 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: haberc
Date: 2007-12-02 01:54
Have you used Norbeck pads, made by ferree's? Any feedback? thanks
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2007-12-02 10:15
Yes. They don't bed in at all, so tone hole edge needs to be in excellent condition, installation needs to be excellent, and the key's pivot needs to be non-sloppy.
They seem indestructible (silicon rubber). But too much heat can delaminate them form the cork backing.
Totally impervious to water. Many players would probably dislike the way they are very slightly sticky.
Kraus's Omni pads are probably a considerable improvement.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2007-12-02 14:24
Yes, and I second everything that Gordon has said except that I found them to be more than a little sticky (on a plastic clarinet -- sticky enough that I replaced them almost immediately. I also tried them on register keys where the seating problem was less of an issue but they were just as sticky there). If you use the search function on the board for "Norbeck" you will find additional comments from previous threads on this topic.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-12-02 17:43
As I said before (in one of the many other posts about these pads), they suck -- for the reasons indicated above by Gordon and Jack.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-03 00:10
I've only encountered Norbeck pads on new instruments (oboes and cors) so I can't comment on how sticky they may get through use, though I didn't like the feel - they didn't feel all that positive under the fingers (as there was a certain amount of give) even though they did seal well.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2007-12-03 12:40
True. Because the material is a solid elastomer, it has a 'springiness' to it, which few players appreciate.
Felt has a lot going for it for pads.
However a few of my customers have had the odd one on trial in watery places for a long time, on keys normally closed, and have not asked for them to be changed.
Norbecks were once hyped as God's expensive gift to clarinetists. I still have them in stock but never use them now. Somebody must have made significant money from selling inventories once.
I wonder which of the current breed of new-material pads are enjoying status higher than they will when the dust and hype settles, and the years reveal their true colours. :-)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-12-06 03:01
Gordon (NZ)- "Norbecks were once hyped as God's expensive gift to clarinetists."
At Ferree's, Norbeck pads are maybe the cheapest in the catalogue. Maybe the price went down with the interest in them??
As far as other brands, I know of only Valentino and "Gortex" (a normal skin/felt pad wrapped in teflon tape.) What other brands are out there??
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2007-12-08 23:23
"At Ferree's, Norbeck pads are maybe the cheapest in the catalogue. Maybe the price went down with the interest in them??
Yes, that must have happened. They sure would be cheap to stamp out of a sheet of silicon rubber.
"I know of only Valentino and "Gortex"
It's not so much a matter of brand, but of the range of models.
For example the original Valentinos are very different from the current "Greenbacks", and there are at lest a couple of models of each.
I have encountered several other synthetics, but I don't know their names.
Some technicians are doing their own experimenting with pads curt from sheets of various foamed materials.
Kraus makes a rather promising "Omni" pad, in a few models.
And as far as the more traditional pads go, each manufacturer makes a wide range of models.
eg from http://www.musiccenterspa.com/Produzione/frame_cuscinetti_ing.htm
"Nowadays, Music Center produces more than 200,000 different kinds of pads. You can find all kinds of pads for saxophone, clarinet, flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon and recorder, with different technical aspects and quality. It is possible to have different kinds of felt, leather, bladder, resonators, cardboard with customer brand name, addition of other materials, … Then, there are different diameters, thicknesses, holes, … "
BTW, their on-line catalogue is just the beginning of their range. They manufacture to any specs.
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