The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: suction test

Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-03-07 16:33

Do a spot test on leather pads with a wet cotton bud (or Q-tip) to determine if they're made with treated leather or not - if the leather darkens considerably when you wet it, then it's not treated (but has still been tanned to preserve it).

A lot of leather pads nowadays are made with plastic coated leather to make them waterproof and airtight. These won't change colour or stain as much as untreated leather pads and should be far less porous.

Poor quality ones can suffer with the plastic coating coming off the leather and sticking to the toneholes so the pads end up porous and it can take some doing to remove the bits of plastic coating debris stuck to the toneholes. So always use good quality leather pads or make sure your repairer stocks them.

Don't buy dirt cheap pads of any kind off eBay as it's a false economy.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics