(29 Aug 1995) English/Nat
If silence is golden, then musicians will pay to play quietly.
Japan's Yamaha Corporation has unveiled a device that reduces the volume of trumpets by more than 30 decibels - to the level of a whisper.
This is the latest device to be unveiled by music maker Yamaha.
The device resembles a traditional mute, used by brass musicians to reduce their volume - but this one cuts considerably more noise because of special space-age silicon materials.
Yamaha introduced the new device in Japan with a little help from internationally renowned trumpeter Allen Vizzutti.
(UPSOUND)
So quiet is the new device that amplifiers were used at the launch so everyone could hear.
SOUNDBITE:
The interesting thing is this mute. It has a feed from the microphone to an electronic box which contains some acoustical choices such as reverberation and volume and in that way it feeds sound back to earphones so that as a trumpet player and as a
musician, you are able to hear yourself very well and not overplay which was always the problem with other practice mutes that stop sound up. You play too hard, too loud in the sense of blowing. You couldn't hear that loud and it was difficult to
practice. With this system, it's very much like playing out in the open and actually great fun too. At home I can practice any hour of day or night and not bother anybody.
SUPER CAPTION: Allen Vizzutti, Musician
Yamaha, the world's largest maker of musical instruments, said the quiet trumpet was inspired by a silent piano it introduced nearly two years ago.
The trumpet silencer goes on sale next month for 265 dollars.
Yamaha's next silent product? A trombone, the company says.
(UPSOUND)
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