I went through to fix the cups and clamps. They aren't perfect but seeing what they looked like before you can see the vast improvement. These are pretty involved. Everything gets stripped down including the cups, dents removed, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint and polyurethane. Check out the excerpt of Shiny Stockings above with the Shastock Tonal Color Cup Mute!

Here is a vintage Shastock Charlie Spivak Whispa Mute. This mute is one of the more complicated ones I have done. There is a cardboard tube inside the cone which is often missing which was replaced with a comparable size PVC tubing which plays better than the original without sacrificing sound. The brass ring on top is usually painted but was polished and clear coated for the finished mute. Due to the design the white cone has to be finished before the gold section so it is masked, painted, brass polished, reproduction labels added, and two coats of polyurethane added.

The underside of the mute has a felt disk over where the opening of the tube is. There are five strips of cork between every circular cutout on the gold ring, that has to be cut and glued to the cone and the gold ring. Then four cork spacers are cut to go between the bottom of the cone and the bottom of the gold ring. After those are in place you can finally attach the bottom of the gold ring. Then I made a tube to finish painting the gold section without getting it one the white paint of the cone. Finally the gold section is polyurethaned. New pieces of felt material were cut to replace the old ones on the sides of the gold section. Then the mute is re-corked. This is a REALLY involved mute to get right.

Above is the Shastock Charlie Spivak Whispa Mute on the Fetes excerpt from the Debussy Nocturnes. I really like how this Mute plays. This particular Mute was THE choice for this piece for a very long time and I can see why!

This is a vintage Humes & Berg Chicago-Era Buzz-Wow Mute. This is one of the rarer designs. There are openings for three kazoo diaphragms and the center has a brass tube. Originally, this was riveted together on the bottom and you couldn't change the diaphragms once they wore out. I modified this one so you could remove the bottom and change out the diaphragms as needed. It was a very involved and nerve-wracking project but worth the end result! Everything gets stripped down, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint and polyurethane.

This is a vintage Humes & Berg Chicago-Era Cup-Wow Mute. This is one of the rarer designs. It sound a lot like a harmon and cup mute combined and I have used in place of a Solotone or Clear-Tone Mute on occasion. Everything gets stripped down, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint and polyurethane.

This was a restoration for Mark Biegel. The mute had a lot of damage and was held together with hot glue. This is one of the rarer designs. It sound a lot like a harmon and cup mute combined and can be used in place of a Solotone or Clear-Tone Mute on occasion. Everything gets stripped down, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint and polyurethane. Check out the pictures to the right for the before and during shots.

This was a restoration for Mark Biegel. The mute had a lot of damage and wasn't assembled very well at the factory with a lot of sloppy adhesive. It was also missing some of the spacers inside of the chamber for the membranes. This was one of the later designs made in the East Chicago, Ind. factory but because they aren't made anymore it was worth restoring. These essentially sound like having a couple of kazoos in your bell. Everything gets stripped down, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint and polyurethane. Check out the pictures to the right for the before and during shots. Above is a vide from Mark demonstrating his new mutes after restoration.

This is a vintage Shastock Meg-A-Mute for trumpet/cornet. It has a smaller cone inside the larger one separated with cork. This was in decent condition when I acquired it but the cork was hardened with age so I disassembled, stripped, brass and wood masked off, painted, brass polished, added a new label, polyurethane, and finally new cork. The inner cone is missing on a number of these but they are the same cone as the top of a Solotone mute or the main cone on the Spivak Whispa Mute.

Here is a vintage Chicago-era Hums & Berg Straight Mute I recently restored playing the opening of Dublin Bay from Lincolnshire Posy. Unlike later versions both in Chicago, ILL and East Chicago, IND, this has no riveted seam.

Each mute is disassembled, stripped, masked as needed, painted, new label added, polyurethane, and finally new cork

Here is a vintage Ray Robinson Straight Mute I recently restored playing the opening of Dublin Bay from Lincolnshire Posy. These have a fiber cone and a maple bottom giving it a very unique sound.

Each mute is disassembled, stripped, painted, new label added, polyurethane, and finally new cork.

Here is a video of my self-restored Shastock Solotone. This is one of the early ones with three resonators instead of two. As time went on, things started getting changed or deleted in order to make larger profits and speed production. I think it turned out pretty well. The last picture shows the before where someone decided to give it a custom paint job.

Everything gets stripped down with a natural citrus-based stripper, all seams sealed, brass polished, areas masked off to prepare for hand-brushed oil-based paint, new label, and polyurethane.

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