about
ron apperson 
history
of the j mute
prices
& order information
rsapperson@yahoo.com
For over 30 years, Ron Apperson has designed and produced high
quality mutes for brass instruments in his workshop. During his
career, he has used and tested many different mutes. Dissatisfied
with their tone and projection qualities, he set to work to
design a better sounding mute. Ron's mutes are handmade with an
air-tight aluminum body fitted with redwood ends. Corks on the
sides of the mute protect the bell of your instrument as well as
adjust the mute's pitch and timbre (instructions included). This
unique feature allows for greater adaptation in unusual
performances. The handle on the side is designed so that it can
be inserted and taken out with the same hand. It can be loaded
while the horn is down or up for fast changes. Ron's mutes have
excellent tone and they project and record well in muted brass
sections. Ron Apperson mutes are used by fine musicians all over
the world.
About Ron Apperson
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Ron Apperson is an accomplished professional tubist and computer technician. He studied with Howard Deming from 1957 to 1961 at Washington State University where he received a BA in tuba performance. Ron then moved to Chicago to study tuba with Arnold Jacobs at Northwestern University in 1962. After completing his Master's he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, to begin his professional career; teaching brass performance and music appreciation at Texas A&I College and performing with the Corpus Christi Symphony. In 1965 he took the position of tuba player with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut. While in Connecticut, he taught at The University of Hartford's Hartt College of Music as well as at surrounding schools: The Hartford Conservatory of Music, Westfield State College, and UCONN, Storrs. In 1985, Ron went back to school to become a computer technician. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife Sylvia and is retired. He teaches privately, has an active brass quintet and conducts the choir at Wright Community UCC Church. |
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History of the J Mute
About 28 years ago I made a prototype mute for Arnold Jacob's York tuba,
based on a Holton that I owned at that time. He kept the mute, and paid me for it. I don't
think any other professional tuba player at that time, used a tuba with those dimensions,
so it was forgotten. I thought I had the specifications to make it again.
I've had one or two people express an interest in that mute over the years. I made and sent off what I thought was the right mute, but I'm sorry to say that mute did not work out well. Recently I very gratefully got the exact measurements of the old prototype mute, and I found a player of a tuba like the York, and sent it to him to try. He, like Jacobs earlier, paid me for the mute, and kept it. His name is David Kirk of the Houston Symphony, playing a Walter Nirschl tuba.
If any of you are playing a tuba with similar dimensions as the Holton, York, or Nirschl tubas, you'll find that my large tuba mute does not work, but the new Model "J" Special will. Be prepared, if you order it, to see a mute that may not look like it will work. It goes down in the tuba further and may fit in the horn in a travel trunk.
Thank you,
Ron Apperson
Prices and Order Information
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To Order
Please send your check or money order made out to Ron Apperson in the appropriate amount to:
Ron Apperson Mutes
3008 Riva Ridge Way
Boise, Idaho
83709
To check on the status of an order or for more information, Email Ron Apperson, or call him directly at (208) 409-3616.
about
ron apperson
history
of the j mute
price
& order information
rsapperson@yahoo.com
