Artino Practice Mute for violin/viola, Japanese import

I have been searching for a good mute for my violin. I usually practice at night, as I work the night shift. I also work from home, so I usually practice at home. I live in apartments with very thin walls, so practicing at night is not very good for my neighbors. I started using a standard rubber mute, but I always liked the increased dampening of the metal mutes. Why? Because while the rubber mutes work well for preventing my neighbors from hearing me play, when my family comes over to stay for a few days, they can still hear me practicing with the rubber mute on. I always wanted a metal mute, because they dampen the sound extremely well. The trade off is that they change the sound of the violin. The change is noticeable enough for me to not like the metal mutes. This mute has been perfect for me. It mutes the sound of the violin like a metal mute, but it does not change the sound, like a rubber mute. The only issue I can think of with this is that you have to be careful because it does not fit the same way a rubber mute fits. You press down on a rubber mute a bit to sit it on the violin bridge, but for this, it is merely placed on the top of the bridge. It can seem to be loose, or not fit well, but it works fantastically and is secure. Also, some people complain this mute blocks their view of the finger board when they are playing. I can see the fingerboard perfectly with this mute on, and it does not obstruct my vision in any way when I am playing, but I feel the need to mention it here, as some people say this does happen with them. I am very satisfied with this purchase, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for substantial muting on their violin for practicing.

This mute has been a lifesaver for late night practice sessions. The volume reduction is real and noticeable, roughly comparable to an unplugged electric violin, maybe a touch more. Enough to keep the neighbors happy. Installation is simple, you just clip it onto the bridge, but there's one thing worth knowing: it's heavier than you might expect (and it's also very well built), so make sure your bridge is sitting straight before putting it on. The added weight could cause it to lean or shift if you're not careful, and that's not something you want to mess with. As for tuning accuracy, I haven't noticed any issues there. It doesn't seem to affect how the instrument holds tune (but I'm far from an expert). That said, I wouldn't recommend using it for every practice session. The muted sound makes it harder to catch your own mistakes and pick up on the finer details of your playing, but that's not what it's designed for anyway. If you need to practice at an inconvenient hour without bothering anyone, this does the job perfectly. It is a bit expensive but doing the work of a metallic one in a plastic shell seems worth it to me.

It does a super job at what it is supposed to do...make your violin play quietly. The tone you get is very quiet, but without ruining to quality. I use hearing aids, and without my aids in my ears, I can almost not hear the instrument. And even with the hearing aids, it is super hush. So, no problems waking up people inside my home! Downside is that it rides really high on the bridge, which means it blocks all view of the contact range of the strings. Before you try using the mute, be proficient enough with your bow arm that you don't have to look at that, because you will not be able to see it. All in all, a very good mute. Recommended.

Build quality is great, little plastic case is a nice addition. It sits quite high on my bridge, which I don’t LOVE, but it keeps the tune and tone of the notes pretty well and makes the instrument VERY quiet. Very sleek and easy to use, nice rubber coating to avoid damaging instrument, just wish it fit better on the bridge. Overall, I do not regret buying this.

Works much better than the rubber mute I was using. Greatly reduces the sound. I was having trouble with some buzzing using the rubber mute, but I do not have that problem with this mute

This mute reduces noise considerably more than plastic or rubber mutes that I have tried. In an apartment, I have been concerned about practicing late at night for fear of disturbing the neighbors, even with another mute. This one reduces the volume to the point where I feel confident that I won't disturb others while playing. It might still be noticed or disturb the sleep of someone in the next room, but I certainly can't think of a more effective device save, perhaps, practicing on an electric violin. It is heavier than others that I have tried, but the outer layer helps to protect the instrument. The sound quality is affected by it, but considering that it lets me practice longer and later, this is acceptable to me. I played the clarinet previously and this was much more difficult, I have yet to find an effective mute for a clarinet and it is also a loud instrument. It requires a little more care in installation; on my violin at least it seems to sit high on the bridge. I don't see this as a noteworthy problem, however, as it is easy to get accustomed to. The mute comes in a surprisingly high-quality case and has a generally premium feel to it, which is a nice bonus.