Abstract: A mute for a bowed stringed musical instrument. A main body with a string glide opening receives an instrument string, and a three-dimensional array of cavities is encased within the main body. A clamping tongue establishes a channel between the clamping tongue and the main body, and a three-dimensional array of cavities is encased within the clamping tongue. The arrays of cavities are separated by an interior acoustic wall that can traverse generally in a longitudinal direction and that can have a portion contiguous with the channel. The arrays of cavities can be defined by matrices of material formed by plural layers of material, such as plural layers of filamentary material, joined through three-dimensional additive manufacturing. Plural different materials can be joined through three-dimensional additive manufacturing to form portions of the mute. The string glide opening can be teardrop-shaped and can receive a string through an S-shaped string insertion slot.

Abstract: A mute for a bowed stringed musical instrument. A main body with a string glide opening receives an instrument string, and a three-dimensional array of cavities is encased within the main body. A clamping tongue establishes a channel between the clamping tongue and the main body, and a three-dimensional array of cavities is encased within the clamping tongue. The arrays of cavities are separated by an interior acoustic wall that can traverse generally in a longitudinal direction and that can have a portion contiguous with the channel. The arrays of cavities can be defined by matrices of material formed by plural layers of material, such as plural layers of filamentary material, joined through three-dimensional additive manufacturing. Plural different materials can be joined through three-dimensional additive manufacturing to form portions of the mute. The string glide opening can be teardrop-shaped and can receive a string through an S-shaped string insertion slot.

Abstract: A three-position mute for use with a musical stringed instrument, such mute having an elongated body with two pairs of legs extending therefrom, a slot defined between each pair of legs, a pair of notches defined in the bottom of the elongated body, such notches for engagement with selected strings of the musical instrument in selected modes of use and the slots for engagement on the musical instrument's bridge in a selected mode of use, such modes of use including a bridge engagement position in a first mode of use, a bridge-contacting position in a second mode of use, and a resting position with the mute installed on the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece.