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Mute Stories IV -
Wah-wah Mutes
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The Harmon or Wah-wah mute was patented
on July 14, 1925, by George
Schlusselburg, a citizen of Germany
living in Chicago.
He assigned one- half interest to
P.T.“ Paddy“ Harmon. Paddy Harmon was
the owner of the Dreamland and Arcadia
ballrooms. He was a millionaire, multi
faceted promoter and business tycoon. He
invested 2.9 million dollars in the
Chicago Stadium in 1929. His interest in
the Wa-Wa mute and his connection to
George Schlusselburg are not known, nor
is it clear who George Schlusselburg
was. The association of Paddy Harmon
with the Harmon mute, however, was
fortuitous. Imagine a band leader
telling his trumpet section, “Guys,
don’t forget your Schluesselburgs
tomorrow,” In 1929 George Gershwin, in
his Rhapsody in Blue, used both a
trumpet and trombone Harmon mute in
prominent solos. A range of trumpet
players from Clyde McCoy to Miles Davis,
(without the cup) have been identified
with the Harmon mute. Paddy Harmon was
killed in an auto accident in 1930. No
idea what happened to the mythical
George Schlusselberg
The term of a US design patent is 14
years. It is non renewable, so when we
started working on our version of the Wah-wah mute in 1970, the
Harmon patent had long expired.
We were interested in making a somewhat
larger Wah-wah mute, improving the
intonation and freeing up the low
register.
John Howell, lead trumpet in the
50s with Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Boyd
Rayburn and others was my main tester.
He
was playing in the WGN Big Band
with me.
After trying many test samples we
decided on what is now the Tom Crown
Wa-Wa mute.
It is purchased, and we hope
liked, by about 1,000 trumpeters a year.
We have not yet made a trombone Wah-wah
mute. Maybe someday in the future, but
the demand is small. |
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