Polly Mute for Viola Black

I love my viola poly mute. No vibration at all yet it is easy to put on and pull off. I've tried numerous mutes and for my viola, the polly mute is the best.

This was recommended to me by several colleagues. I bought the red one 2 years ago and didn’t like it. People told me the black one is better so I got that. Same.
So it is convenient to use. Easy to slide on and off the bridge.
But it changes the sound of the instrument. And the difference is especially noticeable when it’s closer to the bridge. Under the ear I find it distracting. I assume more far away it is less annoying and if you’re playing in a noisy band you can barely hear the difference. But for the very steep price tag I was looking for a top notch mute and not something like this.

The Polly Mute looks like a modern clone of the old black rubber Fawick mutes which became popular in the late 1960s. This is a great mute design! It is very easy to slide on and off of the strings. The muted sound is quite mellow and resonant...not nasal like most of the other rubber mutes. I especially like the subtle unobtrusive appearance of the "clear" Polly mutes!

Does exactly what its supposed to do. Easy to put on and take off.

Love the tone quality of the mute!
Much better than the typical standard black mutes I usually get.