Clarinet & Saxophone Pads and Repadding
I was asked the question below about pads last month for my Single Reed Doctor column in the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain ( CASS ) magazine and following some time for thought and discussion I have tried to answer in general but, hopefully, still useful terms.
There are so many different pads on the
market now. Why do different makers use different pads, and which should I
choose if I get my instrument repadded?
My reply follows:
Since for most players a total replacement of pads – a
‘repad’ – is a rare occurrence a logical piece of standard advice would be to
replace single or even multiple worn pads with whatever type of pad was
previously used. Combining or mixing a variety of pads is not usually
recommended. Your repairer should be able to advise you and employ the
appropriate pads. However, on the occasion when a complete repad is required
one really does have a choice to make.
The construction of musical instrument pads is quite a
complicated business involving different layers of materials to provide the
desired combination of stability, rigidity, flexibility, air tightness and
durability. The quality of the finished pad also can vary greatly with more expensive
pads (using better materials) often well worth the additional cost. Pads are
usually referred to by the material used on their surface and there are indeed
many options available from frequently used ‘skin’ pads traditionally made from
fish bladder, to various types and qualities of leather (white, brown, black),
cork, and numerous synthetic surface material pads. Virtually all will be found
successfully in use depending upon both the quality of the materials used to
create the pads and the expertise and familiarity of the installer (repairer)
in their fitting. All pad types require experience and practice in their
fitting to perform at their best. Do bear in mind that manufacturers choose
and supply the type of pads they use in their new instruments for a variety of
different reasons including but not limited to: durability, ease of
installation, cost, tradition, artistic input, availability, air tightness and
appearance.
Let’s consider clarinet and saxophone options separately as
they have fundamentally different requirements from their padding.
Clarinets have traditionally been padded in either skin or
leather pads. In my experience the performance of good quality pads made from
either material, expertly fitted, is very similar and can be highly
satisfactory. Leather pads are anecdotally often credited with being more
slightly more durable and tending to mellow a tone quality when compared with
skin pads. They may also be more forgiving for seating to tone holes. Cork pads
are sometimes used for smaller upper joint tone holes but the successful
employment of cork depends hugely the experience of the repairer doing the
fitting and on the quality of the cork
itself as high quality ‘clean’ cork is increasingly difficult and costly to
obtain. Cork is not suitable for lower joint pads so by default a less
desirable ‘mix’ of pads ends up being used. New synthetic material pads have
the opportunity to be more airtight than any natural product but, also
anecdotally, have a tendency to acquire ’tackiness’ on their surfaces, which,
while this can be addressed by cleaning when it occurs, can be very annoying.
For saxophones the widely respected quality of Gordon Beeson
leather pads has set a standard of comparison for all padding options ever
since their introduction in the 1940’s. Older instruments, dating to the 1940’s
and earlier, were occasionally padded in white leather with inadequate backing
materials and the quality of their performance varied widely. There were some
examples of excellent pad performance but also much indifferent or poor
performance as well. Skin and cork pads have never been routinely used. For
some players synthetic pads may have a genuine role to play for use in smaller
left and ‘palm key’ tone holes which attract a great deal of moisture and they
are certainly capable of great durability. However they can be problematic for
stability when used in pad cups covering larger tone holes and on pads that
rely upon spring action to open, specifically the G# and low C# pads, as a
result of the propensity for the surfaces of synthetic pads to become ‘tacky’
and stick. For the saxophone player the additional choice of reflectors,
plastic or metal, flat or domed, also arises and one may wish to consider these
options carefully as there are different sound qualities also attributed to the
choice of reflector. Domed metal reflectors tend to brighten a tone and aid
projection whereas plastic or ‘flat’ reflectors affect or ‘boost’ the tone far
less.
My suggestion would be to hold a conversation with the
repairer who will be entrusted with repadding your instrument to learn their
opinions and what experience they have with the different pad options and their
properties. Where it seems desirable I would advise one stay with what has
worked well your instrument in the past. In general avoid any temptation to
‘mix’ pads. If you do wish to try something new and you discover that your
repairer is less or even unfamiliar with the type of pad you are considering
you should precede with caution – they could find themselves learning how to
handle and seat the pads you that have specified with no prior experience and
the final result may not be what you imagined. Hopefully the combination of an
appropriate pad choice that is suitable for your future needs and expectations
as well as the expertise of your repairer will result in an inspirational
‘fresh start’ and long lasting good performance from your instrument.
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The
tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my
personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during
my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for
sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am
indebted to
Woodwind & Reed,
Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the
course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.
Thomas Dryer-Beers
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