corking a Bremner sssssshhhhhhmute

 This is probably a little off-topic for this blog but I like traditional acoustic instruments as much as electronic ones. 

I'm primarily a brass player, own a cornet (Sovereign round-stamp, 1976 from the serial number. Never bettered) and a flugel. (Yamaha, with valves that seize up when left for more than a day without moving them). 

Obviously I have a large collection of mutes for each, including this practice mute for the cornet. It's great, really quiet. 

However, the 'seal' is made of what used to be some kind of foam and over two decades has turned to dust. Some of these mutes (I guess later ones than mine) have cork, which seems like a better idea. In fact you can buy official replacement cork but after adding postage I found that a bit pricey.

You can also buy self-adhesive thin cork, which I have done for this and another job. Here's how I made a template and cut that to the right size and shape.

First I wrapped a piece of paper tightly around the mute. Then used what was left of the original seal as a guide to mark lines as neatly as possible. (To get them parallel, I fixed the pencil and rotated the mute on its base).

So there's a paper template. I drew around this onto the backing paper of the cork and cut that out.

Peeling the remains of the foam off was a messy job:

et voila! 

I consider this an upgrade. I think the cork is a better material for the job and will probably last longer. We'll see!