 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ttay1122
Date: 2012-03-03 06:34
This week in my lesson I had to stop mid-etude because my Eb/Ab was not responding. To no surprise it was just water that had collected in the tone hole, annoying as usual. Upon further examination I discovered that my Eb/Ab pad has turned brown, after only using the clarinet for less than a year. I showed my teacher and she recommended I get my pads replaced. After only a year? There are about 5 or 6 of these pads that have discolored. They all still seal perfectly. So anyways... Should I get them replaced already?
Also I see that the CSG has plastic resonators. Is this going to make repadding more expensive or so? I was looking into getting synthetic pads, of which ones I am not sure but would these resonators affect my chances of getting synthetic pads?
Any advice is appreciated.
Taylor
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-03-03 09:16
It is not unusual that the pads on a new clarinet turn brown rather quickly, especially at toneholes that are sometimes waterlogged - it simply is the staining of the wood that worked itself in the pad a bit. This has nothing to do with pads getting stale or old, it just is the dye.
It's not a bad idea to *check* the instrument once a year (with cleaning, oiling and adjusting as necessary), but unless the pads become brittle or torn just wait with a repad.
--
Ben
Post Edited (2012-03-03 15:15)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-03-03 13:39
Ok I have gone through this with the CSG.
Yes, the pads seem to stain pretty quickly. As stated above this is no problem in and of itself.
(At this point I MUST add what we talked about in an earlier thread: swab TOP-Down......this will drastically reduce water in the key)
Now the real 'problem' with the CSG Lucien Deluxe pads (which seal like cork when they are functional) is that when they do start to wear, there is a tendency for the fishskin to begin separating around the very resonators that make them great. This causes swelling from the middle and the resultant bad seal. To check this properly one needs to look at the surface of the pad very carefully around the resonator with a magnifying glass (key needs to be removed of course).
As for replacement pads, sadly though I love the Lucien Deluxe pads when new, I would go with either a standard repadding (cork and custom triple thick pads on the bottom) OR (for you synthetic lovers out there) the Kraus Omni pads.
The Kraus seemed to give me a bit more difficulty with surface adhesion when water in the keys is a problem BUT with my "new" discipline of swabbing from TOP-Down, this should not be an issue.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2012-03-03 15:55
It is very normal for the pads to turn brown on new clarinets. Interestingly enough those pads aren't on my CSG2 clarinets.
I'd send the horns to Tomoji when you decide to have a complete repad. The combination of synthetic, cork and leather that they now do makes a lot of sense. I feel like clarinet tech has advanced a lot in the last few years thanks to a few gifted innovators. I'm not so quick to do things the traditional way with out thought to new ideas as much as I used to be.
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