 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Brian
Date: 2002-01-30 00:12
I was just wondering what most people do when pads stick. I have heard of using cigarette paper,toilet tissue and even putting baby powder on the pads! Could someone please help!
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-01-30 00:30
Do a "search" on "sticky pads in the subject area - you'll find a wealth of information there!
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Author: Amanda
Date: 2002-01-30 00:43
What we were always taught to do in band is to fold adollar bill in half, put it between the pad and hole, push the key a few times and then hold it down while pulling the bill out..it usually works =)
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Author: jenna
Date: 2002-01-30 01:10
I second the motion for the dollar bill. I'm much more likely to have a buck on me than a box of cigarette papers.
Sticky pads are a big problem on my alto.. the register key decides to not open a lot. That's why I always keep a dollar in my case for emergencies. =)
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Author: Francesca
Date: 2002-01-30 03:19
The only potential problem with using a dollar is that it's more likely to have some germs, bacteria, whatever, that would love a nice moist environment. I've found that coffee filters are a common, cheap alternative.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2002-01-30 03:34
Use 'end-paper' or 'end-sheet'. These are used for (mainly) women to get rid of facial oil. Sold at cosmetic shops.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-01-30 04:58
One can also try a piece of writing paper or a "postit" with denatured alcohol on it for cleaning clarinet pads. Dollar bills are fine for leather sax pads but, being a little abrasive, they can tear the thin skins on a clarinet or flute pad. I once saw a flute that had it's pads ruined from use of a dollar bill. Good Luck!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-01-30 08:56
If a bass clarinet octave key sticks it probably needs replacing, or there is binding in the mechanism that operates it.
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Author: Emms
Date: 2002-01-30 10:01
Can someone exchange my pound coin for a dollar bill? The coin doesn't seem to work! --- just funnin.
Toilet tissue could stick to your pad, making it worse. The coffee filter paper is a good idea, or good quality kitchen roll paper. Keep some cut up in your case. I usually wet a piece of paper first, put it on the pad, then use a dry piece.
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Author: Stephen Froehlich
Date: 2002-01-30 13:06
Aren't non-US currencies also usually on high quality cotton paper? On the other hand, most other countries don't have bank notes as small as ours. Instead they start somewhere in the $5-$10 range.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-01-30 14:37
The best cure is prevention. It is highly recommended that you never play your instrument after dinning or drinking beverages containing food substances-- especially sugar--without first, BRUSHING YOUR TEETH and RINSING OUT YOUR MOUTH. One of the items of support equipement that I always carry to every gig, is a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. And, if I snack on anything, before the performance or even between sets, I always brush before playing my instrument(s). Conseqently, I (almost) never experiance stuck pads or "smelly" mpc/reed setups. Also, swabbing your bore and mpc after playing is also important in keeping your clarinet clean and problem free. If your pads do become sticky, the above remedies are useful, but only temporary. The only real cure for a sticky pad is replacement. But, as the wise old "someone" once said, "An ounce of prevention--good oral hygene before playing--is worth a pound of cure." Good Clarineting--and Good Brushing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Author: willie
Date: 2002-01-30 19:03
In addition to cigarette papers, "end" papers work well also. Those are those papers the gals use with their curlers. I quit using strips of coffee filter as some are rough and I have had some tear the skin of some of my pads.
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Author: Brian
Date: 2002-01-30 20:33
I agree on the oral hygeine idea...my band director always taught us that. But the problem with this pad is that is is on a brand spanking new LeBlanc Esprit model horn. The first time I played the instrument I noticed the pad was sticking...only slightly yet still annoyingly. Should I just go ahead and replace the pad now to avoid any further problems?
And thanks to all who replied. The info was both enlightening and entertaining!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-01-31 09:08
New Zealand bank notes are made from synthetic paper, and are useless for cleaning. They are very difficult to tear, last much longer, but resist both folding and unfolding - a sort of shape inertia.
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Author: Emms
Date: 2002-01-31 11:15
With three children, I very rarely have a bank note available.
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Author: Elise
Date: 2002-01-31 20:19
I've explored this matter too, and I've found that many of the above methods to cure sticky pads to be quite useful. Coffee filters I've never tried, but dollar bills are usually quite effective and as of yet I don't have any horror stories to share about them ruining my pads. I tend to use whatever I have on me and dollar bills are usually it (twenties work better than singles, by the way :P). I've heard of cigarette papers with adhesive on them getting stuck to pads so I wouldn't go near them--Yamaha and others sell cleaning paper in packets of 100 or so but there are too may other homemade-type solutions to buy them. Bathroom tissue is a silly idea--it will certainly get stuck to your pad, rip, or just your luck, both. Tissue paper, on the other hand, works fairly nicely if you get the right type with not too much sheen. Your friends might pack gifts with it--it's a great way to recycle. Doubling the paper or even tripling it will prevent rips. My recent favorite is gum wrappers. Unusual, I know. I don't even chew gum, but the couple of times that I had I just dropped the wrappers in my case because I was on the go. Little Trident wrappers work nicely--various paper wrappers, not foil ones. They've got some kind of coating on them--but once you use a wrapper it loses it's effectiveness because the coating wears off. Make sure the gum is sugarless, though--you don't need sugar and the like on your pads.
Good luck!
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Author: Derek Grice
Date: 2002-01-31 23:28
Not all Currencies are on paper, the Aussie Dollar is on plastic notes, much stronger, longer lasting and harder to counterfeit. Anyway and the Aussie notes start at $5.
Derek
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-02-01 14:49
Just like NZ. What progressive countries.
To make your own powder paper....
Get a face tissue, a really strong (commercial type) toilet tissue (the sort you hate using!), or pretty well any other thin paper.
Rub talcum powder (or teflon powder) into it. Preferrably unscented because the scent is oil, which could add to stickiness.
Shake it to remove all visible trace of the powder.
Drag under the closed, DRY, offending pad.
What is good about the Yamaha papers is that they are resilient enough to fit easily down to the tone hole when the tone hole is slightly below the level of the body, have sufficient lengthwise grain to be torn into straight strips of suitable width, and yet VERY tough in the direction in which they will be drawn. Unfortunately they have rather too much powder, which can be shaken off.
Any thick deposits of powder on the pads is likely to cause seating problems, and powder applied to the pads applied in any quantity is likely to get over the mechanism. For some reason it seens to accelerate corrosion of the metal surface, but worse, it absorbs the oil from the pivots and tends to allow them to rust. Use only traces of powder.
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Author: CorpBill
Date: 2020-01-21 21:17
Just my 2 cents worth. The dollar bill "trick" works short term. The ink used on currency never dries however, and the risk of residual ink left on the pad can attract dirt down the road. Being a retired music educator in the public schools, I occasionally had to explain why I had cigarette papers in my case. My inexpensive (free) solution came to me while using a public toilet. The paper used to cover the seat is very similar to Zig Zag, and works very well on stuck pads. I did, of course, cut it to size, and store it in an old reed box, but it solved the problem with both, my sticky pads, inquisitive students, (and perhaps the administration). Case closed.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2020-01-22 00:03
These discussions never die!
I've replaced lots of pads destroyed by dollar bills.
I use a strip of paper towel (a brand that can survive be wet without disintegrating. Dampen on end with window cleaner or some other cleaning solution. Place it between the pad and clarinet body and close the key. Then repeat with a dry section of the paper towel. I suppose cloth could work as well. If you must, you can pull the paper out gently and carefully, making sure not to leave behind any shredding paper towel. Sometimes I follow up with pad powder paper.
The paper towels I use are shop towels and will absolutely not fall apart when wet but they are also more abrasive.
Steve Ocone
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-01-22 03:21
I agree with William about not drinking (or eating) anything before playing except water of course. I do brush my teeth before playing my Buffet at a rehearsal or concert. I always practice on my student clarinet and am nowhere near as fussy. I used to use that powder stuff you can buy specifically for sticky pads, but haven't really had one stick in maybe 20 years (don't know why).
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Author: johnnydodds
Date: 2020-01-22 08:55
Yamaha Powder Paper is the best short term solution. It's far better than using a dollar bill or zig zag papers. Best long term solution is to change out the pad, and some types of pads are less sticky than others. I find that leather pads are the worst for sticking.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2020-01-27 16:04
"True Wave End Papers" folded to the proper size and moistened with VM&P naptha works for me.
Post Edited (2020-01-27 20:35)
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Author: Burt
Date: 2020-01-28 18:39
For leather pads (on my saxes), I use Campho-phenique (sp?), available at drug stores.
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