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 Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: musicalnotes 
Date:   2009-04-19 23:23

I searched the forum, and it seems to be a popular topic, but I couldn't find the specific answer I was looking for.

First, I was worried when I looked at the floor after my first 1 hour practice, and the puddle I seemed to have accumulated. I quickly rushed here to make sure I wasn't doing some really wrong, but it seems lots of people have a problem with spit. I've read about cigarette paper helping, but I have no idea what to do with it, and where to put it. Can someone please answer my question.

Thanks,
Rick

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Pappy 
Date:   2009-04-19 23:28

Well it's probably mostly condensation rather than "spit". The cigarette papers are to dry out a pad after it get's wet rather than do anything to prevent the problem.



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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: pewd 
Date:   2009-04-20 00:01

run a swab through every 10 minutes ; more often on humid days, less on dry days.

if you get gurgling in a tone hole:
open the pad,
press your lips up against the tone hole,
blow a short, sharp stream of air at it (you're trying to blow the
water back down, out of the tone hole)
place a piece of cig. paper (i usually fold them in 1/2) under the pad
and close it. this will draw out some of the water.
open the pad, move the paper, repeat, until it the paper comes out dry.

hope that helps.

- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: EEBaum 
Date:   2009-04-20 01:19

The most important time I find to swab is long before you think you need it. About 10 minutes after you start playing, swab everything out. That's when it seems the most condensation forms, but when there's not enough yet to clog holes.

-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: kdk 
Date:   2009-04-20 02:03

And make sure, when you put the cigarette paper under the pad to blot out the water, that if it has a gummed edge you don't get the glue under the pad. If you can find it, get ungummed papers at a tobacco shop.

Also, if you're a student (high school or younger), be aware that cigarette papers are considered to be smoking or, worse, drug paraphernalia by school officials, so leave them at home. You can accomplish the same purpose with a handkerchief or even a corner of your swab. They aren't as absorbent and, therefore, not as effective as cigarette paper, but depending on your age relative to the legal smoking age in your state, they may be safer.
:-)

Karl

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: musicalnotes 
Date:   2009-04-20 02:14

Thanks, thats what I was curious about. The paper goes underneath the keys, gotcha

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: GBK 
Date:   2009-04-20 02:22

After years of wrestling with soggy, ineffective, "cigarette paper" which never really absorbed the excess water from pads and tones holes, I finally changed to a keeping a small square of soft, high quality, absorbent, paper towel in my case.

Paper toweling has MUCH better absorbancy and wicks the excess water quickly and completely out of the tone holes and away from the pads.

...GBK

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Rusty 
Date:   2009-04-20 03:21

I`ve been using the old blotting paper. You can buy 1/2 sq. metre for about 60 cents at paper shops. Cut into little strips and you can keep using them when they dry out (if you`re stingy). Beauty is they have rigidity of shape so are easy to introduce under the pads, also bits don`t flake off as can happen with thin paper.

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: stevensfo 
Date:   2009-04-20 06:09

-- "Also, if you're a student (high school or younger), be aware that cigarette papers are considered to be smoking or, worse, drug paraphernalia by school officials, so leave them at home." --

I think that's a bit over the top. Using cigarette papers on woodwinds is quite common, so if a school official decided to pursue the matter, they'd probably end up looking pretty stupid.

Of course, you shouldn't forget the cigarette lighter used to heat the pads, the bottle of alcohol for sterilisation and the sharp reed knife!

Just don't forget the clarinet! [wink]

Steve



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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: oliver sudden 
Date:   2009-04-20 06:43

> Of course, you shouldn't forget the cigarette lighter used to
> heat the pads, the bottle of alcohol for sterilisation and the
> sharp reed knife!

And hemp cloth is well known to be the most absorbent material for pull-throughs. ;-)

Has anyone been using the little cloth things that for example BG make? They're pretty hard to get around these parts. Are they worth the effort?

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Pappy 
Date:   2009-04-20 12:50

--- "I think that's a bit over the top. Using cigarette papers on woodwinds is quite common, so if a school official decided to pursue the matter, they'd probably end up looking pretty stupid." ---

True. I went to college in the 70's. Clarinet players were very popular in some circles owing to the contents of our cases.



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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Lelia Loban 2017
Date:   2009-04-20 12:55

Another good alternative to cigarette papers: camera lens-cleaning tissues. They're about the same size as cigarette papers, they come in a similar packet, they don't shed lint, they don't have any glue on them and they won't violate anti-drug rules.

Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Mark Charette 
Date:   2009-04-20 13:03

Roller end papers work very well, also.

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: soybean 
Date:   2009-04-20 18:56

and the drug references continue…

I was curious about blotting paper, as mentioned by Rusty. This sounded promising. Here's what came up on Wickipedia:

"Certain drugs, most notably LSD, are distributed on blotting paper. A liquid solution of the drug is applied to the blotting paper, which commonly is perforated into individual doses and artfully decorated also known as blotter art."

~Dan

(Leblanc Bliss, Buffet R13 key of A, Yamaha 250 Bb)

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: mrn 
Date:   2009-04-20 20:24

My absorbent paper of choice has always been a dollar bill. It's highly absorbent and does not disintegrate.

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Rusty 
Date:   2009-04-20 20:55

mrn, well I never thought bank bills were absobent ar`nt they designed to be as indestructable as can be?
Dan, I wondered why my music was sounding better and better but the lines were going blurey.

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: mrn 
Date:   2009-04-20 21:32

Rusty wrote:

> mrn, well I never thought bank bills were absobent ar`nt they
> designed to be as indestructable as can be?

Well, I should have said "U.S. Dollars," because I'm not sure how applicable my suggestion is to non-U.S. currencies.

U.S. bills are not actually made of conventional paper. They are made from a 75% cotton, 25% linen blend (and also little red and blue synthetic fibers), which is starched and pressed to make them crisp, paper-like, and water-resistant. You can run them through the wash and they will not fall apart. (money laundering is still a crime, however ;))



Post Edited (2009-04-20 21:45)

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: EEBaum 
Date:   2009-04-20 22:10

I've found dollar bills to be far less absorbent than other options. In a bind, I'll use one, but I find myself having to repeat the action about a half dozen times compared to cigarette paper.

-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com

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 Re: Spit and Cigarette paper
Author: Brenda 2017
Date:   2009-04-22 03:24

The woodwind drying papers included in packages of Zonda Classico reeds have been great! I've never tried cigarette papers so can't compare them. But I re-use these Zonda papers many times over so one package can last me a long time.

Each sheet can be doubled over to make them a little more sturdy for use... they wick away the moisture very quickly, far better than the hair roller (perm) papers, yuck! And the bonus is that these dry in a jiffy too so they're ready to go for the next use.

(Condensation: what results when warm moist air meets up with a cool surface - like the outside of a glass of iced tea in the summertime, your glasses lenses when you blow on them before wiping them clean - or the inside of a not-quite-yet warmed up clarinet when 98.6F degree, moist air is blown into it.)



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