 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2025-07-20 21:19
Sort of considering purchase of a Uebel Oehler that has felt pads on top and synthetic pads on bottom. From everything I've learned, leather pads are needed on German system. Advice gratefully received.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-07-21 01:13
Leather pads just happen to be traditional when it comes to German and Oehler systems as opposed to being necessary for how well they play, sound or respond. The important thing with any type of pad used is it has to be able to fully seal against the tonehole, is made of a durable material, retains its shape and doesn't stick.
And as leather is the nearest thing to the skin on your fingertips, it's seen as the ideal material to be used for pads, plus it's far more durable than goldbeaters' skin which is bovine intestinal membrane - the same thing as sausage skin and what gut strings are made from and definitely not fish skin or fish bladder.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-07-21 02:14
So it depends on where you live and where you are selling it when done with it. My 100Cs had a wonderful Brannenization (cork on top, triple fish skin on the largest pads) that was in great shape when I went to sell it in Berlin. Of course they completely re-did the clarinet in all leather as soon as they got it. Does it play better that way? No. But it is what the German market demands.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-07-21 12:51
Chris P: Do you think that the material used for making pads has no acoustic impact on tone? The former solo clarinetist of the Paris Opera has often told me that he would never use anything other than bladder pads, even though he has to have them replaced more often than cork, leather or synthetic-material ones (mind you, he doesn't have to pay for this.). This for reasons of quality of tone. I think this is an illusion, but...you never know.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-07-21 13:10
For one thing, there's no such thing as 'bladder' or 'fish skin' pads as I've already stated, regardless what the industry says (as there's a TON of myths in the industry that all need to be dispelt).
Some players feel cork pads make the sound too harsh or feel too firm and leather pads deaden things and feel too soft, but it's all down to the quality of the pads used and how porous they are.
I've been using Pisoni Pro CLS synthetic pads (hard delrin backing shell with a synthetic foam disc set into them) with the thin synthetic membrane on the surface which offers a smooth and uniform surface similar to both skin pads and treated leather pads. I've not had any complaints about them and they last incredibly well as I've seen year after year.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-07-24 20:44
Chris P: cork pads last forever: if you practise regularly and they are thus kept humid. If you don't play often, they get bone-dry and crumble. They seal very well, but make a lot of noise when the keys close. Kangaroo is excellent material.: flexible, soft and durable. One thing that hasn't been discussed is what vegans think. Even if they don't the pads, they may not approve of having killed animals so that we can close our toneholes.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-07-24 21:09
I don't use kangaroo leather pads on saxes (or clarinets) as they're far too porous, even though the leather itself is very strong. I used them for a while until I discovered how porous they were and switched to Pisoni Pro J or Jim Schmidt gold pads. They can be used for 8ve vents as they're not going to cause as much grief there compared to much larger diameter toneholes.
Maybe if the kangaroo leather was treated with the same type of waterproof/airtight surface coating as Pisoni Pro J pads use (which has a uniform matt texture), then that would be good, but none of the kangaroo leather pads I've seen from several companies have an additional surface treatment to seal the leather - the leather is just tanned, dyed and left porous (like old kid leather pads).
I've been using cork pads on clarinets since the '80s and they are my preferred choice. I use them as standard on oboes, cors, d'amores and piccolos where I cork pad those instruments throughout. On clarinets I generally cork pad down to the RH B/F# 'sliver' key and then use leather pads for all the large diameter pads from the Ab/Eb key downwards, sometimes even cork padding the Ab/Eb key.
I used to cork pad the 8ves on saxes, but the heavy spring tension of LH3 compressed the lower 8ve pad far too much causing it to stick (as cork pads only need light pressure to seat against toneholes). That's now the only place I'd use a kangaroo leather pad which I make myself by covering a cork pad with kangaroo leather as that's less prone to sticking.
The downside with cork pads is they're a natural product and infinitely variable and not all cork pads can be used due to defects in them, so there's a lot of waste compared to zero waste when it comes to synthetic pads.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2025-07-24 21:44)
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Author: Bill
Date: 2025-07-25 23:56
Thanks for responses everyone. I've seen a Uebel 632 with "bladder" pads on top and these grey, synthetic pads on bottom.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-07-26 10:57
Chris P: You said that the quality of cork pads is unreliable. Is there such a thing as syynthetic cork pads? What do you think of them?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-07-26 14:38
If you mean the brown Valentino pads with the single density and no surface layer (instead of being brown versions of their Greenback pads), the last time I used them back in 1999 they were porous as anything and worse than useless. Maybe they changed them since then to make them airtight like Greenbacks or Masters, but once bitten, twice shy with regards to them.
Valentino pads were used on the then new Buffet B10 (a rationalised B12) back in the late '90s and they were a disaster as they stuck like anything against the plastic toneholes once they got wet. Maybe that was down to poor care by the owners, but I haven't seen them stick like that on wooden instruments.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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