DIY French horn mutes: 3D print a quality mute for around $5

There's no shortage of impressive horn mutes available today. For those willing to invest $150+ in top-tier professional tools, you'll get a mute that delivers an even sound across the entire range, with a tone you'll adore.

But for amateurs, students, and school band directors, those high-end prices can be a serious barrier.

3D printing can be a game-changing solution. These free horn mute designs:

• Can be reliably printed on consumer 3D printers
• Costs around $5 in materials
• Assemble easily
• And — most importantly — sound great.

2026 Northwest Horn Symposium Talk

This talk on 3D printable horn mutes was presented at the 2026 Northwest Horn Symposium in Portland, Oregon. Open the deck to view all slides.

Rittich Mute

The Rittich mute is the most common straight mute design in current use. It prints in two pieces, a cone and a base. Attach the wrist cord to the base, super-glue the base to the cone, and add corks of your choice.

Download Model (STL) Corks Guide

Stop Mute

The stop mute has two files to print. The first is the mute itself, which works in basically any hard filament. The second is for the "cork" which should be printed in TPU or another soft filament and then glued on.

Download Mute (STL) Download Cork (STL)

DePolis Mute

The most common straight mute design by the 1960s, made by manufacturers including Paxman, Humes & Berg, and Frank DePolis — whose line continues today as TrumCor. Largely replaced by Rittich mutes.

Download Model (STL)

Parduba Mute

Parduba mutes are straight mutes used by the New York Philharmonic in the 1920s. Originally made of brass, they produced a rough, aggressive sound and were never widely produced or adopted beyond New York. This design prints as two pieces, and the tuning tube simply screws into the mute body.

Download Model (STL)