Klarinet Archive - Posting 000480.txt from 2003/03

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Clarinet Pad Question
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 11:02:09 -0500

Vic Brincat wrote,
>Why is a "cork" pad used on the register key of the
>clarinet? Why not a nornmal pad?

Cork lasts longer, because cork resists water damage better than a skin pad
does. The register key comes in contact with more moisture than the other
keys do. Not everybody likes cork, though. It's noisier than skin.

My clarinet in A had a cork pad on the register key when I bought it
(used), but when I couldn't get accustomed to the sound, I replaced the
pad. It's odd that I found that little slapping sound annoying, because I
also play saxophones, including bass sax, with keys that make far more
noise than any clarinet I've ever played. The noise seems natural on the
saxes and I don't care about it or even notice it on the smaller saxes.
The bass makes a percussive, "whop, whop, whop," that's impossible for me
to ignore, but it just seems like part of the general weirdness of that old
sewer pipe, and I don't mind it. Since the clarinet can operate with
almost no key noise, I prefer for it to do so. I don't find that my
register key pads wear out often enough for the more frequent pad changes
to add up significantly.

Cork pads are harder to seat properly than skin pads. The softer skin pads
will conform to the shape of the key hole more easily, and will seal well
even if the pad isn't perfectly positioned. That's not much of a problem
with cork on the register key, because it's easy to get almost any pad to
seal well on a key with a long lever and a strong leaf spring to snap the
pad down onto such a small hole, but installing or adjusting cork pads on
keys with short levers, such as the A to Ab crossover, or on the larger
keys, requires more skill.

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net
New address!

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