Yamaha SB3-9 Silent Brass System for French Horn

As a working mom with young kids, my opportunities to practice the horn are rather limited. When I can grab time during the evening before the kids are in bed, it basically kicks my husband out of our room for the duration. The Silent Brass system for French Horn allows me to practice much more than before. Sure, I'd rather practice unmuted, but when I can't do that, Silent Brass saves the day. As with any mute, people nearby can still hear me, but much more softly than usual. In fact, my husband has sat around reading and even napped in the same room where I was practicing with the Silent Brass system. I could hear my horn just fine through the ear buds, and it was quiet enough not to bother him, even though I was playing ffff passages at full force.It does have a few shortcomings. There is an annoying buzz (in the ear buds, not from the muted horn itself) every time I play 3rd-space C. No other notes, just that one. Unfortunately that note occurs quite often! I thought it might be a quirk of my horn, but I tried it on my old single and the same thing happened. Differences in dynamics get flattened out; mezzo-piano does sound different from fortissimo, but not NEARLY as much different as when I am playing without the mute. Sharp accents come through on the earbuds very sloppy, almost nonexistent. Still, compared to no practice at all, which is the only alternative at the times I'm using the system, it is fabulous!The mute doesn't seem to mess with the pitch, though I was afraid it would. Seems to play right where it should.Playing with the mute feels a little different because of the slight back-pressure, but I think that might actually be helping my un-muted playing.As another reviewer commented, you do lose the ability to use your right hand in the bell to adjust the sound of your horn. There's no making up for that, but at least they did thoughtfully provide a "handle" on the mute. I stick my fingers into the handle, and that allows me to hold my horn in a fairly normal position.Bottom line, it's not quite as good a practice as you would get playing unmuted, but it's 1000% better than no practice at all. I wasn't going to buy one because of the price, but when I mentioned that to my husband, he said "Buy it. Really. Buy it now." If you're limited in your practice time because the sound level bothers others, then my advice is the same: "Buy it. Really."

Makes the instrument go silent to others while you continue to be able to practice. At it as in tune if you were playing live but if you want or need to practice without disturbing others then use this. DO NOT BUY THE MUTE ONLY. BE SURE TO BUY THE MUTE AND AMPLIFIER.

Given the choice I'd rather practice without a mute, but when I have to I'm glad I have this, it's 110% better than a practice mute, quieter than a traditional practice mute, and you have better sound quality for your own pleasure. It's quiet enough that it won't wake the baby, even when playing in the same room, right next to the crib. Highly suggest it if you're in a small apartment with thin walls, or need to practice without bothering others.

Generally, the Yamaha SB3-9 Silent Brass System for French Horn is a great tool to help people who don't have much of a choice about places or time to practice. The sound is reduced enough to avoid others in the next room. After long time of using, I find the sound coming from the earphone a bit twisted though. It's still a great practice companion.

I use this system a lot. It is a great way to practice late at night, and affords flexibility.

I am a brass horn enthusiast. However my enthusiasm does not extend to the rest of my family. This item has allowed me to practice as much as I want (French Horn and Trombone) without disturbing others.

Overall, the product does what it advertises, allowing you to practice with much less noise while still clearly hearing the sound yourself via headphones. It certainly isn't silent, but opens up many more situations where you can practice. When playing in my kitchen, I could still be heard in a bedroom down the hall with the door closed, but it wasn't objectionable.Some people have complained about the change in air resistance while others say it is not an issue. For me, the "feel" is slightly different, especially on certain notes such as C and C# above middle C. So it took some getting use to. At first, it felt like I was playing the wrong note, due to the change in resistance. After playing for years, you get accustomed to how certain notes feel, and that was affected by the mute. If you've ever put down the wrong fingering but still pretty much got the right note by playing a different partial, that is how I can best describe the feeling. However, I got used to that after a few sessions and it hasn't bothered me as much.Another ongoing issue I have had is with extraneous vibrations. It takes a bit of fiddling around to get the mute perfectly seated in the bell so annoying rattles are not heard. Perhaps that is an issue with my particular horn (Conn 8D).The sound is generally pretty good up to about a forte level. Once you start to enter into the "brassy" sound, it is less satisfactory. A horn playing in that brassy range can be a magnificent and majestic sound. This doesn't translate well with the Silent Brass System. It sounds a bit distorted and weak. However again, you tend to get used to this after a while.I found the electronics to be a little sub-par. It's hard to get enough volume without distortion with some headphones I had, though the included ear buds do a decent job. The built-in echo/reverb effect is helpful to give a little sense of space, but you won't confuse it with playing in a concert hall, or even a live bedroom. On short percussive notes, you can hear the flutter of individual echoes. I was expecting a little more than that.This is probably obvious, but as with any mute, you lose the ability to control pitch with your hand. And of course you can't practice stopped passages.Sometimes I felt a little tangled up in all the cords, especially if you use the CD/MP3 input to play along with recorded music, which requires an extra cord. However, that just goes along with the territory and there isn't much that can be done about that short of using wireless connections, which have their own issues.All in all, the product is useful despite its limitations, though you will definitely still need some "normal" practice time. I would recommend it to anyone who is limited in their ability to practice due to the noise. It is a big improvement over standard practice mutes and much better than not practicing at all, which is usually the alternative. Since there really isn't any competition anyway, this is the obvious best choice!