Hi,
It would also be useful to have a Bb trumpet with harmon mute .... think it will be available?
..... if no .. do you know where can I found it?
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Harmon Mute
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No, the original mutes in the C trumpet are definitely Harmon and NOT straight mutes. I know what a Harmon mute is. They were not listed in the sample directory as Harmon mutes, and this actually caused some problems for some people who wanted a more commonly used mute which is a straight mute. I have the complete C trumpet samples - which are still the best trumpet samples ever done by an incredible virtuoso player - and the muted samples are done with a Harmon mute.
If you get the complete C trumpet you will get those samples.
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From the product page:
"Although the sound of the trumpet is usually associated with majestic, powerful fanfares, the classical and soft “straight muted” timbre of this Trumpet in C not only blends well with ensembles of woodwinds and strings, but is also perfectly suited for lyrical melodic solo lines. All articulations have been recorded with a custom made damper that has been specifically modified in order to meet the high sonic standards of Vienna's highly acclaimed “Silent Stage” recordings."
Are you sure it's a Harmon mute? Not to cause a fuss, but I'm actually curious to know that is meant by "custom made damper."
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I remembered the discussion on this quite some time ago and it was identified as a Harmon mute, and it sounds just like a Harmon mute. Though I could always be delusional. Maybe it is a custom made one but like a Harmon? You could definitely use it as a Harmon mute though. I remember it actually sounded wrong for what I was using because I was trying to do a straight mute part. At least traditionally, straight mutes were always used in orchestral trumpet parts, and Harmon were used mainly in jazz, so it was odd that the muted C trumpet was a Harmon-sounding one. Anyway I guess VSL has to say.
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To be honest, I've no idea who placed the rumor about the harmon mute on the Trumpet C. At the time we've recorded this library we were looking for a good muted sound for this instrument for an orchestral context and, of course, not the "Miles Davis" style. We've made some adjustments at the mute to avoid unwanted frequences and noises. For more choices of straight mute sounds we've recorded the Trumpet Bb mute as well.
I believe that our demos could give you the right picture, how our muted trumpets could sound:
All the best, Michael Hula
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While looking around for muted trumpet sounds, I examined the muted trumpet (solo and ensemble) from VSL. While it might not be a Harmon mute, it sounds like it. Probably, customizing it made it change the sound to something more similar to a Harmon mute than a straight one.
Just for comparison, listen to the Trumpet Sonata by Halsey Stevens in both the VSL and real players version. You can hear how different the mute trumpet sound is (the one in the real players version is the mute I'm accustomed to hear in real orchestras).
https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Brass_I/TrumpetC_muted#!Demos
This is the same for trombone. The sound is more of the 'funny' variety, than of the subdued, far-sounding one required by composers when invoking 'con sord.'. I whish a more standard straight mute sound appears, both in the Full and the Special Edition libraries. I would like to have a VSL straight mute sound.
Paolo
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I would love to have a response from the VSL team regarding the last post by Paolo--Years ago, when I first taught the VSL library, we got to the trumpet, and I immediately thought there was an error--that the muted trumpet was not only a harmon mute, but one without the stem (yes, like Miles). This isn't an urban legend, but many of us brass players **immediately** hear harmon when hearing the VSL muted trumpet sound.
I've never posted anything regarding this and only see this thread now because I searched the web for "VSL trumpet harmon"--because I assumed there was an error based on hearing the samples. I understand it's possible that a straight mute was used for the recording and that by removing , but this _sounds_ like a harmon mute--every trumpet player I've shown this to has said the same thing. I asked what kind of mute is this without saying anything about this topic. EVERY one of them answered harmon. Separately.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, since I teach this to the entire film scoring class here every year. I always have students use a different trumpet library if they want realistic straight mutes. Thanks!
Paul Coleman
