Roth-Sihon Mute

The Roth-Sihon mute was invented by Ma Si-Hon in 1953. Made from metal wire and plastic tube, this is another sliding mute which you mount over the D and A strings, and which you slide onto the bridge to apply.

The drawback of this mute is that the metal wire can be extremely tight, and the metal-to-metal contact between the strings and mute can damage each other significantly over repeated use. Also, it may require more time and effort to mount it between the strings.

There is a very strong similarity in the sound between this mute and the Menuhin mute. It has much depth and richness in the sound, and the same level of roundness as the Menuhin mute in the lower register. However, the remaining mid and high registers are nearly identical across the two mutes, showing a very similar overtone spectrum; it is impossible for the human ear to identify the difference under certain conditions. Therefore, I would choose between the two depending on which is best suited to the setup of the instrument.