 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2011-01-08 02:44
I had a wisdom tooth extracted yesterday (last one, hooray!). I took the opportunity of knowing I won't be playing for a few days to have my Bb/A clarinets sent back for more work (I had my A bell crack filled last week). My LH2 pad on both instruments are being replaced (and the requisite adjustments so everything lines up).
The surgery got complicated (tooth was impacted and fused to my jaw - it took 3 people an hour and a half to get it out). Considering it took multiple people to cut my tooth out, I'm doing much better than expected (swelling is going down and minimal, and pain is quite tolerable, especially considering the cutting into the gums and wondering a few times if my jaw was going to be dislocated or broken). I have to go back in a week to get the stitches out. The thing that bugs me the most is that my lower lip and chin are still numb (the surgery was finished 29 hours ago). I'll be miffed if I can't play next week at rehearsal not because the surgical site hasn't healed enough, but I can't feel my lower lip.
Since I didn't specify pad material, I'm assuming he's replacing them with bladder pads (that's what's on those keys now). What's the difference between cork pads and bladder pads? Do the cork pads last longer? That key is the only one on my A that isn't cork (in the upper joint). On my Bb, the keys that aren't cork-padded are LH2, and the top 3 RH trill keys. Also, why is it that only upper joints are cork padded and not the lower? I thought I heard somewhere that the open key pads aren't cork padded, but LH1 on both of clarinets are cork pads. Also, on both of my lower joints, the pad on the sliver key is cork.
Rachel
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-01-08 15:37
Ok, cork lasts VERY long and seals like a drum (or, if you do regular suction tests....like a coke bottle). The ONLY drawback to cork is that is adds a bit of noise on the "down stroke." It is only a minor bit of noise that I barely noticed only on initially starting with cork. This is the the biggest reason the large four pads at the bottom are not corked.....this would be too noisy indeed. The other good reason is that seating a pad that size (getting something of that large a surface to remain perfectly in line with the tone hole) would be next to impossible, or at least getting it to remain that way.
This gets to the heart of why LH2, as you put it, has a bladder pad. For the one-on-one Bb fingering to work properly without the need for CONSTANT readjustment, you want a "mushier," more forgiving pad there. Probably it is a good idea for that reason to have the top pad of the lower joint bladder as well. There is no reason why the sliver key down there cannot be corked however.
I also want to RE-plug the Kraus Omni pads since they seal very much like cork, are only very slightly more noisy than bladder and are resistant to normal wear through mechanical use as well as exposure to moisture. There is also a variety of Valentinos that may be worth investigating called the Masters Series. These synthetics are much more expensive than your run of the mill bladder pads but are in line with the cost you'd incur for a good corking re-pad.
..................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2011-01-08 15:39)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-01-08 18:12
For the upper register I put cork pads on for clients. You can't use cork pads for the lower register because they make too much noise. You should be able to get several years out of cork pads, perhaps 10 years. At that point the pads are pretty brittle, make a lot of noise, and can crack, causing air leaks, so it's a good practice to replace them once in a while.
Hope you get well soon. Take it slow.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2011-01-12 22:26)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-01-08 18:27
I think I have Valentino Masters (I never asked, but they look as if they were) on my upper joint and kid leather pads on my lower. Compared to the technician's hourly rate, the actual cost difference of the pads is negligible (say $20 more expensive for a $500 repad here).
--
Ben
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2011-01-09 08:26
The main advantage of cork pads over bladder pads is that they usually last longer. However if something isn't fixed before e.g. tone hole rim, hinge being loose, etc. cork pads will have more problems. Also cork pads are more noisy and regardless of what keys they are on, some players consider them too noisy. I've had some people ask me to remove cork pads because they were too noisy. Some people don't mind the noise. Other problems with cork pads, or any pad that is completely inside the pad cup, can be a too short/long key arm causing an alignment problem of the key. This is a lot worse with leather pads that are inside the cup, with their rounded edges.
Re the Valentino pads, my problem with them is that often they don't stay level during installation. They are soft enough to feel like they seal great and even with a pretty light touch, but sometimes they won't seal all around simultanously. This can result in a problematic feel when moving between notes and intervals. Some people then think it's the pad material or something causing it when in fact it's a completely mechanical issue that you can't detect in a suction test etc. The Kraus Omni pads Paul metioned solve this problem by having a much firmer back that keeps the pads completely level.
At the end it's still a preference of the player. All the advantages in the world don't help if the player doesn't like the feel. I still prefer the feel of firm bladder pads made by Music Center such as Premium Deluxe model. All bladder pads are not equal at all in quality and/or feel and can be very different. There are many bladder pads I don't like at all. The Omni pads are a close second and feel almost as good, with many advantages. I don't like cork pads much personally but some people do and I install them if someone wants them (or on certain keys I almost always use them).
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Author: richard1952
Date: 2011-01-10 01:42
I have often heard the comment that cork pads are noisy and wonder who hears the noise other than possibly the person playing the instrument. Steve Sklar put cork on most of the upper joint keys on my Leblanc LL and I can't hear them and have never had any players sitting next to me say that they hear them.
richardseaman@cox.net
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-01-10 15:56
Dear richard1952,
I'll play devil's advocate here since I just viewed Evelyn Glennie's amazing video on "listening." If the performer is in some way negatively affected by the sound or perception of sound (or feel of sound) than that would negatively affect that performance. I don't feel that way at all, but there are those out there (for example, Germans) who cannot feel proper unless they have all leather pads. To each his/her own.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2011-01-10 17:35
Although my name is German, I'm an American, and I cannot feel proper unless I have all leather pads. Tan leather. Each and every one. Except maybe a cork pad for the register key (soprano clarinets only).
All levity aside, I still maintain that using a leather pad at least on the C#/G# key (soprano clarinet with standard keywork, not articulated) is advantageous in reducing the incidence of burbling/gurgling on those notes, because the slight porosity of the leather allows it to absorb the moisture rather than letting it sit there and create problems. This effect is independent of the nationality of the player.
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2011-01-12 16:05
Not sure how long it will last, but I'm going to attempt to play a little at rehearsal tonight (if there is one with the snowy weather). I tried to blow a few notes last night and it wasn't terrible, so the attempt will be made. Whether I make it past 5 minutes is another thing, especially since I still have no feeling in my lower lip and chin on the left side.
Rachel
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Author: kimber
Date: 2011-01-12 18:51
Have you let your surgeon know you have unresolved facial numbness? Feeling should have returned as the anesthesia wore off. With that amount of extraction trouble, he may have nicked the lower facial nerve on the left side and might be able to direct you to specific treatment for that.
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2011-01-12 21:24
I go tomorrow to have the stitches removed, so things will be discussed. There were 2 surgeons poking around for the last 1/2 hour of the procedure, so I wouldn't be surprised if something got damaged along the way. Someone on the Klarinet mailing list said they had damage and problems for 25+ years, so I've thought about that.
I thought about this from a playing prospective. If feeling doesn't come back (at all or in part), if I can adapt to playing without feeling my lower lip, could this work in a positive manner by me not feeling lower lip fatigue?
Rachel
PS I blew a couple notes last night to see if I could play at all. New pads on LH2 rings on Bb and A are sealing well (bladder pads btw).
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