Klarinet Archive - Posting 000212.txt from 1994/05

From: Steven Popper <Steven_Popper@-----.ORG>
Subj: Re: Pad Savers
Date: Wed, 11 May 1994 14:25:14 -0400

Tom,
I take your point. What I was wondering was whether to the extent
pad savers also act as a sponge this might be an advantage. Remember, they
go in after the joint has been swabbed so we are not talking about a great
sopping amount of moisture. But to the extent that residual moisture is
swabbed from the surface [wick] and then retained (for a few minutes? for
an hour or two?) in the vicinity of the instrument [sponge], the sharp
moisture gradient will have been moderated somewhat.

The question is whether this is a good thing. From the standpoint
of maintenance should you prefer to get rid of every last bit of moisture
as quickly as possible, or would you wish to remove the vast bulk [96.53%]
but use what remains to equilibrate somewhat more gradually to room
humidity? (For what it is worth, in my limited experience they do serve the
primary purpose of eliminating pad stick.)

Steven Popper
RAND Corporation

-- Your message was: (from "Tom Ascher")
I have pad savers which I have alternately used in clarinets, then removed.
Short of anything more authoritative, my opinion is that the concept of the
pad savers acting as "wicks" to remove moisture could just as well work in
reverse, causing them to act as "sponges" and retain moisture that would
otherwise successfully evaporate via the open, empty tube. The pad savers
look to me suspiciously like bore cleaners, oilers, reamers, swabs. I
suspect that the manufacturer of swabs had a meeting with the marketing
department and they came up with an idea for selling a lot more of these
things. But, this is purely conjecture on my part and I will bow graciously
to anyone who can provide facts....

=====================================================================
Tom Ascher Internet: u15310@-----.edu
University of Illinois at Chicago Phone: (312) 413-3665
------------------