Clarinet & Saxophone Pads and Repadding CASS Article

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

Getting the Most from a Specialist Music Shop

Getting the Most from a Specialist Music Shop

Sometimes it pays to stop, take a deep breath, and think about what we as musicians expect from the music shops, specialist repairers and instrument manufacturers that we rely upon. Having trained as a performer on multiple woodwind instruments and as a result having to purchase and maintain many examples and various instruments over my lifetime I certainly have experience as a consumer of goods and services. Having also worked in the Music Industry in specialist shops selling and servicing instruments for nearly 3 decades to date I have also seen the 'other side' and there is much to share with those who might not have had this experience.

Here are the 'Bullet Points':

• Things can go wrong and accidents do happen despite the best efforts of all concerned
• Most mysteries can be explained when you understand the 'bigger picture'
• A musician's needs change over time - otherwise known as 'Progress'
• The purchase of a 'final instrument' is a myth for most players if you intend to get better and accept that products that might be attractive to you in the future are in continual development
• Transferring your anxieties to your equipment is rarely a good strategy
• Be Reasonable. The person with whom you might be frustrated is possibly the one who you will end up relying upon to sort out your problem
• Sometimes genuine 'Value for Money' does cost more and is worth the expense
• Quality products are usually better investments
• People whose livelihood depends upon customer service really do care 
• Hard earned reputations for good service are valuable and are based on fact
• Music is a 'People Business', customers are important and shop staff members do care
• Remember - The specialist advising you may actually know more than you do and in any event will likely be doing their best to help

....and the following is a bit of background that I am glad to share:

When we are learning to play a musical instrument both the beginner and parents are highly reliant on a teacher, where present, or word of mouth from colleagues and friends, when it comes to taking advice on instruments. When I was starting out so many things seemed baffling to me. I struggled to 'tongue' properly and just resolved to not use my tongue to separate notes - I just stopped blowing instead. This unfortunate habit took a lot of effort to undo. I can remember wondering for years why some of my school friends seemed to sound better than me and how it came as a great revelation that a player might upgrade a mouthpiece on their original instrument and that reeds came in different strengths and that by changing these things I too could play better! I also remember living with an unknown problem with the low notes on my saxophone not speaking until the day someone kindly explained that there the sax had adjustment screws that sometimes go out of position - a twist of a screwdriver and years of frustration were relegated to history. Perhaps needless to say I did not have a specialist shop, a knowledgeable teacher or a skilled repairer available to me in those early years.

Once I began to pursue music more seriously I became aware of a world of products, accessories, instruments, customisations and skills that were available. I began to experiment and tried many things. Practice suggestions, exercises, resource books, sheet music recommendations, etc were all of enormous interest. Items were recommended by more knowledgeable teachers, mouthpieces that friends were using and found inspiring and new reed possibilities were sampled. I sought out and spent time with repairers who offered tips and quick fixes to keep my instruments in top shape. I also read a great many articles from respected musicians who had contributed to journals and magazines. I listened to everyone who had an opinion on anything musical to discover from what further knowledge I might benefit. I did make mistakes, invested in things I only used briefly, bought poorly at times, and missed other opportunities - but I tried to learn from everything.

Then, many years later and quite unexpectedly, I found myself with the opportunity to move from full time performing and teaching into full time working in a specialist music shop. All the learning, the investment and attention that I paid over the decades of my studies, my on the job training and my previous experience helped to make my 'skill set' attractive to an employer. But it was only after entering the music industry that my real awareness began to develop. Suddenly, I had a responsibility to advise customers, to understand and grasp the intricacies of product ranges and to distil an increased awareness of a huge range of available accessories into a sensible presentation to others. I found myself regularly meeting with experienced players from many differing backgrounds and possessing a wide range of musical interests as well as many aspiring younger musicians. I was handling repair questions and requests from these customers on a daily basis, some questions were familiar to me but many also arose where I had to defer to more experienced colleagues and repairers - and those repairers were deferring back to me to test and approve their repair efforts. I found myself frequently liaising with manufacturers and distributors - learning of their challenges and obligations as suppliers. All in all this was a very significant advance on the knowledge that I had managed to accrue in my previous years of training and professional experience. The Specialist Shop environment encourages this type of learning and growth and I have been very grateful for the opportunities that came my way.

The learning curve never ends. Interesting, passionate people with greater knowledge than myself abound and I still seek them out. I try to listen more than I talk but I do look forward to the opportunity to share my knowledge with others when something I know or strongly believe in may be helpful to them. What goes around comes around. Please refer back to the bullet points above.

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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

The Value of Repairers

The Value of Repairers

It is all too easy to forget the value and importance of a good musical instrument repairer to ones experience of their beloved instrument. Repairers, good ones, will usually have completed a multi-year training course to learn the skills that the rest of us can only guess at. These courses often have a final project of making an instrument, often a clarinet or perhaps a trumpet, completely by hand so that all the related skills of wood and metal turnings, tone hole drilling, key work construction, plating, soldering, padding, springing, mounting of key work and finishing are experienced 'from the inside out'.

Learning the proper techniques and use of tools for dent removal, key work straightening and silencing, pad seating and the balancing of springs and mechanisms, crack repair and reconstruction following major damage is a lifelong and continuing effort and one where experiences gained from handling hundreds of instruments is vital. An inquisitive repairer will pay attention to and learn from all of the situations which he or she has encountered and then draw upon these experiences to both inform, improve and make more efficient subsequent repairs.

It is not unusual in many music shops for a senior repairer to over see the work of more junior repair staff for a number of years before the apprentices are truly competent to take on unsupervised repair work for customers.

The result of all this training, on the job experience and supervision, is a highly skilled individual who should be able assess the genuine cause of poor instrument performance and have the skills to repair the problems identified and thereby return an instrument to a top condition - often 'better than new' - as instrument manufacturers are usually producing instruments under such time pressure that final finishing stages are rushed and such time consuming personal attention is not feasible.

In addition to all the time spent gaining knowledge and experience a repairer is providing a service that relies upon expensive tools, machinery and consumables (pads, corks, felts, screws etc.). A selection of woodwind pads of suitable sizes to handle most demands can cost thousands of pounds for each instrument. Brass dents tools and mandrels are very costly as well. Maintaining a workshop is a significant expense and of course, so are handling the inevitable questions of customers. Customers should be wary of 'cheap' repairs and my advice is to allow a repairer to do the job that they feel your instrument requires or deserves. This often ends up being the best way to ensure proper performance and ensure cost effectiveness. You should be encouraged to ask friends and colleagues or working professional for their recommendations for repairers. It is usually best advice to pay for good quality repairs and work to maintain the condition of your instrument afterwards.

A note to all players and teachers - 

  
All musicians are well advised to pay attention to the construction and function of their instruments and it does pay to learn some 'quick fix' skills for emergency situations. Teachers really should prepare themselves to be able to advise their pupils on the condition of their instruments and perhaps understand and execute simple key work regulation and explain proper handling, cleaning and lubrication as a part of the regular lesson process.

Even a little time spent understanding how instruments function is sure to prove very useful throughout a playing / teaching career and the knowledge gained is fascinating in itself - if for no reason than to better appreciate the further skills and resources provided by an actual repairer when a situation calls for their greater experience to solve more major problems or provide the more thorough servicing that will keep an instrument playing at its best.

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The thoughts and comments above are the result of many years of learning from and reliance upon the skills of repairers for my own and my pupils instruments. I am grateful for the help and service that I have received as well as the inspiration that I have drawn from my encounters with some very talented and dedicated professional repairers. It has been my privilege to have worked alongside many such repairers including Daniel Bangham, Brian Dent and Timothy Taylor from Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) and others in the UK and USA to whom I am indebted.

Thomas Dryer-Beers