 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ed Lowry
Date: 2009-11-06 01:01
Can anyone explain why an upper joint cork repadding, wherein standard pads are replaced by cork does not generally include replacing the standard pad between the index and middle fingers of the left hand? What are the disadvantages of cork pads, and why not do the entire instrument with cork?
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2009-11-06 01:31
I expect that someone here will have a definitive answer, but my guess would be that it relates to heights of finger rings and adjustment of the bridge key. It seems logical to me that the pads on both joints that connect via the bridge key should have similar characteristics.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-11-06 01:45
Cork pads will last longer than skin or some leather pads where they tend to get wet (such as the side keys) or against metal bushes (speaker key), and as the E vent pad is on top it's far less likely to get water damaged than low-lying pads.
But there's no reason not to fit cork pads in the ring key vents - the G vent pad (LH1) is a good place for a cork pad as they stay flat in the centre instead of bulging like skin or leather pads can do which can compromise the venting.
As cork pads are firm, regulation has to be precise as they won't compress like softer pads (eg. skin or leather) so maybe some techs play it safe by fitting more forgiving pads in the LH2 and RH ring keys so it ensures long Bb will still work and the RH ring key pad will still close if the joints are slightly misaligned.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-11-06 07:14
The more flexing of the metal that is possible between two linked pads, eg the lowest ring key and the A/D ring key pads, the less possible it is to attain the two ideals of simultaneous contact of pads with tone holes, and equal closing pressure.
However a closer approximation to the two ideals becomes possible if the remotely operated pad, the A/D key pad in this case, is firmer than the other pad. So theoretically it should actually be advantageous to have a (firmer) cork pad under the A/D key and a slightly softer bladder pad in the lower joint ring key.
That said, I find some modern bladder pads to be just as firm as cork pads.
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Author: RAB
Date: 2009-11-06 12:15
On the D/A ring in the upper joint you could replace it with a cork pad, If you do that in my opinion you should replace the pad on the lower joint ring with a cork pad also,
That way the 1 & 1 fingering can be regulated better because if the bottom ring is a bladder pad then it could swell or shrink with changes in humidity and cause problems with the 1 & 1 fingering.
One of the disadvantages in using a cork on the ring key is that on a soft passage or on a trill there tends to be a percussive sound when the cork hits the tone hole. Sometimes it sounds like there is a little drummer in the instrument.
Again this is just my opinion and we all know the story of opinions!!
Hope this helps
RAB
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-11-06 13:28
The main advantage to cork is the wonderful seal that it achieves. It does this without damping the sound as Valentino pads do.
As mentioned cork lasts a very long time and stays regulated longer, BUT the 1 and 1 Bb does need to have some forgiveness in the system or you need to be a tech yourself to keep this in proper working order on monthly basis. This is why the best techs I know use bladder for the lower joint and even the pad in between the left hand index and middle fingers.
As for clacking sounds, it is nominal and I for one got used to it within a short few weeks. NO ONE ELSE will every hear it.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-11-06 13:55
"As for clacking sounds, it is nominal and I for one got used to it within a short few weeks. NO ONE ELSE will every hear it."
Oboes use far more cork pads than clarinets (some are cork padded throughout) and most of them are on open standing keys - six of which are in the fingerplates and you're far more likely to hear mechanical noise on oboes than the noise cork pads make.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-11-08 09:41
When cork pads are on the very small key cups, covering very small tone holes, and tone holes with a raised sealing line, as on oboes, the slapping sound of the cork is greatly reduced. The largest tone holes on an oboe, and most tone holes on a clarinet are a somewhat different ball game. Some particularly firm bladder pads I have been using are particularly slappy on the low keys of clarinets - just as slappy as cork, and about as unforgiving.
"As for clacking sounds, it is nominal and I for one got used to it within a short few weeks. NO ONE ELSE will every hear it."
A close microphone might.
On another tack, cork is made from a closed-cell structure. So I wonder why its thickness does not alter with changes in air pressure, like the closed container in a barometer does. Perhaps those cell walls are sufficiently permeable for the pressure inside the cells to equalise to atmospheric.
Post Edited (2009-11-08 09:42)
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