Klarinet Archive - Posting 000230.txt from 1998/12

From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] kangaroo skin pads
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 02:05:31 -0500

The principal clarinettist in our community band suggested I try his
instrument with my mouthpiece (we each have an Opus) and tell him what I
thought was different. I immediately noticed it was more free-blowing
than my own, which had a very nice pad job done recently. He went on to
explain that there was much more uniformity in resistance/response over
the entire range and especially in the upper registers. The secret was
that all the pads were replaced with deerskin pads. He and another
music professional, both with DMAs in clarinet performance, I believe,
had been experimenting with different makes of instrument and different
pad materials. Deerskin was best for the Opus, but Selmers and R13s
responded better with kangaroo skin and another type which I can't
remember at the moment. This is not a joke, it really was kangaroo skin
they used. Has anyone else ever heard of this kind of experimenting?
Sounds pretty wacky, but the effect was undeniable.

Bill Edinger

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