 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gigaday
Date: 2009-10-24 09:12
I know this has been discussed before and I know that all the cognoscenti say they are "bad things" but I would like to understand what it is this makes them so bad.
Of course, I use pad savers in my B&H Edgware and I leave them in all the time when it is in the case. I have been doing this for 3 years without any apparent ill effects. Why do I use them? Because some retailer said they were a good idea and the fact that they store conveniently. My teacher spotted them last week and told me off about them but when I questioned him on it he didn't want to discuss it.
Two quoted problems are that they drop lint and that the pads go mouldy. I have not noticed either of these things happening.
When I am at home I swab out the body with a VD silk swab and the mouthpiece with a very lightweight Hodge swab. But when I go to my lesson or band practice I leave the swab at home and just insert the pad savers.
The pad savers obviously get damp when they are inserted but they are dry when I take them out. Where does the moisture go? My guess is that some of it evaporates and some of it is absorbed in the wood. Is this a bad thing? Maybe not as it stops the wood drying out completely and prevents sudden changes of humidity, said to be very bad.
I have read that "pad savers don't dry off the pads", but then I don't suppose the swab does either.
The real question seems to be. What harm do repair people see done to instruments that have had pad savers used as opposed to those that haven't?
Tony
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-10-24 12:47
I can see nothing wrong with your reasoned perspective.
"Two quoted problems are that they drop lint and that the pads go mouldy. I have not noticed either of these things happening."
That probably depends on your climate, the microclimate in your home, and how "breathable" the case is.
In my rather humid, fairly warm climate, I have seen mouldy flute & clarinet pads associated with pad savers enough to note a connection.
But that does not mean to say that in your climate, in your instrument case, they are bad, or that they can't even be beneficial, for the reasons you cite.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-24 13:26
The problem can be that the padsaver will retain moisture inside of the bore, which should be allowed to dry naturally after swabbing. If the bore stays at a higher moisture level than the (usually drier) outside of the instrument, some experts believe this will make the wood more prone to cracking. Tom Ridenour addressed this both in his YouTube video on bad ideas for the clarinet, and in his book, The Educator's Guide to the Clarinet.
Jeff
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Author: Ed
Date: 2009-10-24 13:49
Jeff makes a good point. The idea is to dry the bore. If you just insert something it not only retains the moisture in the bore, but also reduces any air circulation. I also find it much easier to launder a swab when needed.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2009-10-24 15:38
If the padsaver is inserted after the bore has been dried with a conventional swab then no harm is done..... but equally what good does it do?? The shops have a vested intest in selling gizmos and many of my customers have been sold "padsavers" as a substitute for a bore swab.
I have regularly seen mouldy pads on instruments using padsavers instead of swabs, especially in saxes.
A wet padsaver trapped inside the bore and then doubly trapped inside a closed instrument case is going to produce a humidity chamber effect with predictable result of swelling of pad felt as well as potential mould on the surface and corrosion on the (frequently) unlubricated key rods.
OK so you folk who live in extreme low humidity climes may see some virtue in this but I don't think that a wet padsaver is the proper answer to your problem.
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Author: DixieSax
Date: 2009-10-24 15:45
Good pad savers (the HW brand) do not shed, and I use them with all my SAXOPHONES. I replace the pad savers every two years, and since I began using them I have never had to replace a sax pad.
I would never use them on a clarinet, even after swabbing. Here is why. The pad saver is designed to wick moisture away from any surface it comes in contact with. This makes the pad saver work well on saxes which are brass, as the moisture is wicked away from the pads, and the pad saver works as intended.
On a clarinet, however, the pad saver is mostly in contact with the wood of the bore, where it wicks away moisture in the form of the oils in the wood. Result = a dry oil free bore more subject to cracking.
A pad saver would probably be fine for a composite or plastic clarinet, but they would never touch one of my grenadilla instruments. Other than the bottom end keys, I use cork pads on my clarinets anyway. The swab does just fine.
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Author: gigaday
Date: 2009-10-24 15:51
Thanks to all. It looks like I am going to have to change my ways and not leave my "pad savers" in the instrument.
Tony
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-24 18:32
"A pad saver would probably be fine for a composite or plastic clarinet..."
I wouldn't even bother with one in my hard rubber Lyrique. It's pointless. Just a waste of money. And I would NEVER insert one into a wooden clarinet at all.
Jeff
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-10-24 19:46
I thought this question was cleared up years ago.
Pad savers keep moisture inside the bore for longer. They do not allow air to flow through the instrument.
It's the old marketing trick. I make a thin cotton cloth that costs zilch and call it a 'Keywork guard'. Advertise it as a way of wrapping round the instrument to protect the silver plating...etc and charge what I like.
How about a 'tenon saver'? Some material you wrap round the tenons to soak up moisture?
Menthol soaked reeds?
Makes you wonder how the Mozart concerto was ever written, doesn't it?
Steve
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-10-24 19:53
> Menthol soaked reeds?
> Makes you wonder how the Mozart concerto was ever written, doesn't it?
In that case, I wouldn't soak my reeds in Menthol... ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-24 20:03
The reeds would probably be better soaked in a mid-grade bourbon! ![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2009-10-24 20:04)
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-10-24 20:19
-- "The reeds would probably be better soaked in a mid-grade bourbon!" --
Now that is not a bad idea!
Better patent it before Buffet does!
Though the problem is....which ligature works best with Bourbon, and which with a 1995 Chateauneuf du Pape?
I volunteer to do the testing!!
Steve
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-24 20:27
That's going to require some very thorough research!
If you use the good stuff to soak the reeds in, I would recommend a gold-plated ligature, to keep things in the proper perspective.
Jeff
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-10-24 22:16
I've seen a Yamaha YCL-34II where the owner has used a padsaver, and the bore was dull and very rough with raised grain which I can only attribute to using padsavers - these were the LaVoz ones with cotton threads in them.
Although I do use them on all my saxes, I'd never use them on wooden clarinets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Malcolm Martland
Date: 2009-10-26 11:39
We rehearse at the local school every week finishing at 9:30 PM when the caretaker comes round to throw us out! As I am the only player playing a real wood instrument it takes several minutes to swab my clarinet out so I push in pad savers just as a precaution until the next morning. My main concern is the plastic end protectors coming off and the twisted wire scratching the bore.
Happy playing!
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-26 13:50
Malcolm, it shouldn't take several minutes to swab out a soprano clarinet. A good silk swab should clean out the bore quite quickly. What type of swab are you using?
Jeff
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-10-26 13:55
Chris wrote "Although I do use them on all my saxes, I'd never use them on wooden clarinets."
Likewise me. But only HW brand. I tested one for lint dropping, by thrusting it in and out of my sax 3000 times over a large sheet of white paper. I figured that was the equivalent of about 10 years of use. No evidence of any lint dropped. (Only one small tuft of fibre early on.)
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