Hey @Mark_Rocka, what’s that on your bridge or is that just a different kind of bridge?
Hi @5stringpreacher it looks and sounds like a @BanjoBen bridge mute. check out Banjo Ben’s Store
https://store.banjobenclark.com/collections/sale/products/ultimate-banjo-mute
It’s a banjo mute… not the one Ben sells cuz he wasn’t selling mutes when I bought this one.
They’re great at saving marriages. 
Gotcha. Thanks.
I’ve had one of those for many a year now 
. It just looks a lot different.
These work equally well and they are a lot cheaper
I think it’s better to put the burden on me to numb the noise rather than on my wife 
That was my exact thought.
“Here, Honey. I got you something to help with the noise. SMACK OK, OK… all I hear is ringing now. I’m good, how about you?” 
Mine is a Mike’s Banjo Mute from http://mikesbanjomute.com
I did a lot of reading before settling on one. This one kept getting the best ratings, so I went with it. When I did a measurement (you can see the comparison video I made here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=honVxFBHZsk ) I got a full 12 decibel reduction in volume with the Mike’s mute. Not sure how others stack up.
I tried to get Ben set up with Mike so he could sell them, but apparently Mike wants to remain the only dealer.
I split this into a new topic so we didn’t hijack the thread for one of Ben’s videos.
Now that you mention this, I remember you posting that a while back…on the old forum I think.
How did you measure this? I have a Gold Tone banjo mute (which I believe is just like what Ben sells now, but I bought mine before I could get his fancy name on one).
The question becomes are they actually cheaper in the long run? If she has to continue buying these over the years, does the continual spending of pennies over time finally overcome the one time payment of a mute?
But then again, I’m working off of experience here from using these at the gun range and in the oil field. Maybe people don’t actually produce as much ear wax as I do to necessitate the continual purchase of said plugs.
I used an app I found for my iPad. I show it in the video, but I don’t remember what it’s called.
I guess I should’ve watched the video first. I just did and I think it might mute a bit better than my Gold Tone. I’ll see if I can give mine a shot with a decibel reader.
…and now I can’t find it. Go figure.
I did a test on my Gold Tone. I consistently got about a 5db reduction.
One thing that I think helps a ton, though, is the change in tone. It takes away the sharp sound and mellows it out, which seems like it’s much quieter than just 5db.