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: Which Pad Material Seals Best in Cold Weather

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-15 04:22

I cannot say that I have ever noticed a weather related issue with pads sealing. Of course I assume you mean an effect similar to reeds responding differently in humid conditions as opposed to dry conditions (given that we play in heated halls in the Winter and air conditioned ones in the Summer).

If you speak about playing under particularly cold circumstances (out door performance at 50 degrees Fahrenheit or less) I would imagine (no direct experience) that leather would be a bad choice since that material would begin to lose its supple qualities. This may also be the case for Quartz resonance pads since I would think that the squishiness of the silicone would suffer at lower temperatures. So as a "thought experiment only," I would guess felt based pads would be your best bet for extremely cold playing conditions. In such extreme cold playing conditions (my circumstances were down to 27 degrees Fahrenheit) I've used both felt based pads and Kraus Omni pads with no problems at all.

In addition to playing your horn at normal room temperature conditions (when you can help it) it is also helpful to store your horn in a room that you wouldn't mind being in for hours at a time in short sleeves (as opposed to the trunk of you car in the baking sun or dead of Winter). You don't want your horn to undergo a lot of expansion and contraction that will mess with key tolerances and even the glue (or shellac) that holds the pads in place.

I'd be interested to hear if others have noticed sealing issues at different times of the year or in different locales.

....................Paul Aviles

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics