Author: cjwright
Date: 2009-11-29 18:31
I read an interview with Paul Laubin who offered the example of a cork in a wine bottle. He stated if you let it sit there and dry, the cork will shrink so much that the cork will fall into the bottle.
I would agree with the assessment, but really, who let's their oboe sit around for so long that their cork shrinks up that much? Granted, if you did let two oboes, one with skin pads and one with cork pads sit in the closet for 20 years and then you pulled them out to play on, the skin pad one would probably work better, but then again, you probably wouldn't be on this forum looking for answers.
I've learned a lot about skin pads since I've moved from Oregon (60% humidity regularly) to Arizona (Lucky if we get 10%). If I let my oboes sit out on the stand, the pads shrink a lot first, usually the smaller ones shrinking a bit more than the bigger ones. After a couple weeks of doing that, they stabilize and I don't need to adjust my oboes every day. I also noticed that they didn't seal as well though, and after speaking with David, we agree that as the cork dries out, it gets harder and loses its elasticity, so there's "less give" under the fingers. So... I started putting my oboes back in there cases with humidifiers.
And after about a week of adjusting the oboe every day, the pads restabilized after having moisture in them, and the elasticity came back into the pads.
So, regarding whether cork pads can be stable, I definitely think so, but you need to decide how you want to stabilize them and be consistent.
Regarding whether cork pads are more stable than skin pads, probably not since they do expand and contract due to moisture levels, but that can be controlled by the oboist as I stated.
Regarding whether cork pads seal better than skin pads, I've never tried a single topjoint (Laubin included) with as few as one skin pad have a true suction for 30 seconds with the C bridge key and the Ab key on, while virtually every brand new Loree with all cork pads does.
One final note regarding skin pads and Laubin: They use them partially for the acoustic effect. The material, shape, and texture of each pad can effect the acoustical property of a note, and skin pads absorb more vibrations than cork does, which "deadens" the sound a bit and adds to the "laubin round darkness" mystique about the instrument. If you take an oboe with old cork pads which look old, dry and rough and have nice smooth pads put on, the whole oboe is going to sound dramatically different because the vibrations are going to come out of the tone holes and bounce off the pads cleaner, giving you more vibrations.
Cooper
Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
Post Edited (2009-11-29 18:37)
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