Mr.Mute Basic Package English Retail Box Version: World-first muting equipment for ocarinas, capable of controlling breath pressure + Adapter. Possible to use on most of ocarinas.

Fantastic product! Mr. Mute has opened up a whole new world for me in allowing me to practice ocarina any place, any time. This is suitable for anyone who wishes they could practice their ocarina a little more quietly, including those who live in apartments or who wish to play when others are sleeping. Being a mom to three small children, I don’t get much time to myself during the day for things like practicing ocarina; most of my free time is when they are sleeping. The obvious problem is that ocarinas can be very loud, thus making it very difficult to find opportunities to practice. Mr. Mute solves that problem perfectly. Now I can get the kids in bed, and play into the night without a single worry of waking a sleeping toddler.This product came in a colorful box that slides open to reveal the pieces neatly laid out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that included in the package were three sheets of full-color instructions, front and back, in English. It also included a “setting table”, which was a chart listing many ocarinas and which Mr. Mute settings work best with them. It is made of plastic and rubber, which will accumulate some moisture from your breath as you play, so it’s not a bad idea to keep a soft cloth or cotton swabs nearby to wipe out any moisture when needed. It is easy to clean, just rinse with water (mild soap if needed) and towel or air dry. Between the main body and the adapter, Mr. Mute is able to fit most single chamber ocarinas, as long as they do not have a very unusually-shaped mouthpiece. The rubber is flexible and will adjust to form an airtight seal around the mouthpiece without damaging it.The instructions showed directions for Simple Mode as well as Detailed Mode. Simple mode could not be more simple! You literally take the main piece of Mr. Mute out of the box, slide it onto your ocarina’s mouthpiece, and it’s ready to go. The instructions say it reduces the volume by about half, which seems accurate. This is what I use most of the time whenever I want to play without disturbing the neighbors, however it will change the pitch of the ocarina: if I play the note C, it comes out a whole tone lower, sounding like B. If I want to play late at night when people are sleeping, or if I want to practice along to a backtrack, then it’s necessary to use the Detailed Mode, which reduces the volume to about 10% of normal volume, but the ocarina plays in its original key. I still don’t completely understand how this works, but it is magical.Detailed Mode takes a little experimenting and trial and error to find the right combination for your specific ocarina, since ocarinas come in a wide variety of styles and types. Mr. Mute comes with two different mouthpieces and six different plugs. These can be mixed and matched to find the right combo of mouthpiece and plug for your ocarina, and you can also adjust the size of the hole that releases the excess air. If you want even more options you can additionally order the Mr. Mute option package, which comes with two more mouthpieces and six more plugs. It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but the included instructions and color pictures are very clear to follow. If you are lucky, your ocarina will be listed on the Setting Table sheet. If not, the instructions include the link to the “Mr. Mute User Forum on Facebook” group. Here you can find a copy of the instructions, and you can ask questions and get help from the manufacturer as well as other Mr. Mute users. If that’s not enough, they have also included on the instructions an email address that you can contact if you have any questions or need further assistance.Here are a few of my personal experiences with Mr. Mute:-Soon after receiving Mr. Mute, I woke up and found my 6-year-old son sleeping next to me in bed one morning. As a test I popped Mr. Mute on my favorite ocarina (using detailed mode) and played for about 15 minutes while sitting next to him on the bed. He did not wake or even stir at all. After that I feel very confident in using it while my kids sleep.-I recently took a road trip where I spent about 30 hours in the car with my family. Thanks to Mr. Mute, I was able to sit in the passenger seat and get a lot of practice time in, without disturbing the rest of the family!-When traveling, Mr. Mute allowed me to play in my hotel room without disturbing neighboring rooms. I also played in the same room while my husband was watching TV, and he was still able to hear and enjoy his show without being bothered by my playing.-I had previously been discouraged from playing my soprano ocarinas inside, because the enclosed space makes the sound very loud and piercing, causing my ears to ring. Using Mr. Mute on my soprano C, I can now play in a small bedroom without hurting my ears or having to wear earplugs.I have had this product for several months now, and it is still in great shape. I highly recommend it to beginners and experienced players alike. A big THANK YOU to Milt for a genius invention and to Istuki Shion for all the work she has done on this product and for being so responsive and helpful.

If you need something to make playing your ocarina easier in a place where you can't be so loud or you want more privacy, then this is probably a good asset.I feel that I am still a beginner but I know a good amount of basics. If you have more experience, setup and adapting to this might be more simple for you.I used this on a Night by Noble with the adapter that came with it. I found the red tip with the notch lined up between the first and second lines had the right amount of volume reduction while not being too airy sounding. Cut my volume down by about 50% which was plenty for me. If you need more volume reduction, you might find it a little more difficult.Your settings will vary and will need experimentation.Pros:- The Mr. Mute works well at reducing your volume by quite a bit.- It is also helpful with breath control practice.Cons:- Setup can take time to get used to. Can be tough to correctly with the right size, the right amount of air flow, etc. that works for you and the volume you'd like without it sounding too airy or notes notes not sounding right-Moisture sticks to it very quickly and it requires frequent disassembly and cleaning. I believe it says in the directions to cover the holes and just blow in harshly but I really don't just want to blow a bunch of spit into my ocarina.Just because my cons are longer and more detailed does not mean I would recommend against this product. I feel it deserves the 4 stars as it does the job you would expect it to do, once you figure it out. Just making sure that you are informed about some things that I did not expect when purchasing.

I really wanted this product to work, and the bottom line is that this mute is an excellent product for a single chamber 12-hole alto C ocarina with a standard-shaped mouthpiece (which is what it is designed for). You won't be able to play with someone sleeping beside you (unless they're a pretty heavy sleeper), but the volume can be adjusted so that you won't disturb anyone in the next room. You do have to play around with it to get the sound and breath characteristics that you want, but it's well worth the bother.That said, you do need to pay attention to the size and shape of your mouthpiece. If your ocarina is tuned lower than the standard C or is an unusual shape, the mute might not fit. If you have a multiple chamber ocarina, the mute is unlikely to work; however, I haven't tried it on a smaller high-pitched double ocarina like a double soprano G. The mute fits my ocarinas as follows:1. Ocarina Wind alto C, single chamber, 12 holes, ceramic, standard mouthpiece: Works perfectly.2. Letu alto C, single chamber, 12 holes, elm, close to standard mouthpiece: Works perfectly.3. Ocarina Wind novelty "Muse" in F, single chamber, 12 holes, ceramic, mouthpiece rounded and larger than an alto C: Works after some tweaking. Does not cut the volume as much as with a standard alto C, but since this ocarina is tuned lower and has a mellow tone the mute makes it quiet enough for my purposes. I got lucky there.4. STL novelty "Elf" alto C, single chamber, 12 holes, ceramic, mouthpiece quite small and barely protrudes from the instrument: The mute does not work at all, but the shape of this mouthpiece is quite unusual.5. STL/TNG alto C, double chamber, ceramic, the smallest mouthpiece I've seen on a double but still wider than a standard 12-hole alto-C: Close, but I can't quite get the mute to go on. (I don't want to stretch the mute too much for fear of damaging it.) I might be able to find a way to customize the mute to fit this double, but it will take some DIY experimentation. (I will buy a second mute for this project. I play this ocarina the most frequently so it will be worth the investment.)6. Stein/Focalink alto G, double chamber, ceramic, very large mouthpiece: Hopeless.Happy practicing!